Genuine

Humanizing Your Payments Content

Updated: 21 March 2024

Why do many B2B many payments technology companies still deliver most of their content with a single point-of-view (POV)? 

Yes, a well-developed POV can help build a fintech brand’s personality, authenticity, and individuality. But does single POV content work as well in B2B fintech, especially in payments technology, where buyers want to know there is a real expertise and people behind the product? 

Here’s what marketers think about this.

Content Teams Can Produce Single POV Content Faster

“[Single POV content] is faster to write,” said Leticia Resende, Global Marketing Manager at PrimeiroPay. “For marketers with a small content team [who] still want to keep a good pace of publication, they will need this type of content,” she said.  “Single view doesn’t always mean narrow-minded. You can do lots of research to make content more informative. Of course, readers need to look out for confirmation bias.”

Interviews Can Add to Content Marketer Workloads

This is where interview-based content can be more valuable. “Interviews are more engaging because people relate to other people. It’s a simple fact,” said Resende. 

“They are more informative and educational, since multiple sources, with different points of view can broaden a discussion,” she explained. 

But the time investment for busy paytech marketing teams or solo content marketers can be significant. “Interviews, fact-checking, writing, and source approval — all of these take time. So, writers need to keep in mind that interviews will consume more time,” she said.

Audiences and Experts Share Interview-Based Content More

But that time investment may be worthwhile if you can make it, according to Fit Small Business Payments and POS Content Marketer, Meaghan Brophy. “It takes time to build authority, expertise, and trust in the eyes of Google and readers. Using interview-based content with the viewpoints and commentary of known experts makes content immediately authoritative,” she said.  “The experts being interviewed are [also] likely to share the content, and other readers or experts may be more inclined to engage with the content or share it,” added Brophy.

Single POV Content Enables Fewer Sales

Samantha Avneri, Marketing Director at Regpack, believes interview-based content can also be useful for B2B sales teams.  “We work with different industries and that can be challenging to tailor our offering in an industry-specific way, versus general. [Interview-based content] allows us to have resources the sales team can pick and choose from to help nurture a sale, show value for them specifically, and provide referrals via our clients to prospective clients in a more passive way,” said Avneri.

How Square Uses Customers Quotes

Look at how Square has grown using interesting stories about its small business customers. Square focuses on stories from business-owners across specific industries, to give their content a relatable, real feel. 

By showing how it is invested in the success — and challenges — of its customers, Square is proving it can add value to customers’ businesses. It’s a powerful way of boosting word-of-mouth and awareness of their solutions, which include POS terminals and other payment methods.

Square is a prime example of how a payments company can depart from technical topics to produce interview-based stories that resonate with audiences long after they are first published.

Pairing In-House Experts with the Right Writers

You can provide your audience with a blend of interview-based and single POV content.

“That requires subject matter experts within your staff who know what you’re doing with content creation. If you’re a payments company trying to create content without that, it will be pretty hard,” said Darcie Lamond, Director of Corporate Brand at Airbase.

Single POV content alone can become ‘old and boring’, said Lamond, adding that’s why payments companies need to bring in new voices and fresh points of view. “At Airbase, we have the luxury of doing both. It’s about bringing in people who obviously have industry experience and have a background in the desired area, but also people who have a content and writing background and combining both their skills to create the strongest output possible,” she said.

Humanizing Payments Content Marketing

Payments technology is a crowded field. Online retailers and global businesses are constantly seeking better ways to manage payment processing costs and international transfer fees. Single POV content may help build awareness when a payments business is new, but it less effective as the company scales up. As Square shows, stories laden with real people will always cut through.

<span style="color:#000; font-size:16px;">Written by</span><br> Luke O'Neill
Written by
Luke O'Neill

Luke O’Neill is Genuine's founder. He is a writer and content strategist, who spends his days advising B2B fintech and financial services businesses. Luke's writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Irish Times.

You may also like