Market Research
Misery of Paid Social in the Financial Industry
Published January 2022
Finger is pointing on a decreasing chart
Key parameters of our study
Low marketing budget
Most marketing directors complained about a low budget for marketing — including social advertising. And this is a real problem in the era of data-driven marketing. Cost reduction leads to a lot of pressure and stress. Because lead generation is definitely affected negatively as a result. Now you have to learn how to spend your budget more efficiently — to deliver the same or better results.
Of course, every enterprise wants to reduce its costs. But it is important that the processes and results do not suffer. The optimization of processes almost always leads to a reduction in costs. So instead of simply cutting costs, internal and external processes need to be optimized.
If advertising is more efficient, this reduces your costs. Or, with less advertising budget, the same results can be achieved.
No solid measurement
How does advertising impact my business? Well, this is a good question.
Sadly, too many people don't know what impact social advertising has on their company. There is no measurement which shows the real impact. Or there are just some Excel reports from an agency once a month which try to justify increasing costs.
A solid measurement is important. Because learning what works and why is necessary to optimize running campaigns. And to improve advertising strategies in the future.
But do you really know the real performance of your campaigns? Or the return on invest? No? Very few do.
Reaching the right audience
Turning prospects into leads is something every enterprise worries about. It's easy to create a generic audience and advertise to people who aren't interested in the product or service at all. But it's a waste of budget at the same time. These people won't turn into leads. But unfortunately, that's what most enterprises, or agencies, do right now.
They key is to reach the right people. Either the budget is spent better — which generate more leads, or less budget is needed. In either case, it's a win.
High competition
The financial industry is an extremely competitive market — especially in paid advertising. Everyone tries to reach their audience and turn them into leads. You likely try to do that, too. And you probably use Facebook advertising for that — which is great.
But most enterprises don't get the most out of their ads. The ads may not be designed effectively. Or the ads of the competition are better. That is why they do not reach their audience in the best way. Even if they could.
With over 10 million advertisers on Facebook alone, it's not enough to advertise there with generic ads. Your ads must be ideal for your audience. In well optimized campaigns with a solid strategy. To get the best results — and the highest ROI.
Some enterprises don't advertise on Facebook
96% of all social media marketers consider Facebook advertising to be the most efficient solution compared to all other social networks. We were surprised, that some of our participants don't advertise on Facebook at all. And this wastes an enormous amount of potential.
Facebook has 2.89 billion monthly active users in 2021 and almost 1.9 billion users that uses the social network daily. Regardless of who your customers are, they are using Facebook multiple times per day. 59% of all social media users are on Facebook.
And the best part is: They love Facebook Ads! The average Facebook user clicks on 12 ads (19 in the U.S.) per month and often, a click isn't even required for an effective ad.
Of course, there are a few edge-cases where Facebook advertising won't work. But 9 out of 10 enterprises can use Facebook advertising successfully. You just need the right strategy.
Do you want to know why Facebook advertising is so powerful? Just read our article about Facebook advertising and get new insights.
General problems with social advertising
Some of our participants mentioned that they have issues with general advertising. They often don't have the right strategy. Or targeting the right audience. Or launching their campaigns on time. They don't even know how to create the right creatives their audience wants to see. And this leads to much stress and delays the advertising campaigns.
That's because outside of an advertising agency it's hard to learn all that. Or have enough time. And with less time, there is no space to learn. So, most enterprises hire an advertising agency and trust them blindly. But that can be a problem too.
The Agency Problem
Enterprises have a problem with advertising agencies — especially with the big ones. They don't deliver what they promise. They don't deliver on time. They don't optimize campaigns. They don't know the industry. They are too slow due too much bureaucracy. And nobody knows if they add real value to the business. Obviously, the people we spoke with are very disappointed.
But why is that? Large agencies suffer from long decision-making processes with never-ending bureaucracy. And their employees are managing multiple clients. They are very busy and rarely find enough time to fully focus on a single campaign — or even learn about a specific industry. And that's why they don't understand what the client really needs.
Sadly, it's no surprise for us. We know the big agencies. We worked with them and for them. And it's true — it's awful for clients. Just a little self-promotion here: We are doing better.
Conclusion
These are the main problems in paid advertising of the financial industry. At least, from all the people we spoke with.
Great ads in social media catching people's interest. And then they are looking for more information about your enterprise, your product, or your service. Some of them convert. And if they are satisfied, they recommend you to their friends and families. Finally, this leads to a high revenue and a high ROI.
Maybe you find yourself in a situation where you can relate. You may think "This is exactly what my problems are". If so, then please take a look at our service Vital Advertising. It could be the right solution for you because it solves the mentioned problems.
