In today’s digital world, the best place to find new prospects is online. From web design and SEO to content marketing, email newsletters, social media, and more, it’s essential to have a comprehensive digital marketing strategy in place. To help you draw in more leads, here are some top financial advisor digital marketing tips.
Ready to grow your practice? Good Life Companies provides a full suite of marketing services for independent financial advisors. Learn More
Why Do Financial Advisors Need Digital Marketing?
Today, individuals increasingly turn to the internet to conduct research, seek financial advice, and make crucial decisions. Because of this, it’s imperative for financial advisors to establish a robust online presence through the strategic use of digital marketing techniques like content creation, social media engagement, and search engine optimization. This approach enables advisors to engage potential clients and cultivate trust.
Additionally, digital marketing offers a cost-effective and highly efficient means to reach a broader audience. Unlike traditional marketing methods, which can be costly and possess limited reach, digital marketing empowers advisors to precisely target their desired demographic, monitor performance metrics, and make real-time adjustments. This data-driven approach yields a more favorable return on investment.
As an additional and accessible source of information, digital marketing tactics allow financial advisors to exhibit their expertise, credibility, and trustworthiness. They can achieve this through sharing thought leadership content and client testimonials, a vital component in a field where trust is paramount.
In today’s digital age, when digital marketing for financial advisors is overlooked, you run the risk of lagging behind their competitors and missing invaluable opportunities to connect with their audience and expand their business.
Advantages of a Digital Marketing Strategy
Implementing a digital marketing strategy offers many advantages for financial advisors, including:
Wider Reach
Digital marketing enables advisors to extend their reach beyond geographical constraints. With an online presence, they can connect with potential clients from various locations, broadening their client base.
Cost Efficiency
Often more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods, digital marketing allows financial advisors to allocate their budgets more efficiently, as they can target specific demographics and adjust their strategies as needed.
Enhanced Targeting
Digital marketing allows for precise audience targeting. Advisors can tailor their content and messages to suit the specific needs and preferences of their ideal clients, increasing the chances of engagement and conversion.
Brand Building
A consistent digital presence helps advisors build and strengthen their brand. Thought leadership content, social media engagement, and a well-optimized website contribute to establishing credibility and trust within the industry.
Improved Client Engagement
Through digital marketing, advisors can interact with their clients in real-time. This fosters stronger, long-term relationships and enables personalized communication, addressing clients’ concerns and providing timely guidance.
Competitive Edge
In today’s digital age, staying ahead of the competition is vital. A well-executed digital marketing strategy can set financial advisors apart from rivals who may be less digitally savvy.
A digital marketing strategy equips financial advisors with the tools and tactics necessary to reach, engage, and convert potential clients while maximizing the efficiency of their marketing efforts.
Establishing An Online Presence as a Financial Advisor
Before you can begin digital marketing for your business, you need to establish an online presence. The first step is to invest some time and money into a professional website. Your website is where all of your digital marketing efforts will converge. You can think of it as your virtual office space. Digital marketing is all about driving traffic to your website—but all the traffic in the world won’t help you if the site doesn’t convert, or turn a visitor into a lead or a sale.
Work with a Professional Team
Unless you have experience designing websites, working with a professional web design team is absolutely essential. A professional team will be able to incorporate your branding, help you draft quality content, and ensure all technical aspects are up to par. Consider opting for a web design team that also has SEO experience, so you can ensure your site is set up appropriately to index for essential keywords and is ready to pull in organic traffic following launch.
Designing Your Site
The home page on your site is one of the most important landing pages. It should be engaging and direct. Provide a clear overview of your services, include prominent CTAs, and incorporate imagery that will resonate with your target demographic. Build out robust content for your service pages as well, with a dedicated page for each key service you provide. In all of your content, clearly outline your offering and highlight any key advantages of working with you compared to your competitors. And don’t forget to include a prominent contact page and/or contact forms, so you can capture leads.
Mobile-First Design
Your website should be optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing, and your page load speed should be fast. Fifty-three percent of web traffic comes from mobile users, and the majority of users will abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. The good news is that most modern web design platforms offer mobile-adaptive themes, which can adjust your site seamlessly for both mobile and desktop viewing.
Add a Video to Tell Your Story
Despite extensive documentation on the effectiveness of video marketing, most financial advisors don’t have a video on their home page. Don’t make that mistake. Hire a professional to make your video, and keep it short. Thirty seconds is optimal for a landing page, and blog videos should be no longer than two minutes.
Financial Advisor Marketing Videos
Financial advisor marketing videos can meet a variety of objectives, like introducing an advisor’s new practice to their local audience; or helping the advisor introduce a new informational series aimed at positioning themselves as a greater authority to potential customers.
Videos can be shot using a webcam or iPhone, then uploaded and published to the FA’s website and relevant social media channels.
It’s never been easier to become an authority using video marketing.
