White papers and in-depth reports are the most useful and influential content types for institutional investors according to a survey. They are well-suited for the entire sales funnel from awareness to conversion. Blogs sit at the top and bottom of the funnel as they lack conversion power. Best practices for long-form content include taking a client-first approach without sales pitches, using keywords, executive summaries, and distributing through multiple channels including email. Top future content trends include producing more evergreen, problem-solving content with a longer shelf-life to maximize ROI as content overload increases.

1. Content that Converts
Engaging and Influencing Institutional Investors
Presentation by Ximene Weaver, Head of Content

2. Agenda
▪ Which content type is best for engaging and influencing
institutional investors
▪ The elusive ROI: Defining value in thought leadership
▪ Optimise engagement and generate more leads with these best
practices and top tips

3. Ex-Industry
Content Team –
portfolio managers,
traders and
investment marketers
Content
aggregation platform for
investment white papers
and thought leadership
30,000
monthly
downloads by our
network members
9,000
content uploads
annually by the
Savvy Investor
Content Team
50,000
members – primarily
asset owners, asset
managers and
investment
consultants

4. The status quo
The Digital Content
Landscape

5. Today’s digital content
landscape is like a big,
busy city

6. Technology, digitalisation and
social media has re-defined the
content landscape
immeasurably

7. And it continues to evolve…
• When and where we consume (time of day, commute, work, home)
• The way we consume (watching, listening, scrolling, scanning vs. reading)
• How we find content (social media, search engines, aggregation sites, email, blogs)
Habits
• Format (social posts, web articles, downloadable PDFs, audio or visual)
• Style (tone of voice, look and feel, formality, length)
• Approach (update, opinion, though-provoking, depth)
Preferences
• How brands should provide and distributing content (social media, website, email)
• The volume and type of content (weekly, daily, long/short, multi-media)
• Personalisation (targeting, segmentation, irrelevant content)
Expectations
It has fundamentally changed:

8. That’s a lot for investment
marketers to contend with.

9. So – what’s best for an institutional
investor audience?
And how do you truly influence and
resonate with quality prospects
against this backdrop?

10. Are white papers dead?
Are blogs the new black?
Is video essential?
Should we have more infographics?
Do we need a podcast?
Savvy Survey
Which Content
Type is Best?

11. POLL
Which content types are best for
institutional investor engagement?
(video, white paper, blog, podcast,
webinar or in-depth report)

12. Which Content Type is Best for Engagement?
White
papers
In-depth
reports
Blogs Webinar Video Podcast
As measured by ‘most useful’ and ‘most likely to influence your view of quality’ in a survey of institutional investors
1 2 3 4 5 6
MOST LEAST
Savvy Survey says…
Survey results
Note: 232 respondents. Source: Savvy Investor Content Engagement Survey 2020

13. Note: 232 respondents. Source: Savvy Investor Content Engagement Survey 2020
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
White Papers on
Investment Principles
or Strategies
In-depth reports on the
Investment Outlook
Webinars Videos Podcasts Blog posts on the
Investment Outlook
Blog Posts on
Investment Principles
Most useful (1) 2 3 4 5 6 Least useful (7)
56%
25%
Blogs combined: 10%
5%
2% 2%
5% 5%
26% 27%
Which Content Type do you Find Most Useful?
Survey results
Savvy Survey says…

14. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
White Papers on
Investment Principles
or Strategies
In-depth reports on the
Investment Outlook
Webinars Videos Podcasts Blog posts on the
Investment Outlook
Blog Posts on
Investment Principles
Most likely (1) 2 3 4 5 6 Least likely (7)
MORE ‘INFLUENTIAL’
THAN ‘USEFUL’
Which Content Type is Most Likely to Influence
Your View of The Quality of an AM Firm?
Note: 232 respondents. Source: Savvy Investor Content Engagement Survey 2020
54%
31%
4%
0% 1%
4% 6%
Survey results
LESS ‘INFLUENTIAL’
THAN ‘USEFUL’
BLOGS COMBINED: 10%
Savvy Survey says…

15. AWARENESS
INTEREST
LOYALTY
SALE/INVEST
CONVERSION
WHITE PAPERS AND IN-DEPTH REPORTS
Due to their usefulness,
and especially their
‘I-Factor’ (influencing
potential), white papers
and in-depth reports are
well-placed across the
entire sales funnel
The Sales Funnel: White papers and in-depth reports
Investment marketing strategy for institutional investors
Source: Savvy Investor, for illustrative purposes only
Savvy Insight

16. Investment marketing strategy for institutional investors
Blogs tend to sit at the
top and bottom of the
sales funnel –
they don’t carry much
conversion or sales
power
AWARENESS
INTEREST
LOYALTY
SALE/INVEST
CONVERSION
BLOGS
BLOGS
The Sales Funnel: Blogs
Source: Savvy Investor, for illustrative purposes only
Savvy Insight

17. Top tips and best practices for long-form/in
depth content
Savvy Insight
How to Create
Content that Delivers
Results and ROI

18. Planning
✓Client first
✓No sales pitch
✓Keywords
✓Depth
✓CTAs/ journey
Content
✓Look/Feel/Tone
✓Exec Summary
✓Scanable
✓Visual aids
✓Depth
Distribution
✓PDF/Download
✓Prioritise email
✓Multi-channel
✓Sales/RMs
✓Syndicate
Content Best Practices – Checklist
Long form, in-depth content for institutional investors
Before you embark on your next piece, ask yourself – have you considered all of these elements?
Savvy Insight

19. For the institutional investor audience in
2020 and beyond
Savvy Forecast
Top 5 Content
Marketing Trends

20. Content overload – A shift away from light-weight/reactive content
Move towards quality, depth and problem solving
Shelf life for mileage – ROI now more important than ever
Focus on evergreen, 3-6 months+, thematic, pillar content and series
Data will deepen – Better use of data will breed better content
Use it to inform your strategy and streamline
1
2
3
“MORE EVERGREEN
CONTENT IS LIKELY AS
THE VIRUS STORY WANES
AND FIRM BUDGETS
TIGHTEN. LONGER SHELF-
LIFE CONTENT AND DRIP-
FEED OR
ROTATE/REFRESH
CAMPAIGNS WILL
BECOME MAXIMISE ROI
WHEN IT MATTERS
MOST.”
Get Ahead: Top upcoming content trends
Our forecast for the future state of investment marketing content in 2020 and beyond
Savvy Survey hot topics: ESG, Alternatives and Asset Allocation
Savvy Forecast

21. Key Takeaways
Investment marketing ROI requires a
bespoke approach

22. Content Best Practices – Checklist
If you do nothing else – do this:
AVOID THE SALES PITCH
78% find AM content by email 90% prefer PDF over webpage 68% visit content platforms
Take a client-first
approach – what are
their questions, habits
and preferences?
GET DATA-DRIVENIT PAYS TO PROMOTECX AND USER JOURNEYTIME FOR A REVIEW?
Objectivity/impartiality is best
Consider your content’s
approach, tone of
voice, presentation
and distribution
Navigational cues
(on-site and within
content). Chose a
client-friendly format
Syndicate,
Syndicate,
Syndicate!
Feed your strategy
data, streamline
where possible and
prove ROI
Data allows you to be dynamic

23. Thank You
Questions?
For information on partnering with Savvy Investor please reach out to Stuart Blake at stuart.blake@savvyinvestor.net