It makes perfect sense that the more investors rely on the Internet for information, the greater the digital marketing opportunity for financial advisors.
Let’s break down this need for information into its component parts. Investors could be using the Internet to:
- Find financial advisors they can interview
- Learn more about the financial advisors they find
- Learn more about financial topics
- Stay abreast of recent news
Get more leads with the right financial advisor marketing strategy! Contact Paladin Digital Marketing today!
In today's world, the internet is ubiquitous and has revolutionized the way people seek and consume information. Investors are no exception to this trend, and they increasingly rely on the Internet to find financial information and advisors they can interview.
This shift has created a golden opportunity for financial advisor digital marketing to leverage an effective and lower-cost way to reach potential clients.
This article will delve into the importance of digital marketing for financial advisors, the benefits it offers, and how to develop a successful strategy for your firm.
How has the rise of the Internet impacted the ways the financial services industry markets its services to investors?
There has been an extraordinary shift in the ways investors find financial advisors, screen them, and review financial information.
In the not-too-distant past, investors relied on newspapers, magazines, and financial advisors for information on investments and financial planning.
However, the Internet has democratized access to information, making it easier for investors to find what they need online. This has led to a growing number of self-directed investors who prefer to research and make investment decisions on their own.
This reality has given investors more power than ever when they use what they find on the Internet to screen and select financial advisors. Plus, they can learn a lot without giving up their anonymity. And, they get to determine who they want to interview.
How does increased competition impact the ways financial advisors market their services to investors?
As investors become more independent, financial advisors face increased competition to attract and retain them as clients. In this environment, it is crucial for financial advisors to adopt innovative strategies to stand out and demonstrate their value to potential clients.
Digital marketing has emerged as a key tool to help financial advisors achieve this goal. Paladin is a digital marketing agency that works exclusively with independent financial advisor firms.
The Benefits of Digital Marketing for Financial Advisors
Digital marketing provides several benefits for financial advisors who know how to use the Internet to reach investors, provide what they are seeking, and convert them into qualified leads.
Some financial advisor firms use an agency like Paladin to do the digital marketing work for them.
How is digital marketing a cost-effective solution?
Digital marketing provides a cost-effective way for financial advisors to promote their services. Unlike traditional marketing methods, such as print advertising, digital marketing campaigns can be tailored to fit any budget. With the ability to track performance and adjust tactics in real-time, financial advisors can maximize their return on investment.
How does digital marketing reach the right audiences?
Digital marketing also enables financial advisors to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. This enables advisors to focus their marketing efforts on investors who are more likely to be interested in their services.
By leveraging tools such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, and social media marketing, advisors can reach their target audience more effectively than with traditional marketing methods.
How do financial advisors establish a strong online presence?
A strong online presence is essential for financial advisors that want to grow their clientele. This is how investors are going to find them on the Internet.
By designing, developing, and maintaining a professional website, regularly updating a website’s blog, and engaging in social media, advisors can showcase their expertise, build credibility, and develop a loyal following. This helps to generate leads, increase referrals, and ultimately convert more contacts into active prospects and clients.
How do financial advisors enhance client engagement and communication?
Digital marketing offers financial advisors various ways to interact with their clients and prospects. From email newsletters and webinars to social media engagement and blog comments, advisors can create a sense of community, foster loyalty, and enhance client satisfaction. This helps to retain existing clients and attract new ones.
How do financial advisors develop a successful digital marketing strategy?
Following is a five-step process that is based on best practices that were developed by Paladin Digital Marketing over the past two decades.
Step One: Start by setting realistic objectives
Before embarking on a digital marketing campaign, financial advisors must identify their goals. These could include increasing website traffic, generating leads, or enhancing brand awareness. Defining objectives upfront will enable advisors to measure the success of their campaigns and make timely data-driven decisions.
Step Two: Develop a strong Internet presence
A well-designed and user-friendly website is the foundation of a successful digital marketing strategy. Financial advisors or their agency should ensure their websites are mobile-responsive, easy to navigate, and provide relevant and valuable content. This will help to attract and retain visitors, generate leads, and convert more prospects into revenue-producing clients.
Step Three: Make sure websites are designed to convert visitors into leads
100% of financial advisors have websites. Only 18% have told Paladin Digital Marketing their websites produce leads for their firms. What happened to the other 82%?
Paladin believes most financial advisor websites act as online sales brochures. They deliver information, but they are not designed to convert visitors into leads.
Financial advisors need custom, lead generation websites to convert more visitors into appointments for introductory interviews.
Step Four: Leverage your content marketing
Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable content to attract and engage a target audience. Financial advisors should regularly produce blog articles, eBooks, videos, email marketing, podcasts, and other forms of content that address their clients' needs for financial information and solutions. This helps to establish advisors as authorities in their fields, build trust, create drip lists, and generate leads.
Step Five: Make sure you are competitive with other financial advisor websites
Paladin data show 82% of investors are visiting financial advisor websites to find information. Our data also show 64% are Googling the financial advisors’ names to obtain additional information. This is the investors’ need for information that we mentioned at the beginning of this article.
There is also data that show investors will visit six to eight websites and contact three to four for information or appointments for interviews. It is of paramount importance that your digital marketing presence is good enough that you make this cut.
Conclusion
As increasing numbers of investors use the Internet to find advisors and financial information, the Internet becomes a major marketing tool for financial advisors who build a competitive process for marketing to their ideal clients.
