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Written by: Samantha Russell
The days of cold calling and outbound marketing techniques are coming to a close as inbound marketing has become the way of the future. When it comes to driving more leads to your advisor website, however, how do you do this? And how do you make sure that they are qualified leads that have the potential to become clients?
1. Define Your Niche
First things first, figure out who your audience is because once you do that, you can figure out how to cater your content to better serve them. Financial planning is a very broad industry, so if you can narrow your audience down to a certain field and focus on a specific niche that is underserved, you can really establish yourself as an expert in that field.
So, rather than focusing on general financial planning, you could narrow your niche down to pre-retirees and retirees, women, medical professionals, whatever it may be. If you can really cater to them, then you can put all your efforts towards being the strongest financial advisor in that particular field. Once you have defined your niche, how can you better serve your audience?
Create High-Quality Content
A consistent blogging strategy is crucial to driving traffic to your site, but if you cater to a particular niche, make sure the content you are putting out will help them on their financial journey.
Use the Best Keywords
In order to attract the right type of audience, make sure you are using the type of keywords that your audience would be searching for.
Make Use of CTAs
If a prospect is interested in your website, then work on converting your leads with a quality call-to-action that will entice them to take the next step down the sales funnel. you have a limited amount of time to engage visitors. Make sure you are giving that clear, direct instruction in the most efficient way. You have 7 seconds to make a strong first impression, so make sure you are engaging with them and then giving them clear, direct instructions on your call to action.
Snyder Asset Management includes a straightforward call-to-action that simply says, “Let’s Talk” after the question, “How Can We Help You Move Towards Greater Financial Health?” This then directs prospects to a Calendly link where they can easily schedule a meeting with Philip Snyder, CFA.
2. Define Your Unique Value Proposition
When it comes to defining your unique value proposition, how do you differentiate yourself from other firms? As we mentioned in above point, the financial industry is incredibly saturated, and if you can’t define what makes your firm different from the others, then it will be harder to sell your products. Here are ways that you can define your UVP.
- See what your competitors are doing to differentiate themselves and get an idea of what your framework can look like
- Determine your niche and who you want to serve
- Identify and outline the benefits that your firm can offer
- Write down your USP in just one to two sentences
3. Become a Thought-Leader
When you become a thought leader in the industry, you are showing that you are a go-to expert, and prospects can come to your website and firm to get the assistance and services that they need. So, how do you position yourself as a thought leader in the financial industry?
Publish Informative and Educational Blogs
Make sure these blogs are tailored to your niche audience and that you are posting them consistently. If you are trying to attract a certain audience, then creating content that will cater to them is key. Consistently posting is also crucial, as this boosts your SEO rankings, so search engines can better crawl your page plus, your readers will notice a schedule for when you post content, making them more likely to consistently visit your site. If you are having a hard time consistently creating high-quality content, check out FMG’s content library. FMG’s content library provides authentic, timely emails and social posts, market commentaries, videos, blogs, lead generation & client engagement series. Which you can use as-is or edit to your liking.
Work with Reporters and Publications
If you can get your articles into publications, then this is a great way to show that you are a thought leader in the industry. If you are featured in a reputable source, then include that on your website so that you can show your visitors that you are trustworthy and provide strong services. Some other ways to “get legs” out of getting a press hit are to:
- Share it on social media and make sure you are tagging the reporter or publication
- Include it in a blog
- Repurpose it in a newsletter or email campaign where you can share other information
Include an FAQ Page
Including a Frequently Asked Questions page is a great way to cut down on initial calls or emails, as you may be able to answer questions of your prospects upfront. Including an FAQ page can provide a few things such as:
- Serving as a built-in customer service by answering questions quickly.
- Fostering a positive user experience.
- Boosting your SEO, especially if you are using voice search.
When you are creating a strong FAQ page, you should “make it your own” and answer it in your own words while keeping keywords in mind when providing your answers in order to optimize for SEO. You should keep your page short and sweet while also answering the questions thoroughly.
Dream Financial Planning does a great job with its FAQ page, answering their more frequently asked questions succinctly. Many times, what a potential client needs is to be directed to another part of your website, and being intentional about the questions you include, as well as how you answer them, is a huge part of improving the site navigation of your website.
