Browsing Rhotic Media’s vast content library, I was struck by the volume of copy we produce on one theme alone – sustainable investing. And with financial services under growing pressure by regulators and investors to demonstrate their green credentials and social mindfulness, commissions for blogs, features, news analysis, white papers and reports on the topic keep filtering in.
So, this has got me wondering of late whether the sector is getting close to ESG information saturation. From my editorial perch, it can sometimes feel that way. Everything that needs saying, has been said – several times over. The same terminology, the same mantras and sweeping statements appear repeatedly. So much so, it’s becoming difficult to distinguish one firm’s messaging from another’s.
Getting it right
Let me caveat the above. I’m in no way advocating for the sector to dumb down the importance of ESG in all its guises. Nor am I lobbying for any abandonment of firms waxing lyrical on their net- zero or impact investing goals and successes to date. For sustainability, particularly in relation to the climate crisis, is mission critical and must remain a top-line item to address. The financial sector has, after all, a key role to play in the global cause.
But overcommunication can risk diluting the message and, worse, raises the menacing spectre of audience fatigue. And other than reputational damage, that is probably a marketing/ PR department’s worst nightmare.
This is a concern I’m beginning to hear come up in conversation with a bit more regularity. And that is positive. It indicates an awareness among marketing professionals and content creators, alike, of a need to work harder to make their sustainability story stand out from the crowd if they are to keep their audiences engaged.
It is a challenge that will require deeper thinking on how to present ESG perspectives, objectives and achievements in a fresh, more imaginative way; finding unique selling points to differentiate a firm’s contribution to solving climate change conundrums from competitors.
Quality trumps quantity
For my pennies worth, when it comes to content, quality always trumps quantity. So, now is a good time to take a pause on ESG messaging and consider whether we are collectively, as an industry, presenting new insight to the market on this topic.
I’m reminded at this point of an analogy that Rhotic’s chief client officer, Elizabeth Pfeuti – a storyteller extraordinaire if ever there was one – shared as I was busying myself writing this column. It struck a chord.
Keeping the ESG narrative sounding original and newsworthy, she said, is akin to the latest pop sensation tasked with following up a highly successful platinum-selling first album with a second of equal quality. It’s not an easy task, and why many end upone-hit wonders. The most successful, on the other hand, find a way to reinvent themselves.
Content that empowers a company to stay memorable to its current audience, and capture the attention
of potential new business, is worth its weight in gold. So, in the world of sustainable investing communications, give serious consideration as to whether another text-dense annual survey report or white paper is the best way to achieve that, unless it is presenting truly ground-breaking information.
Time poor audiences
Readers today are more time pressured than ever. We all know this. Few have the desire to digest a 10- page plus document from cover to cover. The art is to convey your ESG message with brevity. And the more solutions-focused, the better.
Consider, for example, a series of short case studies than home in on how your business has handled and overcome specific ESG problems, or an interactive data-led infographic that showcases the journey to a successful outcome.
Have discussions with your clients about their ESG concerns – this is often a useful barometer of the issues to spotlight in your content.
Next time you face pressure to circulate more information on sustainable investing, pose this question: Are you adding anything new to the debate or telling a different story about your business’s contribution to ESG? Are you offering insight or answers to clients’ pressing questions?
Content churn for the sake of being seen to have an opinion may not be a value-add to the business’s marketing efforts. Sometimes, less is more.