A conversation with:
Federico Odello, Online SIM Sales Director
Irene Malin, Ersel Group Digital Marketing Manager
Online SIM has been the first Italian SIM, established in 2000 to operate in the market of common investment funds, allowing the purchase of online funds with a simple click. From 2004, Online SIM has become part of Ersel banking group, which specializes in the management of large Economic assets..
In Spring 2019, Online SIM turned to Nextatlas for an audience analysis in order to discover emerging segments and to strengthen the effectiveness of its marketing and communication strategy. After a few months after the analysis delivery, we met to discuss the impacts of the research and its real-world outcome.
The CTR of these campaigns has been 7,25% and we hit peaks of 14%. Compared to our previous campaigns these results are amazing
The services offered by Online SIM are digital. The communication channels adopted are online-only or offline as well?
Our core touchpoints are the website and the blog, established in 2015, especially for marketing content strategies purposes. We also manage several social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube, and we apply display strategies with/via Google Ads.
Other more traditional channels are print media and radio broadcasting. Every touchpoint has a specific purpose and is positioned in a conversion funnel that starts from the conception or individuation of an interest and ends up in the website and in the registering page.
Which are the best performing touchpoints?
Definitely the blog, which is crucial in reinforcing our positioning on search engines and is responsible for a solid 40% of the total traffic thanks to our high value content.
The blog performs perfectly because it is able to intercept a set of specific themes: if the user is interested, he can read in-depth content and from there be led to our website.
Which key pains do you encounter in managing your funnel?
In our field, the target audience is a very narrow niche, so we need to be extremely precise to communicate effectively. Furthermore, a service like ours requires a different assessment from the classic ones. We deal with concerns regarding the investment of one’s savings through an online platform: it is a significant choice that cannot be made on impulse. When the company is renowned, online customers opinions are positive and there is the certainty of not having any issues. This kind of credibility is the key to the effectiveness of an online funnel.
In our field, the target audience is a very narrow niche, so we need to be extremely precise to communicate effectively.
When you started your analysis project with Nextatlas, what was your main goal?
First of all, we wanted to understand our target, understand which kind of audience was in line with our message. For this reason, thanks to Nextatlas, we have focused on a specific group of users that were already interested in finance and investments. Understanding this group allowed us to spread the correct messages in order to reach the most interested users, allowing the message to resonate with the final client, increasing effectiveness, awareness and trust.
A series of segments have emerged from the analysis. While some where to be expected, were there any unexpected results?
We were certain to see the finance passionates and the technology enthusiasts: if you open an online-only bank account you probably already have a tendency to be digital.
Other segments were more surprising, with people interested in fields quite far from the themes we discuss.
Also in this case, we found a way to get close and to connect to their world, using recurrent themes and popular terms. For example, financial planning was a key theme and was set at the center of radio advertisements, making them direct and effective.
Other segments were more surprising, with people interested in fields quite far from the themes we discuss. Also in this case, we found a way to get close and to connect to their world
So, you measured the impact of your values for each defined segment?
Yes, we did. The most relevant values for each segment have been used in the radio campaign, which was broadcast in five different radio campaigns, one on each theme, explaining the OnlineSim available services and communicating our values. This approach in the choice of the content had a strongly positive outcome, allowing to triplicate online views.
How have you used Nextatlas for social media strategy?
After the target analysis, we optimized our social media and digital strategies, focusing on Twitter. We created five new target audience segments perfectly aligned with the ones defined by Nextatlas’ research. We used them in five different campaigns in order to promote some of our blog posts, associating each users’ group with their interests and preferences. For example, we targeted technology enthusiasts with articles about technology and AI, from car- sharing to cybersecurity.
What outcomes have you obtained from this strategy?
The CTR of these campaigns has been 7,25% and we hit peaks of 14%. Compared to our previous campaigns these results are amazing.
The radio campaign - ended in late June - and the one we made on Twitter gave us an unprecedented boost. After closing these campaigns, we will evaluate if we can work with the other three segments of Nextatlas’ analysis, that we have kept on hold for the moment.
Except those who have personally followed the analysis from brief to delivery, were there other people in the company interested in the research?
The marketing department and the management were informed of the work in progress. We have presented the work and the results obtained - and we are all definitely satisfied. We carefully choose everything that can benefit our marketing strategies and we constantly monitor the results.We produce several contents with great results but the risk of dispersing energies with ineffective messages is always present. This research allowed us to filter relevant information and to obtain great feedback in a shorter time period.
