Case Study: Podcast + Alexa Flash Briefing for Women-Led Wealth Management Firm
Aspen Wealth Management is an RIA based in Fort Worth, Texas. Their daily audio briefing embodies their transparent approach to financial planning with an emphasis on relationships. (Photo by Enrique Macias on Unsplash.)
Financial advice "by women, for women, and the men who love them."
Relationships are the keyword for Aspen Wealth Management. They’re a fee-only, comprehensive financial planning firm located in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aspen Wealth Management offers an honest and transparent approach to financial, retirement, tax and investment planning for individuals, families, and small businesses, with an emphasis on building relationships.
A Strong Foundation, Not Just Investing Results
Helen Stephens founded Aspen Wealth Management in late 2011. Helen has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional since 1993, an Enrolled Agent (EA) since 2009, and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of financial services.
Candace Scholz is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and joined Aspen Wealth Management in 2015.
During our second planning call, Candace shared this insight about what makes Aspen unique:
Most clients will say that investment returns are key. In fact, Dimensional Fund Advisors polled the clients of other advisors who are the same size as our firm. Across the board, most clients responded that the most important factor in their satisfaction with their advisor was their investment returns.
Except for our clients. They said that their overall financial plan is key.
It is NOT just about investing, it’s the value of understanding all the facets of your life and how this impacts your finances and your future. Having a strong foundation to move confidently forward in your life - this is what our clients value in Aspen as their financial guide.
DFA cornered us and said: “You’re the only firm with these results (where clients highly valued the holistic plan).”
The Solution
We helped Aspen Wealth Management launch Purposeful Planning, a daily briefing featuring investing and retirement advice. It’s a mini podcast and is available on Alexa Flash Briefing (Alexa’s native news feature).
Candace explained, “Every member of our team focuses on making our clients and their families feel comfortable when discussing financial decisions that can potentially be stressful and could have a great impact on their lives.”
How could we translate those values into content marketing?
We help people.
What really stood out after getting to know the team at Aspen Wealth Management is how passionate they are about helping clients. This is a reason we love working with financial advisors. People in this profession really do care. You can hear it all in Helen’s emotional and touching client stories that she shared on the pilot episode “Good Cop, Bad Cop” on TD Ameritrade’s podcast, Beyond the Portfolio:
“Helen has a strong personality and no-nonsense attitude. But, more importantly, Helen knows when to play good cop and when to play bad cop.” Listen on Overcast.
Alexa Flash Briefing allows anyone with an Amazon Echo or the Alexa smartphone app to get short daily news by saying, “Alexa, news.” This is an easy way to push out helpful content in bite size chunks.
We created a content plan and specific step-by-step guidance to help Aspen launch a mini podcast.
How We Named the Show:
We went through a branding exercise together, having them team free associate with adjectives and nouns or phrases that embodied their brand. After coming up with a dozen options for show names, we settled on one of our earliest ideas.
Because the purpose behind their planning is their foundation, the title Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management was an obvious choice for meaning as well as keywords for search.
Podcast and flash briefing features:
Length: 2-3 minutes average, new episodes every weekday
Audio only: available as an Alexa Flash Briefing and as a standard podcast
Multiple voices/hosts - showcasing the Aspen team
Original sonic branding that we created with a partner musician (intro / outro music, play a sample below)
Weekly and monthly themes incorporating seasonality or current events (such as a presidential election, tax season, or handling the COVID-19 stock market and volatility)
We trained the team in best practices and tools for producing a daily 3-minute briefcast (AKA mini podcast). Play a sample briefing:
Results
328% increase in plays over past 30 days (as of August 2020)
Over 1,100 listens in the first three months with zero advertising (only organic social media promotion)
Ranking #1 on Alexa Skills search for terms like “financial advice”
Social posts with audiograms from the briefing garner 66% increased engagement on Twitter and Facebook
Aspen Wealth’s Flash Briefing skill is ranking #1 on Amazon under Alexa Skills for search terms such as “financial advice”
Hear Purposeful Planning Everywhere:
On Amazon Alexa: Enable the Alexa skill here then say, “Alexa, news.”
On Google Assistant (Google Home smart speaker, Google Assistant iOS app, or Android device):
Say, “Hey Google, play the latest episode of Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management”
How do you grow an Alexa Flash Briefing?
To organically grow your Alexa skill, optimize your skill icon, title, description, and keywords on your settings in the Alexa Developer Console following SEO best practices.
Share clips as audiograms on social media.
In social posts or emails, include clear instructions and links for people to enable the skill, play the Flash Briefing, and subscribe to the podcast. More tips here: how to grow your flash briefing.
Audiograms are still images with audio and captions that get high engagement on social media. Podcast hosts can share short clips effectively with audiograms. See this audiogram tweet featuring Candace hosting the flash briefing.
