We Crunched the Numbers: Calculators Will Take Your Financial Education Program to New Heights

October 5, 2021

If you’re thinking about or are in the midst of a financial education initiative, your team is most likely focused on churning out tons of articles on every relevant money topic. While building a library of answers to common financial questions and thoroughly explaining different consumer banking options is important for establishing your brand as a thought leader, that can’t be the only prong in your approach. Because let’s face it -- there are already a gazillion other websites out there offering similar money advice. What will make your website stand out?

Interactive calculators will enhance your content strategy by offering a highly personalized content experiences at scale. One calculator will provide unlimited users with insights about their personal financial situation; addressing all of these unique scenarios would otherwise require thousands of different articles.

Why financial education is important

More than ever, Americans are realizing that they are responsible for their own financial destiny, but they don’t always have the knowledge to make the best decisions. However, if your brand can step in as a valuable resource, you can provide a great service.

Despite having more access to financial education and money management tools than any other generation in history, average Americans are struggling:

Clearly, people could use some guidance, or need some help pushing past the noise – that’s where your brand’s financial education program comes in. In addition to benefitting society, providing financial education will help your institution thrive as well. 

In fact, according to an Everfi report, 83% of marketers said financially knowledgeable consumers are important for success and growth. Not just that, other research found that half of consumers say they would be less likely to switch to a new bank if their financial institution offered helpful content

That’s because smart marketers know that people go online to research financial topics and make money decisions. In fact, as many as 90% of loan and mortgage consumers and 85% of check cashing consumers start their journey with an online search

In short, financial education content will help you:

  • Connect with new customers
  • Drive traffic to your relevant products and services
  • Solidify your brand as a trusted resource

Why your financial education program is incomplete without calculators 

Articles and blog posts are great, but interactive, personalized tools should also be a cornerstone of any financial education program. 

Just take a home lending article, for example. Sharing basic information about interest rates or typing out formulas to help readers understand if they can afford a home is somewhat helpful. But giving users a calculator that allows them to crunch their own unique numbers and get specific answers? That’s light years better. 

Now we’re going to let you in on a secret: Most marketers don’t use calculators efficiently within their financial education initiatives because, well, it’s hard to do. These tools are complicated to build, challenging to embed on an article page, and near impossible to gain any accurate engagement insights from.

But at Chimney, we’ve changed all that. Our calculators will give you a clear edge over your competitors.

How Chimney calculators help

They are user-friendly

Our products are simple to embed into the content pages of your choice, or directly within your articles – no superior tech skills required. In fact, the typical time to launch a custom calculator with Chimney is 24-48 hours, and the onboarding process is simple. You’ll also have peace of mind knowing that there is an entire support and engineering team at the ready to perform maintenance and troubleshoot issues should they arise.

They support the full customer journey

Chimney calculators are also built to support the entire customer journey and help improve your metrics at every stage of the funnel:

  • Top-of-funnel: Content will improve your SEO rankings and drive more traffic to your website. The fact is people search for interactive financial calculators, and having ones on your site that are SEO-optimized will help your site show up in search results.
  • Middle-of-funnel: Interactive content like Chimney calculators help keep people engaged by providing customized answers to their questions, and giving them the financial education they need to make decisions about what to do next.
  • Bottom-of-funnel: Calculators are the perfect mechanism for asking your highly engaged visitors to take the final step of the customer journey with your brand. They’ve found your site, they’ve engaged with your interactive tool, and now they can request more information or start an application.

Take this example from First Foundation. It strategically embedded the Chimney Savings Goal calculator to not only help users decide how much they need to meet both short-term and long-term goals, but to illustrate how their high-yield savings account can help.

They provide personalized answers at scale

Financial calculators provide personalized content without the need for multiple versions of the same article. It’s a proven fact: Personalization helps drive results, which is why 89% of digital businesses are investing in technology that offers a customized experience.

Educate Yourself About the Power of Calculators 

Ready to learn more about how our calculators will take your financial education content to the next level? Get in touch for a free consultation or sign up for a free trial to see Chimney calculators in action.

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