Introducing Finfluential, tracking emerging sources of influence in the investment industry
Key takeaways:
- Awareness and visibility in the investment industry depends on making relevant connections.
- New publications and creators today influence financial advisors and other professional investors.
- Lowe Group is launching Finfluential to spotlight the new influences, their reach and their appeal.
We are obsessed with influence. As a financial PR and digital marketing strategy agency, Lowe Group’s specialty is understanding influence—who has it and how to engage it.
Here’s the thinking behind today’s announcement of our new newsletter Finfluential on Substack.
At all times, clients for PR and digital marketing services seek greater awareness than they currently enjoy. To be able to deliver on client expectations, Lowe Group effectiveness is contingent upon making connections that will be valuable in raising awareness among target audiences.
An invitation to appear on CNBC? That’s a no-brainer, no client would pass that up. But what’s the value of an interview on a podcast a portfolio manager has never heard of? That’s a case we may need to make, as Jody Lowe has commented (see Smaller podcasts can offer just as much value).
We do it because we understand the influence of the podcast—and that guesting on it may be to the client’s greater advantage than appearing on a cable TV show.
On the digital marketing side, too, our focus is on firms’ visibility. Often that takes the form of identifying gaps in online visibility (often to the client’s surprise) and why they need to be addressed. Other times, we’ll make media buying recommendations that are off the beaten path but known to be able to deliver.
We add value by paying attention to evolving or emerging opportunities that have the potential to “influence”—broadly defined as the ability to affect beliefs, behaviors and/or decisions.
In earlier times, influence in the investment industry was centered on known entities: the leading financial publications and media sites (Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Bloomberg, et al), trade publications (Investment News, Pensions & investments, Ignites, et al), and platforms (Morningstar).
Influential individuals such as Jonathan Clements, Jason Zweig, Randy Forsyth, Joe Mansueto and Don Phillips typically were associated with those publications. All are still influential today. Specific influences changed, of course, but over time.
Who should subscribe to Finfluential
Subscribe to Finfluential if you're:
- An investment communications or marketing professional eager to keep up with emerging influences
- A financial advisor or professional investor interested in new information sources your peers are gravitating to
- A new content creator yourself
That is not today’s environment.
Plenty has been made of finfluencers, the term typically reserved for those creating financial and investment content on TikTok and other social media platforms, often sponsored by financial services providers. Undoubtedly, they are part of the change underway today and worthy of attention.
Historically, as we detail in our debut Finfluential post, the individuals who have had the most durable influence—from Bloomberg to Mansueto to Ritholtz to Fuhr—have come from within the industry. They were close enough to spot an information gap and passionate enough to commit themselves to closing it.
So, no, the finfluencers are not what we consider the most interesting developments in investment industry influence. Rather, it’s the proliferation—and virality in many cases—of new professional perspectives, new publications/newsletters and highly prolific individual content creators that we find intriguing.
We recognize their ability to a) size up an information need in the marketplace and b) successfully get the word out and attract readers/followers/subscribers/advocates. These new communicators represent disruption and, to the extent they monetize their readership, dislocation in the marketplace.
We make it our business to track all of this, and we’re fascinated by what the newcomers bring that’s different from the status quo.
"It’s because of this and because we’re so convinced that this evolution is changing the game that we’re introducing a newsletter singularly focused on new influences.
Each post will spotlight a creator, a publication, even an idea that’s new and worthy of our collective attention."
Finfluential is our way of getting a handle on new influences that are out there—and a way for you to learn along with us. We’re aware that most investment communications professionals have more to do than spend their days online, surveying what people are saying and sharing. It’s possible to miss what your client segments are reacting to.
This is part of what we do. We spot ideas and people who break out. Our goal is for you to use Finfluential to keep up to date.
And, when the time comes, we’d appreciate your returning the favor—send us an email if something new comes across your radar. Our intent is to cast a wide net, should be fun!
Subscribe today to receive tomorrow’s first profile: It's a Q&A with Brent Sullivan, the independent consultant who took it upon himself to map the universe of direct indexing providers, and invite review and commentary on LinkedIn. His work became an instant industry resource and yes, Brent is now an industry influencer.
Even if taxation isn't your thing, Brent has some provocative things to say about what brands have to learn about getting attention, especially from advisors.
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