Editor's note: This blog article was originally published on May 26, 2022 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
First, there is some good news: Increasing numbers of investors are using the Internet to find, screen, and contact financial advisors for interviews. Many enterprising financial advisors are already making the Internet their primary source for new leads who are seeking planning and investment services.
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Then there is some not-so-good news: Many financial advisors need more digital marketing help to be successful. The old marketing strategies that were based on outbound marketing tactics do not work in the virtual world.
In the virtual or inbound marketing world, the investors control the initiation of contact. That is, they find you on the Internet, they visit your website and they Google search your name to learn more about you. Then they contact the financial advisors that fit what they are looking for.
You can see the problem. If they do not like what they see on the Internet, they do not initiate the contact that leads to interviews. In this case, sales skills do not matter because the initial contact is controlled by investors.
To be successful in the virtual world you need new “inbound” marketing strategies that generate leads for your firm. For example, what investors see on the Internet has to drive them to your website. What investors see on your website has to cause them to contact you. This means your website has to be competitive with the other financial advisor websites that they visit.
Consequently, your Internet presence and website have to do more of the initial marketing for you because investors can:
- Remain anonymous until they want to be contacted
- Learn a lot about you without ever talking to you
- Determine who they want to interview
This is a whole new marketing paradigm for financial advisors who have relied on outbound marketing and their sales skills to generate leads in the past. Today, they may not get the opportunity to use these skills because they are not competitive when investors use the Internet to find and screen them.
Take a couple of minutes and read about four tactics that will have the greatest impact on your lead generation results for financial advisors.
Internet Visibility
The virtual marketing process starts on the Internet. Investors have to find you before they can learn more about you and initiate contact.
You should be visible for the keywords that investors use when they search the Internet for financial advisors they can interview.
The keywords with the greatest amounts of traffic include: Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, Retirement Planner, and Wealth Manager. A second set of keywords is your location for geo-specific searches. And, a third set could be one or more keywords that are specific to the investor. For example:
- Find a Financial Advisor
- Find a Financial Advisor in Dallas
- Find a Financial Advisor in Dallas Who Works With Doctors
Many investors are seeking financial advisors in their local communities. They may be also seeking financial advisors who provide financial advice and services to particular types of investors.
Financial Advisor Websites
The principal roles of financial advisor websites are to provide the information investors are seeking and convert them into leads for the advisor’s advice and services.
A typical financial advisor website will have 2.8 minutes to deliver the information that investors are seeking and convince them to submit their contact information. Check your Google Analytics data to determine the average amount of time investors spend on your website.
Transparency can be very important for financial advisor websites - in particular, if the investors have used the services of financial advisors in the past and had a bad experience. The more important reason is investors are visiting multiple financial advisor websites and they may know who is practicing transparency and who isn’t.
Think of your website as a delivery system that:
- Creates an electronic first impression
- Provides the information that investors are seeking
- Delivers information about advisor services
- Describes the types of clients you prefer to work with
- Practices full transparency for key information
The Free Offer
The content on your website may not be enough to convince visitors to give-up their anonymity and submit their contact information.
Or, investors are seeking financial information versus financial advisors. The need for information may precede their need for financial advisors. Providing the information they are seeking is a great way to begin building credibility (you are a financial expert) and trustworthiness.
You should consider one or more free offers on your site that require registration. The most frequent free offers include:
- eBooks with intriguing headlines and content
- Free plan and portfolio reviews
- Calculators that provide meaningful results
- On-demand webinars on financial pain points
- Initial consultations to discuss requirements
Offers must provide significant value to be effective. An offer should not sound like an opportunity for a sales pitch.
Calls To Action
This is a relatively simple idea that is based on making it easy for investors to reach out and initiate contact with your financial advisor firm. CTAs should be prominently displayed throughout your website.
When the investor clicks on one of your website’s CTAs they should be taken to a landing page that is carefully crafted to obtain their contact information.
We say carefully crafted because there is substantial evidence investors are reluctant to initiate contact. Perhaps this is a carryover from the outbound marketing days when financial advisors were soliciting investors by telephone. Right or wrong, investors may still be concerned about unwanted telephone solicitations.
One landing page solution is to only ask for the information that you need. For example, you need a first name to send an introductory email, but you may not need a last name.
You intend to email the investor a meeting request, so there is no need for a telephone number. This may address one of the investor’s primary concerns - unwanted telephone solicitations.
You should also describe how you protect the privacy of a lead in your sales funnel. For example, you never provide the investor’s contact information to any third parties - firms or professionals. Your use of the information is limited to responding to the investor’s request - schedule a call or deliver information.
You may also want to disclose that you will add the investor’s name to your drip list if that is your business practice, but they can unsubscribe at any time.
About Paladin
Paladin is a digital marketing agency that has worked exclusively with financial advisors since its founding in 2003. Paladin’s team of digital marketing professionals has more than 100 years of collective financial industry experience marketing our clients' services to individuals, families, and businesses. Plus, our team has decades of experience providing digital marketing services to financial advisors. Our clients range from start-ups to firms with billions of dollars of AUM. We are a full service agency that provides website, SEO, SEM, Video, and Fractional CMO services. Want more information about our digital marketing services for financial advisors? Email: Info@PaladinDigitalMarketing.com to schedule an introductory call. We protect your privacy.
