For financial advisors, deciding when to start using digital marketing is an important timing and financial decision. It hinges on three primary factors: your goal for organic growth, your marketing budget, and your timeline. For many, success often means outsourcing your financial advisor digital marketing efforts to the right agency that understands the nuances of a regulated financial service industry.
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This article explores the three stages of digital marketing—Starter, Intermediate, and Advanced—helping financial advisors build an online presence incrementally based on what works best for their firms. Whether you're just starting out or are seeking a way to scale your current marketing efforts, this article will clarify the steps you need to take to grow your firm using a digital strategy for marketing your advice and services on the Internet.
Why Digital Marketing Is Essential for Financial Advisors
Digital marketing is synonymous with the Internet. You have seen how it has impacted other industries’ marketing practices and your personal online habits. It would be naive to think the Internet will not impact the marketing practices of independent financial advisors. In particular, since the online marketing is based on an exchange of information - the perfect application for digital marketing.
Digital marketing is no longer an option for financial advisors who are seeking organic growth—in fact, it's their foundation for staying competitive. That’s because the Internet has transformed how investors find, evaluate, compare, and choose financial advisors. If your online presence isn’t up to par, you risk losing business to competitors who are more visible, credible, and accessible online.
The five key prerequisites for achieving digital marketing success include:
- Viewing the Internet as your primary source of growth.
- Committing resources to building online visibility.
- Using visibility to build website traffic.
- Practicing transparency on websites.
- Converting more visitors into engagements.
Marketing Budgets: A Financial Guide for Financial Advisors
To be clear, we are not talking about hiring an in-house digital marketing expert. Digital marketing is a multi-disciplinary process that requires several different skill sets. An experienced professional will also require six figures for salary, benefits, taxes, bonuses, and business expenses.
Our recommended solution for financial advisors with less than $1 billion of AUM is to outsource to a digital marketing agency for a fraction of the cost. Plus, make sure the agency specializes in working with financial advisors. Marketing advisors on the Internet is a complex process.
Your marketing budget is a critical factor in determining the scope of your digital marketing strategy. As a general rule, your marketing spend should be tied to your revenue. For example:
- Early Stage: Budgets are under $1,000 per month.
- Intermediate Stage: Budgets are between $2,000 and $4,000 per month.
- Advanced Stage: Budgets are $6,000 per month or more.
For a firm generating $1 million in annual revenue (e.g., $100 million AUM at a 1% fee), investing around 3% of revenue ($30,000 per year) in marketing is a reasonable allocation.
Phase 1: Early Stage Financial Advisors
In an early stage, your immediate goals are to establish a digital footprint and build credibility with search engines and investors. For many financial advisors, this phase focuses on setting up the basics.
For example, your website serves as the foundation of your online presence. It should be professional, mobile-friendly, and designed to engage with visitors. Essential elements include:
- Clear branding.
- Full transparency for the brand.
- Intuitive navigation.
- Calls To Action (CTAs) for increased engagements.
Content marketing also plays a pivotal role in building online credibility. It helps establish you as a trustworthy financial expert. Types of content include:
- Blog articles that address common investor concerns.
- Resources explaining complex financial concepts.
- Website pages that detail your services and investment philosophy.
Using credibility to build trust is essential in the financial service industry. Trust is paramount when you want investors to give up their anonymity to a firm they just found on the Internet.
Tools like live chat, appointment schedulers, and lead capture forms make it easier for investors to reach out and establish contact.
Less than $1,000 per month is sufficient for these foundation-building efforts. You’re investing in infrastructure, not aggressive growth at this stage.
The Intermediate Stage
Once a solid foundation is in place, the intermediate stage focuses on increasing online visibility, generating website traffic, and increasing engagements. At this stage, financial advisors start to see measurable results from their digital marketing efforts.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is vital for appearing in local search results and connecting with investors seeking advisors and financial information. Local SEO strategies include:
- Optimizing your Google Business Profile.
- Earning positive client reviews.
- Targeting location-specific keywords.
- Expanding your online presences.
- Delivering increasing amounts of information
Paid search campaigns can also help you generate immediate visibility for competitive keywords. Tools like Google Ads allow you to target specific demographics.
It is safe to say, video content builds trust faster than written content. At this stage you should consider creating:
- Welcome videos that reflect the culture of your firm.
- Explainer videos about your services.
- Testimonials from satisfied clients.
- Educational videos on financial topics.
At this stage in your development, your content becomes a lot more strategic:
- Writing long-form blog posts targeting keywords investors search for
- Creating whitepapers or guides as lead magnets.
- All work must be original for maximum SEO impact.
- The addition of pillar page and cornerstones.
Expect to invest $2,000 to $4,000 monthly to sustain these marketing efforts. This expense covers the cost of writers, editors, social media experts, Local SEO specialists, and others.
The Advanced Stage
The advanced stage is for financial advisors with larger budgets and more ambitious marketing goals. Firms at this level are likely seeking a outsourced digital marketing department for a fraction of the cost on an inhouse team.
Outsourcing to a dedicated team of digital marketing professionals produces the resources you need to build your own digital marketing strategy. You are not limited to the prescribed services of lower service levels. This team should include:
- Content creators.
- Social media managers.
- Digital advertising specialists.
- Video experts.
- Local SEO experts.
- An FCMO (Fractional Chief Marketing Officer) service.
Larger firms in the advanced stage use thought leadership to stand out in a crowded field. Hosting a podcast or webinar series positions you as an authority in your niche.
Digital marketing should be a data-driven process. You should be leveraging tools like Google Analytics and CRM software to track ROI and refine your marketing strategies.
Explore cutting-edge marketing automation and personalization tools to deliver tailored experiences for prospective clients.
A budget of $6,000 per month or more will provide the resources you need to fund the cost of an outsourced digital marketing team.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is not a quick fix. Financial advisors must commit at least one year to see significant results. Why? Because:
- SEO takes time to create visibility with improved rankings.
- Building credibility and trust takes time.
- Investors often need multiple touchpoints before engaging with you.
Patience and consistency are essential to building a successful, digital marketing platform.
You may have heard this before. Digital marketing is a journey, not a destination. For financial advisors, the key is to start with a strong foundation, build on successes, and scale as your marketing budget allows.
Whether you’re in the early, intermediate, or advanced stage, each phase builds on the previous one to create a powerful online presence.
By committing to a timeline and partnering with experts who understand the financial industry, you can position your firm for sustained growth in the digital age.
The question isn’t whether you should invest in digital marketing—it’s how soon you can get started building an online presence, credibility, trust, and engagements with investors.
