Northwestern Mutual's Pinterest quiz tests industry's social media limits

Northwestern Mutual is seeking to convert Pinterest users into financial planning clients through a visual quiz that leads to the firm's website. With many financial advisors still having no social media presence, the collaboration is marching into relatively new territory for the industry.

The giant Milwaukee-based insurer and wealth management firm launched its "From Pinning to Planning" questionnaire this month on Pinterest, the social media network where 450 million active users share images, videos, recipes, vision boards and other content. Women comprise the vast majority of the users, with 29% of them female consumers between 25 to 34 years old, according to research by social media software firm Hootsuite cited by Susan Theder, the chief marketing and experience officer of financial advisor website and branding company FMG Suite. 

Most brokerages forbid advisors from using Pinterest in an official capacity because of compliance rules mandating the archiving and monitoring of social media posts and client communications, Theder noted in an email interview. She has seen some advisors and firms posting "visual thumbnails and infographics that link to articles on their websites," but didn't know of any trying to use the platform for marketing or lead generation, she said. 

"The key to all social media marketing is to first, understand who you're really trying to reach, second, post on the platform where that audience is likely to spend time and, third, post content that relates to the way in which they use that platform," Theder said. 

"Most Pinterest users are not going there to search for financial information," she continued. "The top keyword searches are nails, dinner ideas, recipes, wallpaper, and tattoo ideas. So, the key would be to share ideas related to things people go to Pinterest for that have a connection to financial planning, such as travel, home renovation or building, weddings and things that typically require savings and plans to fund them."  

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Northwestern Mutual, which didn't respond to a request for an interview about the social campaign, has set up its Pinterest quiz along those lines. Users navigate through three screens inviting them to choose among groups of pictures of "things you've been pinning lately," "things you're hoping to do someday," and "things you'd love to do this year." Weddings, travel, children and home improvement figure prominently on all three screens.

Based on the selections, the quiz assigns the user one of eight personas: "sustainable sightseer, immersive experientialist, trendsetter bride, destination bride, progressive parent, new parents, restoration maker and visionary." The system then displays a tailored video of a Northwestern Mutual advisor, with a link to access more information on the firm's website. 

Northwestern Mutual, which generated record revenue of nearly $35 billion last year and added $22 billion in wealth management client assets to reach $227 billion, rolled out the Pinterest quiz as part of the "Great Realization" ad campaign and survey it launched this past fall.

"The Great Realization showed us that Americans have an overwhelming desire to pursue their dreams, but there are still barriers to where or how to start saving with financial planning," Northwestern Mutual Chief Marketing Officer Lynn Teo said in a statement. "With more than 450 million people turning to Pinterest every month to create vision boards, this gives us an opportunity to show individuals how they can make their dreams happen, all through the help of Northwestern Mutual financial advisors."

From traditional television and radio commercials to newer efforts that tap into social media, wealth management firms spend prodigiously on marketing and leads in an effort to gain an edge over the competition. Advisors themselves run the gamut of building their first business website to social media mavens spreading their brands effectively and pushing back against bad financial advice videos and posts circulating online.

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The concept of Pinterest itself might seem foreign to many advisors. The platform ranks 14th in global users, just above Twitter and well behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and others, according to Hootsuite. Just 1.8% of global social media users called Pinterest their favorite network. However, more than 75% of Pinterest's users are women. Ads on the platform reached 226 million users, as of January 2022. 

In contrast, LinkedIn has drawn the most users among financial advisors, with 52% saying they had a presence on the platform in 2021, followed by Facebook (25%), Twitter (22%), YouTube (8%) and Instagram (8%), according to the latest "Investment Adviser Industry Snapshot" from the Investment Adviser Association and NRS, a ComplySci Company. At least 10% reported that they had no social media accounts.

The Pinterest quiz represents an "interesting and good strategy" for targeting younger women to be potential customers, according to Theder, whose firm works with advisors and wealth management firms but doesn't do any business with Northwestern Mutual.

The firm's photo questionnaire "looks like it is designed to connect with this Generation Z target audience and position Northwestern Mutual as the partner to help them achieve their life goals, from buying a house and getting married to paying down student loans all the way to saving for retirement," Theder said. "I think the quiz topics are spot on and do a good job of connecting Pinterest 'projects' with financial planning content."

In terms of advisors' own strategies on social media, Theder recommends they shift from thinking about sales and leads and consider what they hope to accomplish, whom they want to engage and which types of platforms and content will send a consistent message.

"Advisors need to better understand what marketing to which goals social media best lends itself," she said. "Social media is best suited to help 1) advisors build their personal brands by sharing authentic posts that enable others to virtually get to know their passions, interests and areas of expertise (both personal and professional). And 2) establish themselves as a thought leader by freely sharing timely, valuable financial planning content with no strings attached."