The fact that you’re reading this Kalli Collective blog means two things:

• You have INCREDIBLE taste.
• You’re probably working in the Wealth/Financial Management sector.

There’s a stigma that comes with industries like finance that you have to be all serious all the time, but that’s simply not true. Yes, you’re dealing with people’s money, and as we all know, people take money very seriously. But just because you’re providing a precious service, doesn’t mean your marketing material has to be cold and robotic, lacking any flair or energy. In fact, showing warmth and your human side in your online content is valuable in connecting with customers. And there’s no better way of showing your human side than having a little FUN.

Every day, people are bombarded with ads. Some unique; most, very boring. When a social media user is scrolling through their daily feed of cute animal photos, hot takes, and what-have-you, if an ad doesn’t catch their interest immediately, it becomes nothing more than white noise. That’s why adding a spark of fun or personality is so essential in your strategy. You want to smack them in the face and say “Hey! Look at me! I’ve got something you might want! Also, sorry I smacked you in the face.” This means getting creative. Get out of your comfort zone and show your clients and potential clients things you wouldn’t expect from a “stuffy ol’ financial firm.” This could be as simple as posting about your company’s Hawaiian Shirt Day, or planned-out like a campaign of posts about all the thrilling adventures someone could go on during their retirement.

Breaking the monotony of your basic posts about interest rates or filing deadlines works two ways. Not only is it spicing up someone’s social feed with images and words of excitement and fun, it’s also showing your audience that you’re not some faceless person behind a computer screen. By tapping into the funner things in life you’re creating content that’s relatable and engaging.

The mantra of “if you have fun with it, run with it” extends to both words AND visuals. Don’t be scared to stretch your creative muscle and sprinkle in some eye-catching graphic design into your marketing. Bold colors, striking typography and evocative imagery can all stop a social scroller dead in their tracks. One visually-captivating image is worth 1,000 words, and that’s well beyond Twitter’s character limit, so get designing!

At this point, it should be said it’s perfectly okay and, in fact, encouraged to have fun on your social media WITHIN REASON. Always consider your target audience—who they are, what they’re interested in, and most importantly what would cause them to tune out. Basically you want your goal to be to have the type of fun that your core audience would also consider fun. It may take a little research and experimentation, but it’ll be worth it in the end. Also, and this should go without saying, don’t be offensive or try to stir up controversy. That’s not a good look for anyone.

With the internet being the main way most people get their information these days, it can feel intimidating to try to stand out from every competing business out there. But with a little creativity, willingness to be bold and help from Kalli Collective (because honestly that’s what this whole blog’s been leading up to), you can have an exciting, attention-grabbing marketing strategy that puts the “fun” back in “mutual funds.”