Why consumer mindset matters in financial services marketing

If we learnt anything in 2020, it’s that we all need to get comfortable with blurring boundaries between the office and home. Now, the latest research from LinkedIn suggests this trend is also impacting how we think about our finances.  

Despite its challenges, the pandemic has given many of us a chance to take stock of our financial health. Less day-to-day spending has left 28% of households with additional savings, rising to 42% of those on a high-income. Lifestyle changes have also led many to look at how to maximise their money and achieve greater security and stability for the future. And these financial tasks, like other aspects of our lives, are now meshing into our professional activities.

So, while financial services marketers are used to thinking of their customers as consumers, the increasing overlap between our personal and professional spaces means it’s time to rethink this approach. New insights from LinkedIn reveal that its members are not only ideal targets for financial products and services, they’re also in the right mindset to make financial considerations when spending time on the platform. 

Career success = financial ambition

Career success and financial ambition often go hand in hand, and this view is backed up by LinkedIn data. Professionals using the platform are 13% more likely to have advanced their education in the last year and 10% more likely to have progressed in their career. At the same time, they’re looking to put the rewards of their hard work to good use, reporting that they think about and plan their finances more proactively than consumers on other social platforms, with nearly two thirds following a personal savings and investment plan (59%). This makes them a highly attractive target for financial marketers. 

Digging a little deeper, the correlation between career and financial focus can also be seen in specific financial attitudes and behaviours. For example, LinkedIn members have a retirement account of around €220,000 on average, at least €35,000 more than the average on other platforms. They are also more likely to be saving and have a greater likelihood of purchasing a range of investment products, such as stocks, bonds and cryptocurrency, while opting for a moderate to high risk profile.

It should come as no surprise then that they are highly financially literate, confident doing their own research, and making investment decisions on their own. This makes them the ideal audience for timely, in-depth financial information and guidance on the financial options available to them.

A receptive mindset

Yet reaching these professionally and financially ambitious individuals is only half the battle, as it is equally important to catch them when and where they are in the right frame of mind to think about their finances and make financial decisions. The study found that professional and financial worlds are well aligned in this respect, with LinkedIn members more likely to feel purposeful, accomplished, confident, motivated, optimistic and ambitious after visiting the platform. They are also 32% more likely to value content about ways to improve their finances.

Inspiring trust is another critical factor to consider. Reputations are hard-won and easily lost in the financial sector, so marketing strategies and messages must be delivered in the right way, using the right media. In this sense, communicating with consumers in a professional space also comes with significant benefits, with LinkedIn members reporting greater trust in company posts (31%) and recommendations (+28%) on the newsfeed. They also feel more confident handing over personal data, with 61% saying they trust the platform not to misuse their information.

Quality + Receptivity = value

Engaging the right people when they’re in the right frame of mind is clearly a powerful combination, with more than two thirds of LinkedIn members saying that they would click on an ad on the platform if it was relevant to them - at least 10 percentage points higher than those on other platforms. Furthermore, nearly a fifth of LinkedIn members are specifically in the market for savings/investment and insurance products, while more than one in three say that the ads they receive in these areas are well matched. With nearly 29% more budget to spend, the CLV (customer lifetime value) versus acquisition cost should stack up well too.

Financial services marketing has evolved enormously in recent years, as sales channels have moved online, and emerging digital players have challenged the big incumbents. We’ve also seen a rapid rise in the power that consumers have to take a more active role in managing their money, through online research and buying direct, rather than going through an intermediary. But as the market has become more complex and technology driven, marketers have an opportunity to become even more focused in their targeting. And as personal and professional worlds collide, they have the ideal platform to capture not just the right people, but also in the mindset that matters.

To read more about how to target LinkedIn members based on profile and mindset, check out our ad targeting options here.