If digital space is the new frontier for financial advisor marketing, then content is the currency. Without high-quality financial advisor content relevant to what online users are looking for, it’s nearly impossible for advisors to get recognized in such a highly competitive space.
Content marketing for financial advisors is what Paladin Digital Marketing does!
But having the right content is only half of the battle. The other half is getting that content in front of the right audience, such as those searching online for information you can provide as an advisor. Read on to learn more about financial advisor content and how it fits into your advisory firm’s goals.
Take Inventory of Your Existing Financial Advisor Content
Whether you’re new to content marketing, a seasoned content creator, or anywhere in between—it’s good to reacquaint yourself with all the financial advisor content you’ve produced up to this point. This includes content you may not currently be sharing online or even content you may consider old or outdated. In some cases, even if the content is older, it can be updated and repurposed with minimal effort, saving time and money.
See What Advisor Content Is Already Out There
Once you’ve taken stock of the advisor content you already have, it’s time to determine what type of content you want to create next. A good place to get started is by doing homework and seeing what content is available online. By putting yourself in the shoes of someone looking for a financial advisor, you can see what they see from a client’s perspective, as well as an advisor looking to attract more clients.
Once you’ve done some research, you can determine if there is a void you can fill or if you simply want to improve on the content already out there. This is where having a niche can be particularly useful. As the name implies, niche content is meant to be more specific and focused than general financial advisor content.
By taking a deeper, more granular approach to producing advisor content, you can become a trusted resource to those looking for specific financial advisor topics that you focus more on than other advisors.
Identify Your Audience(s)
In an ideal scenario, your content would reach everyone all the time. But that’s neither practical nor effective. You can create and deliver content tailored to their interests and goals by identifying a target audience- or multiple audiences.
It’s typically a good idea to start with one audience to focus your efforts and not spread your resources too thin and possibly confuse your messaging. Because the personas within your target audiences could vary greatly, sending the same messaging to both will rarely be effective.
If the goal is to create content that will be helpful to your target audience, then it’s imperative to identify what that content looks like to that audience. This is where having solid analytics measurement tools, such as Google Analytics, can be extremely helpful. In addition to providing insight into KPIs for your website overall, these tools can help you identify the most popular content amongst which audiences.
For example, audiences skewing to a younger demographic range might be more interested in starting their investment journey and the basics of retirement accounts. However, an audience with a more mature age group would likely be more interested in more advanced or established financial topics, such as tax implications for disbursements and estate planning.
And while those are just examples, the fact of the matter is that different audiences are going to gravitate to specific content based on their needs. By knowing your audience and delivering that type of content, you show them you understand those needs.
Choose the Right Delivery Channels
There are many places to distribute online content, but that doesn’t mean you must use all of them. In fact, by learning about these channels and what types of content perform best on each, you can choose which channels make the most sense to focus your marketing efforts on. And keep in mind that those channels can change at any time.
This is particularly true when it comes to social media. Because social media is heavily reliant on trends, then there may be times when it makes sense to share content on certain channels that resonate with that audience at that time. The key is to know what is happening (trending) on those channels and how to reach the members of that audience.
Always Choose Quality Over Quantity
While having a large library of content at your disposal is advantageous, it shouldn’t come at the cost of quality. Google’s search algorithms and people using those search engines can distinguish between great, good, and not-so-good content online. Instead of churning amount content for the sheer numbers, advisors should focus on the content’s quality, especially when considering if the person who sees that content will benefit from it.
Above all else, this mindset of educating first can help financial advisors gain credibility with both Google and prospective clients. Additionally, content that people find useful is much more likely to be shared and reach a wider audience.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
In terms of creating helpful content, there are resources available that can take some (or all) of the load off the shoulders of busy financial advisors. One way to do this is to partner with a digital marketing agency that specializes in financial advisor content marketing. When partnering with an agency, advisors can choose how much or how little time they must dedicate to creating digital content.
If this sounds like a partnership that makes sense for the goals of your advisory firm, reach out to the advisors at Paladin to get started.