See those social posts from Tip #3 above in action: Aspen is now sharing audiograms like this and this.
By the way, you should really have a Plink if you have a podcast. It’s that 1-click podcast link we shared above.
Here’s why (video) or read more about podcast marketing tips on our blog.
Have a specific marketing need? get 30-minute coaching.
Case Study: Content Marketing + Alexa Voice Strategy for UX Design Agency - Nine Labs
Nine Labs is an Atlanta-based user experience and product design firm with clients including major airlines, hotels, and startups.
The problem:
With years of blog posts, podcasts, videos, white papers, and ebooks there was plenty of content but no strategic method to effectively share it on social media. Potential traffic and leads were left on the table. Nine Labs wanted to organize and share all their content to increase engagement, brand recognition, and ultimately leads.
Nine Labs: Made with ❤️in Atlanta, GA
The solution:
We created a robust social media marketing strategy and guide to help Nine Labs with content marketing. We also launched an Alexa Flash Briefing to establish a voice presence in the UX design category. Then we provided ongoing guidance in implementing, empowering their in-house team to manage it.
Custom Content Marketing Strategy
Goals:
Increase blog traffic
Increase leads
Increase social engagement
Establish voice presence on Alexa
Strategy characteristics:
Content buckets and monthly themes based on Nine Labs’ driving principles from 4 Steps to a Human Centered Business Model
Specific guidelines to create social posts (text, graphics, video, and audiograms) for different social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn - each with different goals and slightly different audiences
Introduction of audiograms
Guidelines on creating effective, short audiograms for Instagram and Twitter by repurposing past podcast and YouTube video content
Audiogram for Instagram (static image with 1-minute audio and captions)
Alexa Skills search ranking in app for “UX design” keywords - Nine Labs Flash Briefing
Brand separation from executive profile: Clarity and direction on content strategy for CEO (and helluva smart guy) J Cornelius’s personal brand and the Nine Labs brand
Strategy and launch of Design Driven, an Alexa Flash Briefing about UX and product
Fact: Design-driven companies outperform the S&P by 228%.
Interested in the intersection of business, design, UX, and product development? Enable this daily briefing about using design to build great products and lasting companies.
Repurposing and repackaging high quality content instead of starting from scratch, saving the client time
Optimize lead magnet forms on blog and website
Strategically drive traffic to lead magnets, downloadable PDFs, and blog
Optimized Alexa Flash Briefing keywords, description, and daily content. Hear past briefings below:
Results of 8-week marketing engagement:
Obsess over your customers. #uxdesign
Increase in social engagements:
Facebook up 21%
Instagram up 893% (from 312 to 3,100)
Twitter up 178%
LinkedIn from 0 to 48 average weekly engagements
Increased blog traffic and leads from social
VOICE SEARCH OPTIMIZATION: Within two weeks, ranked on page 1 , top three results of Alexa Skills search results for terms including “ux”, “product design,” and “ux design”
Empowered marketing team to efficiently run with this strategy on their own
“Emily has an incisive mind about marketing and how voice is rapidly changing the landscape. She worked hard to find the right use of the technology without compromising quality or our brand message.”
Why We Love Nine Labs
If you need guidance on designing a digital product, we recommend J Cornelius and his ace team at Nine Labs. Hands down, they’re the best. Nine Labs understands design and how it fits into business as a whole. They also run killer workshops and training.
Get the best thinking from startups and enterprise to give your projects the support to succeed. https://ninelabs.com/
Case Study: Josh Brown's Mini-Podcast "The Compound Show" - Alexa Skill
What if you could listen in on regular conversations between professionals working in money management?
We created the strategy and built a custom Alexa Skill for Ritholtz Wealth Management called The Compound Show. After launching their Market Moment Flash Briefing in 2018, in 2019 the RWM team wanted to expand on the voice marketing strategy to increase their early adopter voice marketing footprint.
As trailblazers in blogging and social media in the personal finance and investing space, the Ritholtz Mafia wanted to be early to voice, too.
Josh and Emily discuss Ritholtz's Alexa Skills. Hear why RWM is "kind of a big deal" when it comes to voice in the finance space.
Read more about Josh Brown (@reformedbroker) and Barry Ritholtz (@ritholtz), the forces behind some of the most popular investing blogs, videos, television, and social media accounts: Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz: From breakout bloggers to RIA rock stars
Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz. Image courtesy of Citywire USA, 2018.
THE COMPOUND SHOW (Original version) - MINI-PODCAST AND ALEXA SKILL
Ritholtz Wealth Management is an RIA with roughly $2.57 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of May 2023.
In March 2019, we launched a first-of-its-kind custom voice Alexa Skill and mini-podcast about investing based on the popular The Compound YouTube channel.
