Content 151 is content marketing for future-minded financial advisors.
We make affordable, custom content that can help generate leads, engage clients and enhance your brand.
You aren’t generic, and your content shouldn’t be either.
The story
I started my career as a journalist—as an intern with the Associated Press in Jerusalem. Those experiences reporting in the Holy Land created the foundation for Content 151. Let me explain.
The AP wires stories to newspapers who then either publish them as-is or contribute their own reporting. I always noticed how differently a story might turn out depending on the paper publishing it.
Fast forward to my first post-internship job… with Bloomberg Television. It was a strange twist of fate, as I had actively ignored finance and business throughout college. I sheepishly went to the business journalism professor at Northwestern (whose class I had NOT taken) to ask her to explain the financial crisis to me. She went through the securitization of mortgages, to which I responded: “What’s a security?”
That moment (that exact question) was the next layer of Content 151. As I learned the ins and outs of everything from yields to options, I never forgot that initial reaction: “What in the jargon are you saying?”
Ultimately, I left news to pursue more normal hours, and discovered content marketing. I worked to develop financial education programs Bank of America, Merrill Edge, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, TD Ameritrade, and numerous others.
While these institutions all wanted to be “be creative and unique” their million-dollar programs couldn’t reinvent the wheel—there’s only so much you can say about budgeting, especially once legal and compliance get involved.
Then, I landed in the world of independent advisors. I thought, “THESE are the people who actually need educational content.”
Main Street Americans need to know that independent advisors aren’t Gordon Gekko. And advisors need a creative way to convey that message. Lightbulb moment.
At Content 151, we take the newswire model and put it to work for advisors. We create first drafts of content—like a wire story, they include the basics and focus on explaining complex topics plain English. Then, we with advisors to personalize everything. This yields a better, more creative product, because we’re focusing on your value add; the basics are already taken care of.
The more we worked with advisors, the more I realized advisors often needed more than just content. Often, they needed a plan, or a coach, or an accountability system. So we decided to help with that, too.
When you work with Content 151, we’re your on-call CMO. And our goal is to teach you about marketing, the same way you teach your clients the basics of finance. Our goal isn’t to make you dependent on us, it’s to become a valued partner that helps you showcase your value.
We can’t wait to get started. Sincerely,
Shawna Ohm
Founder, Content 151
The team
Designers
Content 151 has two designers on contracted retainer, and a few others on standby to pinch hit. Everyone we hire has extensive experience working with financial clients, and they understand the unique requirements for this type of work. (#ChartsForDays) That said, we try to make sure our designers don’t ONLY do financial work, since that can limit creativity, and we want to make sure you push the envelope in the best possible way.
Our designers work on our draft designs and help refresh designed content to match your brand (we’re not just adding a logo, we’re talking a full customization). When appropriate, we’ll tap one of our designers to consult on content audits or strategy calls, so you have a professional point of view on everything from logo and color scheme to which images work best on your site.
Editors & Writers
Content 151 prides itself on its expertise in financial content. Which means we only work with writers who have experience in financial services. The same goes for our editors and reviewers. We have a list of writers on tap, who we select based on their strengths and expertise.
We know how important it is that content complies to regulatory standards and industry best practices. (Say it with us now: Past performance doesn’t predict future results!) We want you to spend your time adding your personality to the content, not editing our work.
Finally, we send all of our content off to a copy editor with no financial experience. We do this to simulate the client experience. If Caroline doesn’t understand what we’re saying, there’s a chance your clients won’t, either. So we screen for that ahead of time.
Social Media
Everyone on our team, from our writers to our designers, is familiar with social media best practices. We know that you succeed most when you put your best foot forward on social, and incorporate that into the content we deliver.
While are happy to take over social media posts for clients, we prefer to do this as part of an overarching content strategy.
For larger projects, or folks who want help with social media ONLY, we tend to rely on our go-to partner: Hall Social. We work with founder Kristina Hall to review our strategic audits of social content and make sure our recommendations are up-to-date with the latest and greatest guidance from each social media platform. If you decide you need help with social media execution (including editorial calendars or help creating and publishing posts), it’s likely we’ll refer you to her and her team.
Mission statement & vision
Our mission at Content 151 is to empower Americans via improved financial literacy. We believe the best way to do this is by working with financial advisors, since education works best when paired with hands-on planning and coaching.
Values
Democracy. Wealth isn’t a zero-sum game. We want to dismantle the idea of “country club” wealth as much as possible, and aim to ensure that women and minorities get a seat at the wealth-and-financial-planning table.
Honesty. We are always honest about money, products, and services to the best of our ability. This extends from our own offerings to the many products discussed by financial professionals.
Service. By serving advisors, and helping them serve end-investors, we think everyone wins. We value collaboration over competition.