It’s no surprise, financial education in the UK is notoriously thin. Lots of the new fintechs offer better options than incumbent banks, but people might not realise that, or even know something better exists.

But the relationship between ‘consumer education’ and subtle marketing isn’t lost on UK journalists. Of course, stories that help their readers manage their money better are always welcome, but it’s a fine line when that education leads them straight into the arms of your brand. 

The press doesn’t want to be used as a promotional tool and they’re unlikely to cover a story that feels too overtly positive about one specific company (no “puff pieces”).

So if you have a consumer education campaign promoting your product that relies very heavily on earned media, you might not get the cut through you want. So how does your brand educate people, without relying solely on the press?

Build your own content hubs:

Obvious? Yes. Underutilised? Also yes. 

Many brands are doubling down on their own content to educate and build communities among their customers. It works because you’re not relying on a third party to communicate your message. 

You can publish what you want when you want, and be more upfront about the links to your brand or business. Newsletters, podcasts, and youtube channels are all great ways to establish consumer education. 

Really genuinely good content gets shared by people, so focus on making it the best possible education tool it can be. The less commercial and more objective you’re willing to be, the better.

Targeted advertising on social:

You haven’t come to a PR blog to be told to spend money on Meta, I appreciate that. But if the goal of your education is to get in front of new people and potential customers, owned media will only get you so far. Placing your existing hubs and landing pages in front of new audiences can draw in more people. 

This one’s pretty simple.

Working with influencers:

If you want to access a new audience, ‘fin-fluencers’ are on the rise. (It must be true, because it’s in The FT). They offer a great balance of impartiality and objectivity, while still targeting an untapped and highly interested audience. 

While there’s naturally a commercial relationship in place here, good influencers are very choosy about who they partner with, and don’t support brands they don’t respect. Their followers appreciate and value their opinion, making them a great partner for education initiatives that might fall a little brand heavy.

So does that mean I shouldn’t bother with consumer education PR?

Of course not. Consumer education can still perform brilliantly in PR, but it’s not a 100% success rate, and depending on the education, other methods are better.

If you want a great example of consumer education performing well in PR, I love Starling Bank and ThirdCity’s #MakeMoneyEqualCampaign. In particular their story around the representation of women and men in stock photos relating to money. 

You can see their release here, and coverage included The i, The Telegraph, The Times and plenty more. 

It’s a good example, because there’s a ‘shock’ news element to grab headlines (statistics on the way women and men are portrayed in stock photography), the launch of a solution to this problem that’s free to access (the image bank) and it all maintains a healthy distance from Starling Bank as a solution. 

Very good ThirdCity, and Starling!