Josh Brown explained our project “The Compound Show” in its first iteration and how his goal was to disrupt the traditional lengthy podcast format:
I invented the mini-podcast. All the financial industry and investment-oriented podcasts are an hour long or more. I think that’s because the person whose podcast it is feels bad about asking a guest to come on and then cutting them short. Some podcasts should be an hour – Patrick O’Shaugnhnessy interviewing Michael Mauboussin, for example, or Barry Ritholtz interviewing Ray Dalio, or Michael Kitces interviewing Ric Edelman.
But most podcasts are too long and not every guest has an hour-plus worth of stuff you want to hear. However, the format persists.
I think it’s just something that’s become a tradition – to interview each guest for an hour and change – even though that’s not what the listener actually needs or wants from every conversation.
-Josh Brown
Original logo for The Compound Show mini-podcast and Alexa Skill
For this podcast, Josh recorded 10-12 minute phone calls with investing experts to give the audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse. We synced the RSS feed to his custom Alexa Skill available by voice command.
2021 update:
With a growing audience, Ritholtz and team rebranded and expanded the show, making it a weekly full length YouTube podcast. It’s fantastic and has topped the Apple Podcasts top 10 financial podcast rankings as of 2023.
You can hear it on your favorite podcast app or hands-free by saying: “Alexa, play The Compound and Friends” or “Hey Siri, play The Compound and Friends.”
Case Study: Fintech - Social Media Strategy for Global Payments Provider (Remittance)
The problem:
A successful fintech company with a monopoly on maritime payments had little to no brand presence on social media. As part of a brand overhaul and website update, we began a strategic effort to build the professional brand and thought leadership presence. As an award-winning fintech, this client wanted their LinkedIn and Twitter presence to reflect their commitment to democratizing global payments with innovative technology. Also important to convey: healthy culture and a great place to work with people who care.
The solution:
We focused on three audiences: local business and fintech, job seekers and candidates, and current employees. Through content marketing, hands-on daily management, and community building, after six months we had great results:
Objectives:
Post consistently on LinkedIn and Twitter (@BrightwellApp)
Increase overall social engagement rate
Grow followers
Establish a presence as subject matter experts and a source of industry updates
Organic growth - fintech brand Twitter account
July-December 2018 Organic Follower Growth:
4x increase - Twitter
57% increase - LinkedIn
Tactics - content we shared and promoted:
Variety of topical articles from quality industry publications and users
Add commentary and insights for original viewpoint
Tag engaged users and authors
Behind the scenes photos (conferences, events, office culture)
Relief campaigns for disaster relief in users’ home countries such as Indonesia
Job posts
Twitter: Built original Lists to curate quality content faster
LinkedIn Followers (Organic)
Relief campaign for natural disaster: went viral organically on Twitter
LinkedIn and Twitter:
We established consistent brand presence beginning in July 2018
We created steady organic follower growth
What happened?
LinkedIn post engagement:
Before our work: 2%
After two months: 19%
Case Study: Fintech App Adoption: Facebook Advertising for Brightwell Payments
We launched an organic and paid social media strategy from ground zero, resulting in over a 110% increase in app MAU (monthly active users) in 2018.
About Brightwell:
Brightwell is an Atlanta-based fintech company offering end-to-end payment solutions through cutting edge technology and unparalleled support, serving cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Costa, Princess, and AIDA.
End Users (Audience for Ads):
Cruise crew members and seafarers who live all over the world, concentrated in Indonesia, Philippines, and India. Many of these seafarers are unbanked or underbanked. They work on ship for months at a time and travel to their home countries in between.
Carnival Cruise employees are paid through Brightwell.
Our Goal:
Educate and increase app adoption among a user base largely unfamiliar with digital payments, credit cards, and banking. Change habits from mainly cash and ATM use to online transfers within the Brightwell Navigator app.
Challenges:
Language barriers
Technology barriers (many crew lack experience with online banking)
Spotty and slow Wi-Fi onboard ship
High turnover of active crew
Crew’s mistrust of payments providers due to past negative experiences
Cash-centric cultures such as Philippines
Strategy:
Facebook and Instagram advertising targeting crew members, encouraging app install and adoption through features and benefits as well as persona-based messaging.
We created customer personas (AKA avatars) for each nationality on ship because culture plays a key role in relationships with money, both emotionally and logistically when it comes to banking.
Year 1 of Facebook Advertising:
launch, test, iterate, optimize, repeat
Results:
Over 110% increase in MAU (monthly active users)
Decreased CPI (cost per app install) to one-tenth that of the benchmark / goal
Optimized CPC and CTR with over 60% and 35% improvement, respectively
Brightwell remains a client as they continue to establish themselves as a major player in the payments space and one of the fastest growing companies in Transaction Alley (Atlanta’s fintech ecosystem).