New Doors Opening for Communicators in FinTech

by Nicola Brown, MPC2014

One of the first things I do in the morning when my alarm goes off and I roll over to pick up my phone is check my Wealthsimple investment balance. It changes daily. It shows me the ups and downs on a graph and lists the percentage interest I’ve earned over time. It’s as addictive as Candy Crush, and we all know how addictive that is.

Today the fintech industry is bursting with new players all vying to revolutionize the way we manage our money. With that comes new opportunities for communicators who are willing to work hard and get creative to change ingrained perspectives about financial institutions.

Wealthsimple is one of the strongest pioneers in fintech communication in Canada. Their content marketing strategy is paving the way for more injections of fun into a historically stale industry. That’s opening more doors for creative communicators to take the reins.

Wealthsimple’s astute content marketing strategy

You might have seen the ads on TV, or perhaps you’ve even landed on their website.

The difference between Wealthsimple and many other financial companies is their emphasis on the human side of money. Their content is not only visually stunning, it’s people-focused and highly narrative, favoring long-form storytelling and old-school illustrations. The company’s corporate blog reads more like a lifestyle magazine, and its videos like mini documentaries.

I recently wrote a content marketing case study on Wealthsimple. For those that already work in finance and fintech as well as those who’d like to break in, it’s a great example to kick-start your creative engines.

Technological shifts are changing the roles and responsibilities of communication

The increased level of investment in communication and content in fintech is exciting. Companies like Wealthsimple are giving permission to communicators in the financial industry to have a lot more fun with their content.

Alanna Fallis, our alumni spotlight, has experienced the shift first hand as a marketing manager for Worldpay in the UK. Don’t miss our interview with her here.

Alanna explains that a lot of innovation in the space means plenty of job opportunities for those who know how to apply core communication skills across industries. Much of fintech is also easy to get behind, she says, as the technology often revolves around things you’ve always wanted and needed as a consumer.

As with any new communications job or industry, you have to learn how to think like your audience, and you have to work closely with other teams to figure out who that audience really is. The biggest challenges in fintech stem from the fact that each new communication project has to be tailored to a niche market, and that market evolves rapidly. Flexibility and adaptability are two of the most important skills in this new field.

The more we see technology accelerate and transform traditional industries beyond recognition, the more we’ll need to rely on good communicators to explain to the rest of us what’s happening and why it’s an improvement on the way we did things before.

Fintech is just one example of an industry that’s now brimming with opportunity for communicators. We’re starting to see the same thing happening in areas like higher education and healthcare too.