Contentworks Agency Turns 4 - An Interview with Contentworks Agency Founders

Contentworks Agency is the go-to marketing agency for the finance and fintech space. The team have produced an impressive array of videos, education centres, PRs, articles and whitepapers for the space in addition to handling the social media accounts for top tier challengers and brokers.

This month, as the agency turns 4, we met up with directors Niki Nikolaou and Charlotte Day for a look at the accomplishments and challenges the agency has seen in the past years.

How does it feel to be turning 4?

Charlotte: It feels slightly surreal. It seems like only yesterday that Niki and I were sitting on the floor of her apartment creating web content and making up our welcome boxes ready to launch. 4 years have flown by so fast in a blur of great campaigns, travel, expos, funny moments and OMG are we really 4?

Niki: I remember that day- we had decided chocolates would be a great gift in May. In the searing heat of Cyprus…. We feel so proud of our team which consists of the best writers, designers, videographers and project managers in the sector. I’m biased but that’s ok!

How are you celebrating?

Charlotte: Normally we would be delivering cakes to our clients and arranging lunches but this year it’s not so easy. We will be focusing on our online presence with media interviews, live social media and cakes. We’re still having those.

Niki: We will definitely be having cakes! We’ll also be taking some time to thank all our clients personally, many of them who’ve been with us since the beginning.

You’re known as the go-to agency for finance- how did that happen?

Charlotte: Well, Niki and I are both from a financial marketing background. In fact, we first met one another whilst working in a Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term company. Financial marketing is quite niche and takes a special set of skills. First there’s understanding all the different regulations. ASIC, CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term, MFSA, FCA, FSA, FRB, SEC, MiFID II and what else did I miss? Then there’s knowing how to be edgy, fun and engaging within this regulatory framework. How to get traction on Twitter, attract traders and still be compliant. Plus, networking in the right circles and being familiar with financial PR and media.

Niki: Of course, you also need to understand the financial markets and follow them closely. If you’re not specialised in financial services, you just wouldn’t be able to dedicate yourself to doing this. Charlotte and I are subscribed to all the finance news sites, regulatory updates and finance trends. Plus, our team creates analysis each day for our clients, so we are always on top of the markets. We also publish regulation roundup articles each month to keep our brokers up to speed with changes in leverage, crypto restrictions and trading regulations. I think this is what our clients value the most about us, our understanding of the markets and that we take complex subjects and turn them into engaging content. As we move into our 5th year we are established as a leading player for providing strategic content and social media for the international fintech scene.

What does an average day look like for you as agency directors?

Charlotte: I start my day with a beach walk around 5am and then hit my desk by 6.30. That means I can catch up with our clients located in Australia and have some quiet time to check my schedule, answer emails and work on some creatives before everyone else is awake! There isn’t really an average day especially in financial services marketing. Everything could be calm and then Elon Musk tweets something about Bitcoin and we need to deliver content on it!

Niki: I focus a lot of attention on overseeing our international writing team, reviewing the status of ongoing projects and planning the next month’s content. There is never a point where you say ok, I’m done. Because you’re always looking ahead to the next event, the next big change in the industry, and planning with clients on how to take advantage of that. I tend to work later in the day and catch up with our clients in New York and Singapore.

How did covid-19 effect your agency?

Charlotte: Contentworks Agency was always decentralized so the closure of offices and lockdowns didn’t affect our actual business operations. In fact, we were better prepared than most, having all the remote team communication software, monitoring, remote servers, Zoom and chats in place already. That said, we had previously enjoyed a run of overseas expos, speaking at events and travelling to meet clients. This is something we miss so much. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of an overseas trip or the enjoyment of meeting a client for lunch. We have so much making up to do!

Niki: On the business side, our volume of work increased during 2020. Brokers witnessed record trading volumes and sign ups- something we interviewed them on last year. That meant more work for us providing FX education, videos, social media updates and event support. Speaking of events, Charlotte and I were speaking frequently at online events and expos. We also took part in panels, debates and online networking sessions in the finance space. This kept us busy but also kept us in touch with our core demographic to understand their challenges and requirements.

What’s your best agency memory from the past year?

Charlotte: We produce video scripts and often oversee filming to provide direction. Normally it’s fintech, banking and forex, but we recently filmed for a major shipping corporation and spent the day out on a luxury yacht. Things aren’t normally that glamourous in financial services marketing. I told Niki it was a boring day out and hid the photos!

Niki: Wait, what? You said boat, not luxury yacht! Ok, so for me, the best memories are chatting with Charlotte and writing our behind-the-scenes of a fintech marketing agency comedy/tragedy series to pitch to Netflix – Madder Women. Oh, and that one time on a Zoom with clients team based in Singapore, London, Dubai and New York and my 6-year old needing to use the bathroom. You’ve never see me flip the camera switch and mute the mic so fast!

What’s next for Contentworks Agency?

Charlotte: We have been growing our team and onboarding more finance writers and analysts so that will enable us to expand further in future years. We have also given our website a facelift to take us into the next year. We have a brand-new corporate video, social media filled home page, updated client portfolio and a packed content bar. All this showcases the thing we are best known for- great organic content marketing.

Niki: The industry is shifting, sometimes subtly, other times more obviously, and we’re constantly reviewing what we do and how we do it. Our value proposition as a boutique agency is the high-level of director-contact our clients get. And that’s something we don’t want to lose as our team grows.

Thank you to Niki and Charlotte for joining us and we wish you a very happy agency birthday!

Contentworks delivers hawkish content marketing solutions for the finance and tech sectors. Our team of content strategists, social media marketers, analysts and writers provide compliance friendly content to banks, forex brokers, fintechs and many other sectors. Our content marketing includes technical analysis, intelligence reports, press releases, whitepapers, video and social media management.