How Can International Outreach Help Your Forex Business?

The year 2020 opened dramatically. Firstly, the impeachment vote of the US Congress, then the short US-Iranian escalation, alongside the ongoing uncertainty around post-Brexit, followed by the continuation of US-Chinese economic sanctions, and the shutdown of 3 percent of the world’s oil production. As if that wasn’t enough, the first quarter also saw the outbreak of a global health pandemic leading to social and economic disruption on a scale we’ve never experienced before.

With so many changes in such a short space of time, it comes as no surprise that volatile markets have been significantly affected and, in some cases, motivated. Throughout this blog, I’ll cover the economic impacts of Covid-19 on financial markets, specifica­­lly Forex, and how an effective international Outreach strategy can give your brand an authoritative voice in a constantly moving industry.

The global economic impacts of Covid-19

Covid-19 has caused the collapse of vital industries in many countries, notably financial markets. As China’s pandemic intensified and spread to further countries, financial markets suffered losses not even seen in the 2008 recession.

The direct collapse of these markets is estimated to be an astronomical number, with confident sources from MarketWatch and Alarabiya reporting first-quarter trading across the globe including:

• The Shanghai index ended its first-quarter trading on a retreat of only 8.5 percent
• The Japanese TOPIX index fell by 18.5 percent
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by nearly 17 percent
• South Korea’s KOSPI fell by 20 percent
• The US giant stock market index, Dow Jones, also lost 23 percent of its value – a drop that hasn’t occurred since 1987!
• S&P 500 also lost 20 percent
• In Europe, the British FTSE100 and the French CAC40 both lost an average of 25.86 percent of their value

Oil has also been significantly impacted, with prices falling more than 60 percent due to the disruption of the world’s largest consumer of oil, the Chinese Dragon. Alongside this, there was also a pre-existing crisis over fixation of global oil prices and quota production between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

It’s likely many of these financial industry makers are actively looking for effective solutions that will help their business recover. But surviving the impact of a global pandemic is not easy. It requires an unconventional solution in response to the market’s changing challenges. This is not just a financial problem, but a global crisis.

Forex has flown

Unlike traditional stocks, the Forex market hasn’t been so heavily exposed to loss. The industry is a safe haven for investors. From currency conversion and immediate deposit opportunities of millions of accounts to obtain greater liquidity, to refuge in secure currencies and commodities, mainly US dollars and gold.

During the first quarter of 2020, the US dollar saw improvements after the US Federal Reserve Bank pumped a huge $1.5 trillion into the US economy. With this, the US dollar regained its leading role as a world benchmark currency – something which has not occurred since Nixon’s time.

Seen best through the behaviour of the US Dollar vs. Canadian Dollar and the Swiss Franc vs. US Dollar during the first quarter of 2020, this may have boosted Forex operations towards the US dollar, hedging the risk of losses that appear in minor currencies and require a quick trading decision for investors.

Equally important, the price of gold has also fluctuated. Initially, prices dropped as a result of liquidity at the time of the pandemic due to a high supply and less demand period. As liquidity became available by the end of the first quarter, demand increased, and the price has risen once again to 1,637.05 us/oz according to bullionvault.

Gold stocks have also risen unprecedently in contrast to the collapsed classical stocks, even compared to 2011 Arab Spring events in the Middle East. Moreover, it is believed that the increase in gold prices, combined with investor fears of an endless crisis, has led to buying gold as soon as possible, no matter the condition, in order to avoid risk.

However, some Forex brokers will be negatively impacted by the crisis due to limited marketing capabilities, budgets, products, and their audience.

Using more traditional marketing methods that cannot be adapted to a time of crisis can result in Forex traders feeling unconfident or at risk to operate. Teamed with the lack of available information and brokers’ openness to customers makes visibility within search engines difficult.

In order to be successful, Forex traders need to understand their local market. Using international Outreach tactics, you can highlight opportunities for investment in a specific region.

How can international Outreach help Forex traders?

Forex is a decentralised industry. There is no central location for the foreign exchange market, operates 24 hours a day and spans across the entire globe. As such, foreign exchange currency can occur at any moment, therefore, Forex brokers must not hesitate to access active markets, no matter the location.

According to a study by HowMuch based on IMF (International Monetary Fund) data, the Middle and Far East regions reserve the biggest liquidity of foreign currencies. For example, in Asia, China holds the world’s foreign currency mass, with the US dollar currency at $3.162 billion. While in Europe, Switzerland holds the highest currency mass at $785 billion. As for the Middle East, Saudi Arabia comes in first at $486.3 billion and for South America, Brazil stands highest at $358.6 billion.

As a Forex broker, you need to reach a diverse audience in markets with giant liquidities. The top Forex maker who have become stronger during the crisis are those who understand the importance of international Outreach and how to implement it effectively. Outreach is one of the most powerful methods for Forex businesses and can effectively extend reach to different regions through an authentic voice.

Go further with international Outreach

To be successful with international Outreach, a balance of creativity and  information is required to authentically and effectively present your brand to traders.

The best way to do this is to produce content of real, authoritative value that can be posted on local websites receiving native traffic. Here are some tips on how to do this well:

• Present live technical news and create infographics to simplify local and global economies or local currency news
• Produce landing pages that contain authoritative and trustworthy information
• Ensure all content features accurate and native language
• Provide detailed and accurate information on trading culture to highlight yourself as an industry expert
• Give your customers the opportunity to open a demo account and support this with online learning resources such as blogs, forums, webinars and training videos
• Organise events and create resources about who you are as a business to help make your brand more accessible and trustworthy
• Attract Forex explorers, beginners and professionals in their own language, reflecting their culture and market

By producing local, economic news and value adding content, you can connect native audiences to a global market, highlighting the opportunities available through your business. If you’re struggling, strip it back to the essentials and work on creating high quality, credible content that will bolster brand awareness in new regions and increase your visibility on search engines.

When done well, Outreach is not only a key part of your content marketing strategy, but also a tactic to support SEO. WMG is home to a team of bilingual speakers and sector specialists who know how to source high-quality links that build domain authority.

We have experience navigating volatile and international markets. Our experts can manage campaigns from start to finish, producing bespoke and native content for your target region. Get in touch to find out more about our approach and how you can capitalise on the opportunities available to your business.