Social media is a critical area for asset managers to strengthen as it directly informs investors’ decisions. In fact, 86% of investors state they consult a finance brand or executive’s social media channels when evaluating a current or prospective investment. Today, investors look to social media to gain important information regarding investing, market insights, and economic events and therefore it’s vital that the social media marketing trends for asset managers are understood and implemented.
With this information in mind, it’s vital asset managers understand the social media marketing trends that are gaining momentum and driving success and the ones that aren’t. Here, we deep dive into the social media activities of seven of the largest global asset managers to demonstrate what’s working and where there’s opportunities for improvement.
Global social media marketing trends
1. JPMorgan Chase Asset Management Singapore – Falling behind on social media
JPMorgan Chase Asset Management Singapore has no social media profiles. They lack a presence online making their overall digital marketing strategy poor. Given 98% of investors use social platforms, such as LinkedIn and X, to inform investment decisions on a weekly basis, JPMorgan is missing a key opportunity to connect with their target audience.
“ 98% of investors use social platforms, such as LinkedIn and X, to inform investment decisions on a weekly basis ”
2. Fidelity Singapore – Feeding local demand for educational video content
Fidelity Singapore only has a YouTube channel under their name, with all other social media profiles tied to the global Fidelity International brand. Having only dipped their toe into localised content, Fidelity is missing an opportunity to provide a comprehensive and relevant content program for their Singaporean audience and should look to Fidelity UK’s profiles for inspiration.
Overall, Fidelity International’s social media channels are focused on educating individuals about investing and sharing stories about employees and their workplace culture. They post across all socials two to three times a week, which could be increased to drive higher engagement across their social media platforms.
What are they doing right?
- Fidelity Singapore’s YouTube content performs well, but with only 60 subscribers they should work to build up a regular following through a targeted subscriber campaign. Fidelity International – Singapore garners thousands of views on each video and posts about once a week.
- Most videos are between one and three minutes with the most popular video being their ‘Asia Quarterly Outlook Q2 2021’ which has 217,000 views. To increase engagement with regular outlook content Fidelity should look to introduce an editorial angle to headlines and video overviews to avoid repetition and help the content stand out against competitors.
- Short videos and infographics perform best on LinkedIn (164,027 followers) and Instagram (1,983 followers), suggesting Fidelity should focus its attention on short but informative snackable social content.
Where can they improve?
- To complement their localised Singapore YouTube channel Fidelity should consider building out their targeted localised content offering across LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.
Whether creating new localised content or sharing repurposed content, Fidelity should commit to a consistent, always-on social content program, with both LinkedIn and Instagram recommending brands post “daily”.
3. Macquarie Investment Group – Short videos for big engagement
Macquarie Investment Group could better utilise its investment group channel by creating a more defined content strategy that targets its investor audience. Right now, many of Macquarie Investment Group’s social channels fall under Macquarie Group as a whole.
The social media marketing trends for asset managers reflected in Macquarie Investment Group’s social channels revolve around a mix of content and visual treatments to capture audience attention. Currently, Macquarie’s lack of interactive and educational content, as well as a lack of an always-on marketing strategy, are areas for improvement if the brand really wants to commit to a consistent and varied content mix.
What are they doing right?
- Macquarie Investment Group is successfully garnering engagement through short videos shared on Instagram (4,634 followers), LinkedIn (9, 244 followers), YouTube and X (12,100 followers).
- Macquarie Investment Group’s most successful videos align with current social trends which are informative and educational, with the recent video ‘The home of electric vehicles’ gaining a few thousand views in the last two days.
- Macquarie Investment Group have an always-on content strategy for their X account, posting once a day.
- Utilising LinkedIn well by making good use of copy on images as an additional way to capture attention in feed.
Where can they improve?
- Macquarie Investment Group should focus on fostering an always-on content strategy across all social channels.
- Continue creating a variety of content but look to repurpose original research multiple times to ensure a regular posting schedule.
4. Schroders – Infographics get the tick of approval
Schroders is active across all social media channels, posting every one to two days on YouTube (3,500 subscribers), LinkedIn (128,810 followers), Facebook (5,913 followers) and X (23,200 followers). Overall, Schroders is the group with the least engagement across all social channels, so converting to educational, short video and visual content to align with the social media marketing trends for asset managers will be beneficial.
What are they doing right?
- Schroders showcases the benefits in creating content surrounding ESG commitments, suggesting a positive trend in marketing a business’s social and environmental policies.
- Effectively utilising infographics on LinkedIn and X, to break down complex market and economic insights.
