Asset managers aren’t supplying the content investors are demanding when it comes to ESG. Despite the huge growth in investor demand for ESG, according to a report by PwC, asset managers are failing in how they address it creating information gaps. These information gaps offer an opportunity for asset managers and financial marketers to build differentiated ESG campaigns and an engaged audience. Here we explain how your finance brand can fill these information gaps.
Where asset managers are going wrong
While asset managers have recognised the need for greater focus on ESG and promotion, many aren’t getting it right. Often, when asset managers create content around ESG that’s niche and focused on what investors want its focus is on promoting its own new products or services creating a tone of inauthenticity. This lack of engaging content, alongside an alarming amount of information gaps, reveals ESG is one area asset managers can improve.
“ This lack of engaging content, alongside an alarming amount of information gaps, reveals ESG is one area asset managers can improve.”
Currently, ESG content remains generic with most topics widely over-indexed. To make your content truly shine it’s important to not repeat the same ideas, information and content everyone else is putting out. Overarching topics like climate change and energy are oversaturated whereas specialist topics like deforestation are often overlooked.
These specialised topics and niche areas of interest are where the opportunity lies for financial marketers. Investors want to be educated and gain timely information from a reliable source. Providing an investment angle on ESG topics can help secure your place as an authority in the area and help generate and nurture leads.
What to ask yourself when creating content that hits:
- Is your ESG content reiterating information from broad subject areas or providing specialised information on niche topics?
- Does your content provide unique insights from an asset management perspective?
- Is the information relevant, timely and accurate?
Why ESG content is important
Supplying engaging, relevant and informative ESG content should be a part of every asset manager’s marketing strategy. At the end of the day, consumers are demanding it.
Here are three reasons why it remains important:
- Output in specialist ESG and sustainability media outlets has increased by 76%
- In the last 12 months, there has been a 63% increase in searches globally for ESG-related content
- Additionally, there has been a 36% increase in social media engagement globally around ESG issues
To gain traction, nurture leads and capture an engaged audience, asset managers must prioritise marketing ESG insights.
Remove the disconnect
This disconnect between what content asset managers are supplying versus what investors are demanding (niche topics) offers a unique opportunity for financial marketers. At the end of the day, an information gap is also an opportunity gap.
Identifying the areas where your asset management firm is underdelivering content your audience wants is the first step to removing this disconnect. Utilising analytics, research and first-party data can help in this area.
By creating content on underdelivered topics you can capture an interested audience by demonstrating thought leadership and becoming an authoritative figure within the industry. This can help generate meaningful leads and enable your brand to effectively nurture web visitors.
To ensure you outperform your competitors and stand out from the crowd, your asset management firm needs to reallocate resources and restructure its content calendar to reflect these growth opportunities.
Asset managers getting ESG content right
What does success look like, you ask? These three asset managers produced quality ESG content about specialist topics while remaining authentic and true to its brand’s messaging.
BNP Paribas Asset Managers
BNP Paribas Asset Managers regularly create ESG marketing content on diverse topics, often fulfilling investor demand for underdelivered subjects.
What it’s doing right
BNP Paribas consistently publishes content and offers both critiques on international ESG topics alongside more personal thought leadership such as interviews with its CEO and corporate insights into its sustainability initiatives.
In addition, this content is shared in a variety of formats such as a podcast and short-form videos making it more accessible and fostering engagement.
Robeco
ESG content is a core tenet of Robeco’s content strategy. It’s spread across its social channels and housed on its website, with education being a key component that sets its content apart.
What it’s doing right
Robeco’s ESG marketing content is focused on educating investors on complex topics in a diverse array of areas. Unlike BNP Paribas, Robeco has a strong social media presence in which it shares its ESG content regularly. Focusing on timely topics and newsworthy events, Robeco has adopted a strong always-on content strategy.
Offering video content, podcasts, webinars and educational materials, Robeco ensures its content remains fresh and engaging helping to nurture leads and capture an invested audience.
Schroders
For Schroders, it regularly posts content that directly fills the ESG information gaps Peregrine has identified.
What it’s doing right
Schroders has a diverse range of ESG content, much of which directly fulfills these ‘white spaces’. Presented in a variety of formats, from podcasts to Q&As to videos enables more interest and engagement. Additionally, it provides both a global perspective and a more micro perspective on many topics, offering content that’s more tailored to certain investors.
Like Robeco, it also has a strong social media presence where this content often features. This can help boost engagement and reach a broader audience.
ESG content is not a ‘nice to have’
At the end of the day, investors want ESG insights but many asset managers are continuing to supply the same content without much thought to what its audience wants. Consider what’s newsworthy, what investors are interested in and educational materials that can help.
Rather than looking at the white spaces as areas of failure, view them as opportunities to gain a competitive advantage. Make the most of them and ensure you fulfil investors’ content demands to help build a captured and loyal audience.
