By Jessie Li

Most managers believe in the need to market their fund in order to grow AUM, and plenty commit to doing so. The hard part though is coming up with impactful content consistently that engages their prospective and current investors.

The plain fact is that it is a struggle to create content consistently, let alone content that is impactful and engaging to your audience. “Writers’ block”, some say.

Get over this ‘block’ by considering two attributes when coming up with content: (1) Recency, & (2) Relevancy. The core attributes in generating a poignant message that captures your audience’s attention, and leaves a lasting impression.

1. Recency: People are likely to pay more attention to things that are current; your prospective investors are just like you – they want to know what’s happening in the world and how current affairs may impact their investments.

2. Relevancy: Ask yourself if the topic and your message is relevant to your audience (i.e. your prospective and current investors), and relevant to your strategy. Furthermore, the way in which you present these relevant topics should align with your brand, knowing that each time you push content out, you’re shaping your audience’s perception of you.

CASE IN POINT

Just a couple of weeks ago, Volkswagen revealed a project that they’re currently working on in Sweden, and it made the news globally.

A quick summary:

– Volkswagen made phone cases out of crashed cars

– These phone cases were made from crashed cars’ scrap metal

– Cause of accident for these cars: distracted driving (using a mobile phone)

All of these phone cases were heavily scratched or contained deep gashes on them from accidents, giving the user a very surreal experience of the violent accidents behind the product.

The message plays on recency because of the increasing number of accidents caused by distracted driving.

It plays on relevancy because consumers who had purchased these cases most likely had a mobile phone. It’s a safe assumption that a large subset of these consumers also are drivers.

A project to raise awareness, but arguably also good marketing for a firm which has had its own bad share of PR in the past.

APPLY ‘RECENCY’ AND ‘RELEVANCY’

Big moves in the market? Macro-economic trends that may influence capital markets? Opinion pieces that you agree or disagree with?

Your chance to communicate with your audience.