For highly-regulated industries like financial services, engaging with clients and stakeholders on social media can be tricky. But in the case of investment firm Vanguard, which interacts with clients and potential customers on social media platforms, the brand has enjoyed success with its integrated marketing campaign, dubbed “Invest Like You Own the Place,” by taking a more relatable approach. Think pop culture references, humor and user-generated content from fans.
According to Kristin Thomas, manager of Vanguard’s personal investor social media team, it’s important to match the social media channels you utilize to the company mission while tailoring content to your audience’s interests. For example, the brand used Instagram to engage with a younger, gender-balanced audience by producing inspirational content that supports them through their investment journeys.
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Thomas also recommends being accessible to your audience, no matter what industry you’re working in. By humanizing the brand with culturally relevant, topical posts—from Biggie references to dad jokes—Vanguard has been able to show a little personality while keeping it professional when the time calls for it.
Experimenting with online contests has been a big hit for Vanguard, thanks to its loyal fanbase. The result has been a deluge of user-generated content that the brand is able to use in future posts, positioning its clients as heroes of the brand. It’s also developed the hashtag #Fanguard Friday to showcase the UGC.
Read on in PRNEWS for additional tips from Thomas, which include planning for content distribution across departments; weaving evergreen and tentpole event content into its social media calendar; and building a database of user-generated content to repurpose across various marketing efforts.
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