When it comes to your financial advisor marketing plan, there are several digital marketing strategies that can be used. High-quality, original, financial advisor content should always be a priority because it is the foundation of an effective online marketing strategy. Unfortunately, a high percentage of financial advisors are publishing low quality, duplicate content that has no SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value and they are disappointed when the results aren’t there.
Keep reading for an overview of financial advisor content marketing, as well as common pitfalls to avoid and effective strategies for producing better results.
Content marketing is part of an overall financial advisor marketing strategy that focuses on attracting a target audience with content that informs and benefits them. The content helps establish advisors as financial experts and builds their online credibility. Eventually, investors learn to trust the quality of their content.
Rather than traditional financial advisor marketing, which is typically meant to “sell” first, content marketing is meant to educate first, and sell second.
Financial advisor content marketing is also more targeted, delivering content based on the type of investor, rather than a one-size-fits-all mass marketing approach. While content marketing is important in every industry, there is a higher demand for financial services content, given the importance of finance in the everyday lives of investors. Taking it a step further, financial advising and wealth management can be something of an enigma to inexperienced and/or younger generations of investors.
This lack of knowledge can make the topic of financial advising intimidating. By providing accurate and reliable financial advisor content, you can empower these potential clients and encourage them to reach out for more information.
Don’t forget the next generation stands to inherit $84 trillion from the 78 million baby booms. This creates an unprecedented need for knowledge.
AI-based search has changed the way people access information online, placing an even greater emphasis on content. Google’s SGE (Search Generative Experience), for example, delivers some search results as a summary of content rather than a listing of website links. For some industries, this is troublesome due to the impact on website traffic from organic search results.
After all, if the user is satisfied with the summary provided, they may have no need to click further. However, this can be an opportunity for financial advisory websites with stronger content marketing strategies.
This is because while a summarized response to a search query may provide enough information for some simple topics, financial advisor topics, and their questions can be more complex and often require a more personalized response. Because of this, users will likely be looking beyond the initial search results and reach out to a financial advisory firm for more information.
If your financial advisor website content stands out, you have a better chance of getting a click and resulting visit to your financial advisor website. From there, it’s up to your financial advisor website to meet the user’s expectations to get them to take the desired next step - give up their anonymity and initiate contact.
Financial advisor content can come in many forms, and some formats work better than others, depending on the audience and platform. Following are some of the most common forms of financial advisor content:
Blogs have long been a vital part of financial advisor website content. Not only are they a way to efficiently share information on singular, timely financial topics, but also new takes on established content, so they can be great for SEO.
Video content is increasingly crucial to any financial advisor content marketing plan. This includes everything from short “teaser” videos to long-form explainers and everything in between. Videos are especially prominent on social channels such as Instagram and TikTok.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget about video captions. One of the reasons video content marketing has become increasingly popular is that most videos can be watched without sound. By adding captions, you can engage those who can’t or prefer not to have sound on their mobile device or desktop.
These visual tools continue to be an effective way to display complicated concepts or large amounts of data. And, while an infographic can be used as a standalone piece of financial advisor content marketing, it’s best when accompanying a blog post. This not only accommodates visually impaired members of your audience but is also beneficial for SEO.
These examples of long-form content are best used as a lead generation tool on your financial advisor website. By “gating” this content behind a contact form, you’re not only weeding out the less qualified prospects but also growing your financial advisor contact database.
Take the time to not only identify your target audience but also learn as much as you can about them. With this information, you can present the right content at the right time, to the right people. Keep in mind that depending on your financial advisory firm’s client makeup, you may have more than one target audience.
It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. In terms of financial advisor content marketing, you can’t measure success if you don’t assess your current efforts and set goals before getting started.
Unlike paid search marketing, which can show a rapid increase in impressions and pageviews relatively quickly, organic content marketing can take time to show results. As with all of your financial advisor SEO efforts, patience is required, but it is worth the investment of your time.
Don’t underestimate the importance of branding. For some financial advisor firms, “branding” means a logo. And while a logo is important, it’s only one part of a more complete branding strategy.
This includes defining and using colors, fonts, images, taglines, etc. across channels to build brand identity. The idea is that no matter where someone sees your financial advisor content, it can easily be identified as coming from your financial advisory firm.
Financial advisor content marketing isn’t a “one-and-done” process. It needs constant activity, monitoring, and updating. Partly because Google’s algorithms are known to favor original, and timely content that is based on a consistent effort. And even if the content itself is evergreen, there is always something that can be done to optimize and refresh it, giving it a better chance to be seen.
Content marketing is too important to be relegated to the back burner. However, having the time and expertise to create a content marketing plan for your financial advisory firm may not be feasible. The solution is to work with a qualified digital marketing agency. By doing so, you free your time to serve your existing clients, while your digital marketing partner works to build an online presence and build website traffic.
Sound interesting? Contact us to schedule an introductory call. It could be a game-changer.