A selectively placed video offers the following benefits:
- Establish brand personality
- Engage your potential customers
- Increase your credibility
- Improve lead conversion
Your videos can serve other purposes in your digital marketing campaign as well. Consider sharing your videos on social media, in your email newsletters, and blogs.
Email Capture and Frequency of Communication
A prospect may not decide to hire you after just one visit to your website. People are looking for someone to trust to support their financial future. The confidence required for that takes time to build. That’s why email capture is so important in any financial advisor digital marketing campaign. Consider including prominent calls-to-action, or CTAs, to sign up for your newsletter—or include a pop-up on your site to help build your email list.
Once you’ve captured an email address, the next question is how often to communicate with the prospect. Once or twice a week is best practice. Emailing every other day has been proven to reduce engagement. You don’t want to be a pest. Carefully worded, well thought-out weekly emails are best for building trust. Use a CRM platform to track prospect status, and target your content to your leads based on their goals, lead status, etc.
Write Weekly Blog Posts
A regular blog can be a great way to target relevant keywords and draw increased organic traffic to your site. It can also be a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build user confidence. And, of course, your blog can be used to capture leads, email addresses, and more. You should also share your blogs across all of your platforms. From social media to email, you can “double up” on your blog content, by including engaging excerpts and links across your platforms to encourage users to read more on your site.
If you don’t have time to write blogs yourself, hire a reliable writer or agency to produce your blog content for you. If you do choose to write your own articles, set aside some dedicated time each week to do it. A regular publishing schedule is important. Consider producing weekly or bi-weekly blogs for best results.
Targeted Marketing on Social Media
Posting your website URL on your personal Facebook page will likely not generate business. Instead, create a dedicated Facebook business page for your practice. Include the site link on your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles as well. Each of these platforms reaches a different type of audience, and your marketing should be tailored accordingly.
To avoid getting lost in users’ feeds, set up a Facebook business page and create a targeted audience. You can then “boost” your posts with paid ads to ensure they are displayed within the feeds of your target audience. The targeting mechanism in Facebook works well, and the cost per click (CPC) is typically lower than with LinkedIn advertising. You should consider boosting posts on LinkedIn as well, just keep in mind that you’ll need a higher budget for that.
Twitter marketing is all about hashtags. Don’t expect users to search for you specifically. They’re looking for topics, and those are represented by hashtags. For example, if you write about risk management, add #riskmanagement to the end of your post. Couple that with a compelling image and you will be better positioned to get some traffic.
Digital Marketing is All About Quality Content
You may have figured this out already. Content is king for digital marketing. Whether you’re making videos, writing blog posts, or composing your home page, the quality of your content influences the level of success. In the beginning, you can create the content yourself, but consider hiring a professional once you start to grow your client base.
By outsourcing to a professional, you can stay focused on your client relationships. From performing keyword research and generating engaging topic ideas to ensuring high levels of production and tracking results, working with a marketing professional can help ensure you get the most value out of your budget.
Best Online Channels for Financial Advisors
Understanding the best online channels for financial advisors is crucial to building a strong online presence and fostering valuable client relationships. These channels encompass a range of digital platforms and strategies that can help advisors showcase their expertise, engage with potential clients, and ultimately grow their business.
These are some of the most effective online channels for financial advisors:
Social Media
Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook allows financial advisors to share insightful content, network, and engage with their target audience.
Paid Search
Running targeted pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns on search engines like Google can place financial advisors at the top of relevant search results, increasing visibility to potential clients.
SEO
Optimizing a website for search engines helps advisors rank higher in organic search results, driving more organic traffic to their site.
Email Marketing
Creating personalized email campaigns can nurture client relationships, deliver valuable content, and keep clients informed about financial updates and opportunities.
Content Marketing
Developing high-quality, informative content, such as blog posts, articles, and videos, positions financial advisors as industry experts and attracts prospective clients seeking reliable information.
Webinars
Hosting webinars allows advisors to showcase their knowledge, interact with an engaged audience, and address financial questions in real time, building trust and credibility.
It’s important to choose a combination of these channels strategically, taking into account your target audience so that your online impact is effective.
Let’s Get Started
We hope these digital marketing tips for financial advisors have helped you to organize your next campaign. If you’re ready to define your brand and build your business online, contact Good Life to learn more about our comprehensive financial advisor marketing services.
Frequently Asked Questions
The amount financial advisors should spend on digital marketing can vary widely depending on their specific goals, target audience, and geographic location. Typically, a recommended range is around 5% to 15% of their annual revenue. However, it’s crucial to conduct a comprehensive marketing budget analysis to determine the most suitable investment for their unique circumstances, objectives, and channels.
An omnichannel approach in financial advisor digital marketing involves providing a seamless, integrated experience across various online and offline channels. This ensures consistent messaging and engagement, enhancing the client’s overall experience and fostering stronger relationships.