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If you have a strong roster of existing clients, continuing to generate qualified leads should be at the top of your to-do list. We know that might be easier said than done — especially for busy advisories. To get you started, we’ve compiled 10 financial advisor marketing ideas that can generate leads to grow their business. Starting with some trends that may change the way you think about how to get clients as a financial advisor.
1. Adopt Technology That Supports Consumer Behavior
As algorithms and consumer needs change and evolve, so must your approach to generating leads for your advisory. Effective lead generation for financial advisors is impossible if they don’t know their audience and the communication channels they prefer. So how do you get to know your audience and adapt your strategy for finding leads?
It’s no secret the financial services industry isn’t at the forefront of technology use, but we’re getting there — and so are our clients. Connecting virtually has become the norm, rather than merely being an alternative communication tool.
Even with things getting back to normal, there’s no reason to think the demand for a virtual relationship with an advisor won’t continue to grow. Prospects who may not have been “digital savvy” before the pandemic have been forced to embrace digital communications, and those new habits are likely to continue.
Today’s investor is more open to finding a financial advisor online, and many are primed to invest in a virtual relationship with their advisor. Keep that in mind as you dive into the rest of our lead generation strategies.
2. Build a Professional Website
Your website works as your digital calling card. Wherever a prospect hears about your business — either from a referral, an advertisement, or a Google search — they are going to go to your website first. Your site should be clean, contemporary, and easy to navigate. If your website isn’t mobile responsive, user-friendly, or updated, prospects may get the impression that your practice is outdated and irrelevant.
A financial advisor website should include basic information about your firm’s services, team bios, and contact information. Make sure it lists your most updated address, phone number, and email so prospects can follow up. At the very least, a website puts you on the map as a business that is relevant and available.
3. Blog Regularly and Boost Email Signups
It’s not enough to just have a website to get leads for your financial advisory. If you want readers to keep coming back, your site also needs to be updated consistently with new content. Maintaining a blog helps engage clients and prospects while also boosting SEO.
Whatever you decide to publish (updates about your firm, answering common finance questions, employee or client spotlights, community events, or anything else), just make sure it’s a mix of both original and curated content from other sources. To learn more about the importance of a financial advisor blog, check out this article.
Use a CTA located to push site visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. It never hurts to add a little sentence on why it would benefit them.
4. Get Ahead with Facebook Advertising
Increasingly, Facebook is a “pay to play” platform, meaning that if you want to see significant results, you’ll need to pay for them. But luckily, Facebook offers an extremely robust paid advertising feature, which makes it easy to target your specific clients with information catered directly to them.
If you’re already seeing traffic to your website, you can integrate that data with Facebook via what they call a “Pixel.” Once you have that setup, you can target Facebook advertising directly to people who visited your site. By using a lead generation advertisement, you can re-engage those visitors and gather their contact information.
5. Encourage Online Reviews
When was the last time you went to a new business WITHOUT first looking them up to read reviews? Whether it’s a restaurant, hair salon, mechanic, or, yes, financial advisor, people are flocking to Yelp and Google reviews to get insights on a new business. When prospective new clients look up your business online and see you have a number of positive reviews, they’re more likely to visit your site or contact you.
Do you have these pages set up for your financial advisory? If not, it’s time to do it. If pages already exist, make sure they have your latest contact information. Once they’re up, you can ask your clients to log on and give you a review. Including a small note at the end of your email newsletter, with a link to your Yelp or Google pages, is a good way to encourage reviews.
A quick note on compliance: As long as you, the advisor, don’t make yourself a publisher by compensating a reviewer or authoring or posting anything — including responses to reviews — you will not violate the rules.
6. Host an Unforgettable Event
Enhancing your relationship with your current clients is important, but bringing in new ones is too. Host a fun client appreciation event and encourage them to bring friends. The type of event could be anything; it really depends on what type of clients you serve. Consider one of the following:
- Wine tasting events
- Family movie nights
- Outdoor barbecues
- A night out to community events
Be prepared with business cards, but remember, this is the time to really connect with both potential and established clients on a personal level, without feeling the need to push your business.
7. Build Out Your LinkedIn Network
LinkedIn is an incredible social media platform you can use to connect with old contacts, build up a reputation as an industry expert, grow your network, and get leads. Post helpful content, interact with your connections, and request referrals via mutual friends, you can quickly build an impressive circle.
LinkedIn is also an excellent place to join industry groups, or even start your own. In these groups, advisors can foster discussion and share relevant information with their network. Start a group for your community that answers common financial questions and discusses the latest financial news, and invites all your current clients and contacts.
8. Get Involved with Your Community
No matter where your firm is located, there are ways you can get involved in your community and get your name out there. Community outreach is one of those financial advisor marketing ideas that will continue to generate leads.
This could mean any number of things, and it’s important to make a decision based on your values as an advisor and the priorities of your clients. Get involved by:
- Sponsor a sports team
- Work with a local nonprofit
- Set up a booth at a festival
- Teach a free course to the community
- Sponsor a 10k, fair, or another local event
Get involved, it will help potential clients associate you and your financial advisory with a philanthropic act. Plus, you can feel good about the work you’re doing!
9. Ask Existing Clients for Referrals
If you want something, ask. This applies to a number of situations — and especially with referrals. When you remind your clients to refer new contacts to them, they’re much more likely to do so. Try adding a line at the bottom of your email newsletters that encourages clients to forward the email to a friend. Even this small request could make a big difference.
We recommend reaching out to your clients once per quarter to check-in and ask for referrals. If you’re currently using the FMG Suite email platform, we have an automated campaign that does that for you.
10. Gate Larger More Information Rich Content
Page-gating has been used for numerous years. The way it works is that it’ll cut off certain content to site visitors until they have inputted/signed up for an email newsletter or text notifications. Usually used on larger more information-rich content like ebooks, it’s a great way to reward visitors who sign up for newsletters with their email or phone number.
Just be sure not to abuse this strategy, don’t page-gate blogs or articles. This increases the likelihood of a user leaving the site to search for another that isn’t page-gated.
Editing note: This article was originally published on December 10th, 2020, by Charlotte Spangler and has been updated to ensure consistency.
Want to learn more about lead generation for financial advisors? Get a demo of FMG Suite‘s lead generating, relationship building platform Attract™ today. You’ll find the technology you need to grow your business in the digital age.
Related: 5 Tips for Client Communication During Times of Volatility