- Schroders YouTube showcases a trend in engagement when it comes to educational content and content targeted towards an international audience.
What can they improve?
- Reduce content that surrounds quotes from CEOs and employees, as their lack of engagement levels on these posts suggests audiences are more interested in informative content.
5. Blackrock – Creating tailored content for different social channels
Blackrock is a good example of the impact of a consistent multi-channel social content program, embracing a number of the best-practice social media marketing trends for asset managers. Blackrock employs an always-on content strategy on X (452,000 followers), posting one to two times a day. Blackrock doesn’t however post consistently on Instagram (34,800 followers), LinkedIn (932 030 followers) or YouTube (15,500 followers) which is an area for improvement.
Blackrock showcases a positive social media marketing trend for asset managers by tailoring content to each social platform, with cross-posting kept to a minimum.
What are they doing right?
- Blackrock has effectively embraced the trend of creating interactive content on X by posting polls, resharing others’ content, and utilising @ mentions and hashtags.
- Blackrock has effectively curated content from other businesses to complement their own content mix on LinkedIn. Curated and repurposed content is an effective and efficient way to fuel an always-on content strategy.
What can they improve?
- Short-form videos have been seen to be a positive social media marketing trend for asset managers and should be explored by Blackrock across all social channels.
6. Vanguard – Encouraging open communication with clients
Vanguard is committed to consistent posting across social channels, employing an always-on content strategy. Vanguard posts twice a day on Facebook (235,517 followers), and X (321,600 followers), and once a day on Instagram (36,100 followers) and LinkedIn (251, 240 followers). They post on average once a week on YouTube (32,100 subscribers), significantly more than any other asset management firm.
Overall, Vanguard’s content is fun, engaging and creative and focused mostly on educational and informative content. A clear trend in Vanguard’s social activities is the cut-through that can be achieved by tailoring content to segmented audiences.
What are they doing right?
- Vanguard posts educational material on YouTube and LinkedIn aligning with investor demand for informative, instructional content.
- As well as a platform for sharing content Vanguard uses its social channels for open communication with clients through the use of a Facebook Messenger bot and consistently replies to questions and comments across all social channels.
- Aligning with the trend for visual content, Vanguard utilises infographics effectively across Instagram and X.
- With content surrounding ESG commitments shown to resonate with clients, Vanguard has made this a pillar of its Instagram content.
What can they improve?
- To create variety and boost engagement Vanguard should look to create tailored content specific to each platform.
- Vanguard can improve the sharing of original research by presenting it in dynamic and visual ways, revisiting key themes in additional content pieces to feed a more consistent and always-on content strategy.
7. Fidelity Investments – Targeting their audience to maximise engagement
Fidelity Investments (US) is focused on a younger demographic, targeting millennials. Fidelity posts around once a day on Instagram (28,800 followers), Facebook (283,712 followers), and X (296,200 followers), reflecting the important shift towards an always-on content and social distribution strategy. Over on LinkedIn (603,925 followers) and YouTube (45,700 subscribers) Fidelity posts once or twice a month, suggesting they can improve by integrating a regular posting schedule.
The key trends reflected in Fidelity Investments’ social activities include targeting digital content for specific audiences, educational content, and visual content.
What are they doing right?
- Fidelity Investments creates visually appealing content on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn which is focused on educating young investors, such as the Instagram carousel ‘How to start trading’.
- Fidelity Investments showcases the trend and uptake of infographics, which are utilised across all social channels.
- Embracing the trend of interactive content on X and Instagram, such as posing questions to audiences and polls.
- YouTube videos align with the audience’s want for educational and informative content with the video ‘5 mistakes investors make with ETFs’ gaining 485, 000 views.
What can they improve?
- Fidelity Investments can improve how they present blog posts and original research by utilising more dynamic and visually-appealing promotion methods on LinkedIn and X.
- Increase the use of short-form videos across all social channels
The verdict on social media marketing for asset managers
Digital marketing is more important than ever with over half of buyers performing their research on social media. It’s integral for firms to understand the key social media marketing trends for asset managers to remain competitive and improve existing content.
Here are the top social media marketing trends for asset managers:
- Educational content
- An always-on content strategy
- Infographics, visual content and short form videos
- Tailored content for each social media channel
- Targeted content for a specific audience
- Interactive content in the form of polls and questions
- Open communication across all socials by employing chatbots and responding to questions and comments
Understanding key social media trends for asset managers is a critical part of strengthening a digital content strategy. Altering social media content to align with current trends will produce greater engagement, connect with audiences and generate stronger growth.
