We’ve all been there. Standing in front of a landmark, phone held out at arm’s length, angling for the best light. The selfie isn’t really about the landmark. It’s about us. Where we are, what we’re doing, how we look while we’re doing it. A lot of financial services marketing works the exact same way. You point the camera at yourself. You talk about your history, your awards, your products and your “why.” You make your organization the star of your marketing.
There’s just one problem: nobody scrolling past your selfie cares. Your consumers are living their own story, not yours. And (as mentioned in another recent article) they’re tuned to one radio station: WIIFM – What’s In It For Me.
As Donald Miller lays out in his StoryBrand framework, your consumer is the hero of the story. You are not the hero; you’re the guide. Think Yoda…not Luke Skywalker.
When organizations forget that, here’s what selfie marketing tends to look like.
Three Symptoms of Selfie Marketing
- The “About Us” obsession – Walk through some websites and you see the “About Us” page treated like the crown jewel. The truth? Almost no one reads it. Consumers don’t care when you were founded. They care about their next car, their first house, their retirement and so on.
- Features over benefits – “We offer mobile check deposit, real-time alerts and zero-fee checking” is a features list. It tells. It doesn’t sell. Consumers want to know what those things mean for their lives: less time at a branch, fewer surprises, more money staying in their pockets. Remember: features tell, benefits sell.
- No consumer stories – If every piece of content is about your organization and never about the people you serve, you miss the most persuasive tool you have. What problem did a real person walk in with? What kept them up at night? How did you help them get unstuck?
Four Solutions to Selfish Financial Services Marketing
So, how do you stop taking financial services marketing selfies and start putting your consumers in the frame? A few practical shifts:
- Tell consumer stories – Find the small business owner who finally got the loan that opened their doors. The young family who bought their first home with your help. Turn those into case studies, videos and social posts. Let the hero’s journey play out in public.
- Use testimonials – There’s a reason testimonials convert better than almost any other content type: prospects trust other people more than they trust your marketing department. Ask happy consumers for a few sentences (or better, a thirty-second video) and use it everywhere.
- Lead with the problem, not the product – Instead of opening with “introducing our new auto loan,” open with the headache of overpaying at a dealership. Name the pain before you name the plan.
- Make your CTA about their next step, not your next sale – “Get your free rate check” serves the consumer. “Open an account today” serves you. Frame the call to action around them.
Plenty of brands already get this right. Patagonia rarely talks about itself; its marketing centers on customers who love the outdoors and the planet they want to protect. REI’s “Opt Outside” campaign isn’t about REI at all…it’s about the customer’s day off. Dove built an entire movement around how women see themselves…not around soap. None of those brands lead with their own logo. They lead with the people they serve.
You can do the same thing. Take a hard look at your last five pieces of financial services marketing content. Who’s the hero? If it’s you, it’s time to hand over the spotlight.
Stop taking selfies. Start telling your consumers’ stories. Need help doing that? Book a free consultation and let’s discuss.
FAQS: HOW TO FIX SELFISH FINANCIAL SERVICES MARKETING
What is "selfie marketing" and why is it a problem for financial services organizations?
Selfie marketing is when an organization makes itself the star of its own marketing — leading with its history, awards, products, and story rather than the consumer’s needs. Just as a selfie is really about the person holding the camera, this type of marketing centers the organization instead of the people it serves. The problem: consumers aren’t living your story. They’re living their own, and they’re tuned to WIIFM — What’s In It For Me. Marketing that ignores that gets scrolled past.
What are the most common symptoms of selfie marketing in financial services?
Three patterns appear most often. First, treating the “About Us” page as the centerpiece of a website, when consumers rarely read it — they care about their next car, first home, or retirement, not your founding date. Second, listing features instead of benefits: telling consumers what a product does rather than what it means for their lives. Third, producing content exclusively about the organization with no consumer stories, which misses the most persuasive tool available.
What is the StoryBrand framework and how does it apply to financial services marketing?
Developed by Donald Miller, the StoryBrand framework holds that the consumer is the hero of the story — and the organization is the guide, not the protagonist. Think Yoda, not Luke Skywalker. Applied to financial services, this means every piece of marketing should position the consumer’s problem, goal, or journey at the center, with the organization playing a supporting role that helps them succeed.
What are the most effective ways to fix selfie marketing?
Four practical shifts make a meaningful difference. Tell real consumer stories — the small business owner who got their first loan, the family who bought their first home — and turn those into case studies, videos, and social content. Use testimonials, since prospects trust other consumers more than they trust marketing departments. Lead with the consumer’s problem before introducing the product. And reframe calls to action around the consumer’s next step (“get your free rate check”) rather than the organization’s goal (“open an account today”).
What brands get consumer-centered marketing right, and what can financial services learn from them?
Patagonia, REI, and Dove are strong examples. Patagonia rarely centers its own products — its marketing focuses on customers who love the outdoors and want to protect the planet. REI’s “Opt Outside” campaign is about the customer’s day off, not REI itself. Dove built a movement around how women see themselves, not around soap. None of them lead with their logo. Financial services organizations can apply the same principle: audit recent marketing content and ask honestly — who is the hero? If the answer is the organization, it’s time to hand the spotlight to the consumer.
