Put yourself in the shoes of a typical investor. You are about to retire and roll your retirement savings from a 401k to an IRA. You need a financial professional who can provide retirement planning and investment management services for the assets in your IRA.
You know these services are critical because they must last for the rest of your life. Any mistakes at age 65 may cause financial distress later on. In fact, your biggest financial fear is running out of money late in life when you have very limited options.
You have not used the services of a financial advisor in the past. However, you need a credible expert you can trust to always act in your best financial interests. So you have three important challenges:
- How do you find financial advisors you can interview?
- How do you screen the advisors before you interview them?
- How do you determine the quality of financial advisors?
The first challenge is finding the right type of advisor. One obvious choice is asking friends, family, and associates for referrals. Investors hope their positive experiences will carry over to them. The other obvious method for finding financial advisors is researching them online. It is a fast and easy way to find financial advisors.
Finding financial advisors to interview is challenge number one - the investor's two best choices are referrals or searching the web.
Let's say you are referred to a couple of advisors. Challenge number two is gathering information about these advisors that you can use to screen them. You want to remain anonymous until you are ready to schedule the initial interviews.
Researching financial advisors is challenge number two - rely on the experiences of referral sources or research them online (visit websites, Google search names).
Millions of investors will use search engines to find and research financial advisors - it is fast, easy, and anonymous. Even if they are referred to advisors by friends, family, and associates, they will use the information they find online to research them.
This makes the internet a major marketing opportunity for financial advisor leads.
Why is the internet a major game changer for financial advisors?
You already know the answer. Online is where investors learn more about financial advisors before contacting them for interviews. Plus, a significant percentage of investors will also use search engines to find advisors they can research and interview.
Financial advisors wanting to add new clients can no longer ignore the internet's game-changing power. Digital marketing is the way to unlock its vast potential for reaching investors who are seeking or researching advisors.
With the demise of lead generation strategies such as outbound marketing (advisors initiating contact with investors via cold calling), digital marketing opens the door to inbound marketing (investors initiating contact with advisors). Digital marketing creates online visibility, so financial advisors are easier to find. This visibility is the source of website traffic. Websites have a one-time opportunity to convert visitors into qualified leads.
As the world of financial advice becomes increasingly competitive, advisors need an effective way to reach out to investors. A financial advisor digital marketing strategy is an incredibly effective marketing option that can help advisors stand out in a crowd.
It all starts online. Your online presence impacts your results.
Target Marketing
Digital marketing allows advisors to target specific demographics within their local community or a wider base. This can be achieved through content creation (blogs, videos, and podcasts) and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Additionally, advisors can use email marketing campaigns to keep existing customers in their target audience informed with updates on new products or services they offer.
Tracking Your Results
Another great benefit of using digital marketing is the ability to track and measure the performance of your various online campaigns (SEO and SEM). This enables financial advisors to be more strategic with their marketing budgets and make adjustments as necessary.
When financial advisors use digital marketing, they can identify what's working and what isn't, allowing them to hone in on what works best for their individual businesses.
More Than One Marketing Strategy
Ultimately, advisors are better off using digital marketing because it provides them with a wide range of web-based strategies for reaching out to investors and invaluable insights into their campaigns' effectiveness. By adopting an inbound marketing approach for financial advisor marketing, advisors can watch their firms expand to prospective clients without using invasive marketing practices.
This is an excellent way for advisors to increase their reach, boost lead gen, and build trust with potential clients. With the right digital marketing strategy in place, financial planners can get ahead of their competition and accelerate the growth of their firms.
It Takes Specialized Expertise To Produce Meaningful Marketing Results
That being said, digital marketing isn't easy, so advisors should consider partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency that can help them develop and execute an effective marketing strategy. The ideal agency will have years of experience helping financial advisors expand their businesses. It is a winning combination when you combine industry expertise with digital marketing expertise.
Financial advisors will have access to all the tools they need to succeed online and stay one step ahead of their competitors.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is a great option if you are a financial advisor that wants to build brand awareness and produce new leads.
How do you know it works? Just look at how the internet has impacted the marketing practices of other industries. It is difficult to assume it will not have the same impact on the financial service industry.
It may have taken a little longer due to the financial industry's massive sales culture. But, that is gradually eroding as more advisors adopt digital marketing strategies that deliver the information and services investors seek.
Start investing in digital marketing today and witness how it can transform your business!
