Recent analysis has shown that the global economy is likely to slump in 2023. We gathered insights from PR professionals in the FinTech industry on what is the best comms strategy to use in the face of such a gloomy outlook.

Deborah Tan-Pink, APAC Communications & PR Director, Bitstamp 
Know your market cycles and the themes that your industry is concerned with. With these as your guiding points, design your communications strategy to address gaps in thought leadership and content. Work closely with stakeholders to formulate the right narratives that will win the attention of the media and get your customers to sit up and pay attention.

Personal stories and opinions are what add colour to your narratives so don’t be afraid to work with your leaders to help them build some. As a former journalist, I’ve found that leaders who shy away from showing too much of their personalities tend to also make boring interview subjects. Your customers want to know they are dealing with a person, not an organisation. Even if you are sharing a piece of news about the company on your LinkedIn, add your own voice and tell your followers what you think; don’t simply hit Share and repost with nary a caption. 

Finally, employee advocacy will most certainly play a big part in creating authenticity and winning new eyeballs for your communications and marketing efforts. If your company does not have a programme to train employees how to find their voice on LinkedIn, perhaps this is also the year to start. 

Ingrid Sia, Head of PsyOps, Nansen
It is imperative to understand the needs of the industry, irregardless of the market trends, and craft a strategy that is both relevant and timely - addressing the immediate interests and curiosity of our audience and users.
 
An example of this would be research pieces published by our team after the Luna/UST debacle earlier this year, which saw 40b+ of market capitalisation wiped out of the crypto markets. We published verifiable on-chain metrics that were backed by proprietary data from Nansen to demystify the on-chain transactions from several entities, which ultimately led to the collapse of one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation.
 
This captured the attention of multiple news outlets, which later cited our article as a source for much more detailed pieces, and also helped illuminate the situation in a way that could be easily understood by the non-crypto-native crowds.  
 
The nature of our platform allows our users to trace transactions on-chain in real-time, which enables our users to surface actionable trading insights during bull markets as well as during bearish downturns.

Marjorie Poon, Co-Founder and Managing Director, DIFY Singapore
Amidst the economic downturn, we do foresee that many readers and viewers will be turning to informative and "edutainment" content pieces to seek knowledge and to keep up with current news. Elevating our communication strategy would mean working very closely with the brands we represent to look for genuine angles and stories that are focused on the needs of our target audience, and at the same time, communicate how our brands could possibly address those needs.

While it is a crucial period for brands to continue their communication efforts, we also do encourage brands to stay in touch with the possible motivators / stressors their audience face, and be aware of the emotions that their content could invoke. This can be achieved by putting together a diverse group of minds and personalities to consider different perspectives.