How an innovative fin-tech platform adapted to reach, educate and engage a hesitant audience

The Inciting Project

Increase conversion of financial advisors onto Onramp platform

This innovative startup built a next-generation client management platform for financial advisors—an extremely useful and necessary tool, but converting their audience onto the Onramp platform was proving to be a challenge. They reached out to Digital Meaning to see if we could improve marketing engagement and conversions, specifically via email and social media channels.

The Real Challenge

A key finding leads to a vital strategic shift

We got to work with a strategic marketing playbook, looking closely at the competitive space and speaking with members of the financial professional community. Through this initial exploratory work, it became clear that Onramp was operating under an incorrect assumption: Financial advisors were reasonably informed of digital assets and comfortable discussing the topic with clients.

What we discovered was advisors were often less informed than their clients on the topic and thus, quite resistant to engage with clients about crypto, much less sign up for a crypto client platform. The Onramp team needed to refocus on informing and educating the financial advisor community on crypto from the ground up.

The Marketing Subscription Plan

Educate and build trust with a skeptical audience

While Onramp came to us to grow advisor engagement and investment, it was critical to initiate advisor education prior to pushing for investment. This vital first step would build trust in the brand and help advisors feel more confident in advising clients on the emerging asset class.

Our strategic recommendation was implemented across Onramp’s marketing tactics from key messages to website and social media updates:

Messaging

In order to drive initial engagement Onramp had to convey a supportive and informational tone vs pushing for investment up front. Advisors needed to feel that Onramp was a trusted ally as they made first steps into the world of crypto.

Onramp Academy

Previously Onramp charged a subscription fee for their Academy which kept a library of amazing content hidden behind a paywall. By making the Academy free, Onramp established an easily accessible destination for financial advisors to gain vital knowledge and build trust. The Academy then became a key destination for social media and email campaigns.

Website & Branding

Along with removing the payment barrier to the Academy, the Onramp website was redesigned with a warmer, inviting color palette, new logo, and updated messaging with a focus on learning about the digital asset landscape and signing up for a free consultation.

Social Media

We recommended a shift away from Twitter (X) to LinkedIn content distribution, again focusing on the education of the financial advisor. We also provided up-to-date LinkedIn optimization tips based on the platform’s latest updates. This drove a 5x increase in the company’s social media following by the financial advisor community.

The Learnings

Inform and educate … and they will come!

• Advisor community is risk averse and resistant to engage in asset classes they don’t fully understand
• Paywall on educational content was a big traffic and engagement limiter
• Transition to advisor education/information focus significantly improved open/engagement rates on marketing emails
• LinkedIn followers spiked 5X after algorithm optimization and educational content push