Create a “Freemium”
Who doesn’t like getting free stuff? If you create a “Freemium,” then it’s a great way to capture leads and offer something useful to your audience. What is going to keep your visitors continuously coming back? Blogs that answer their question and provide them with actionable information that they can take away and apply to their own financial life.
In addition to creating useful information in your blogs, you offer them downloadable guides, such as eBooks, White Pages, or anything else useful that can help them in their financial journey. Something to remember when including a “Freemium” is to include a call-to-action of sorts. If you want your readers to download a whitepaper or an eBook, then describe what it is about, then tell them to “Download the Whitepaper” in a button below the description. It encourages them to take the next step.
4. Leverage Google Reviews
There are many regulations within the financial industry, so when it comes to online reviews, there are many questions that come up as far as what is allowed. When utilized correctly, Google Reviews are a great way to boost your firm’s SEO. Most of your prospects will check out your reviews before working with your firm, so it’s important that your firm has strong reviews.
5. Use Case Studies
Case studies are a great way to show your prospects what advisors can do for their prospects by providing examples of a particular situation. If you take a deep dive into one specific case, then you can paint a clear picture of your services, which allows clients and prospects to take a more in-depth look at what they can expect when they work with you. When creating case studies, dedicate a page solely to case studies, and ideally, you want potential clients to be drawn to them and encourage them to read them when they visit your website. Make sure you display them prominently so that they are easy to find.
Retirement Matters displays their case studies and have even dedicated an entire section to just that. They provide three different studies for unique situations, and those include:
- Pre-Retirement
- Retirement
- Retired
Each situation is tailored for certain people, but they encompass fairly broad scenarios, making it easy for prospects to choose one that is the most like their situation, so they can begin to plan with advice from the above case studies.
6. Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
If you want to boost your local search strategy, then claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing is crucial. There are 7 ways to claim your listing and optimize your listing, and they are:
- Start by claiming your GMB listing
- Add categories to increase the chances your firm will show up
- Include your business description
- Make your listing local
- Get reviews
- Include photos to boost rankings
- Set up your service areas
7. Stay Active on the Right Social Media Platforms
Make sure you are staying active on the right social media platforms, and remember that simply having a presence on social media isn’t enough you have to differentiate yourself in today’s digital world. People seek social proof, so make sure you are getting creative with the content that you share on social. We say the right social media platforms because it is important to realize that you don’t need to be everywhere, so be aware of what platforms your target audience spends most of their time and focus your efforts on that platform.
Like many other things, it’s about quality, not quantity, so it’s better to focus on platforms where your niche spends the most time. Maybe you cater to millennials, or maybe you focus on retirees, so find out where they are spending most of their time online and focus on that platform. 90.4% of Millennials are active on social media, and to successfully market to Millennials on social media, it’s best to incorporate eye-catching graphics and imagery. Share third-party articles and content that would be of interest to show that you are like-minded. Additionally, 75% of Millennials watch video content daily, so including videos on social media is a great way to connect with them.
Which Platforms to Use
If you work with retirees, then Facebook is a great place to post your content. 64% of people aged 50-64 have at least one social media profile, and Facebook is the most popular platform for baby boomers. This niche places emphasis on in-depth news pieces and analysis with an abundance of concrete information/. When sharing on social media, cater your content to meet their values.
If you offer planning for business owners, professionals, and entrepreneurs, then LinkedIn is your “go-to” platform. There are over 630 million professionals on LinkedIn, and a lot of them are upper-level professionals, so make sure you are connecting online with prospects, providing engaging content, and interacting with them.
Know Your Audience
In addition to social media, take a look at other forms of communication. Things such as email, texting, and calling. Email is a good way to keep in contact and can be automated which will give financial advisors more time to work on other projects, but allows them to stay in contact with clients.
It also helps to review past campaigns (both email and text) to see how they performed and continue to improve on them. The hardest part of communication is keeping it consistent and constantly improving it. Once you’ve started doing both, you’re sure to succeed.
Related: 8 Email Personalization Strategies Financial Advisors Can Use To Improve Engagement