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The rise of the internet has led to a vast amount of information available online. Due to this information overload, digital marketing should be a key part of your business efforts so that you don’t get left behind. As a financial advisor, utilizing digital marketing will allow you to reach thousands of customers, engage with them, and build loyalty. If you are unsure of what to do or how to start, here are 10 awesome and easy digital marketing strategies to help you get started!
Related: 8 Financial Advisor Marketing Strategies
A large part of getting more traffic to your site is boosting your SEO. This may seem like a hefty task, but with a few additions and/or changes to your marketing strategy, you will see your rankings go up.
First things first, it’s really important that you are consistently blogging. You want to show that you are a thought leader in your space, and there is no better way to do that than through blogging. In fact, the more you blog, the more content you will feed into Google and let Google know you exist, which can significantly impact your rankings.
Another great way to boost your SEO is by adding images to your website. Furthermore, try to add real images if you can rather than generic stock images. By showing that your company has real people behind it, you have better chances of being ranked higher. Check out Twenty Over Ten client Quest Financial Services who includes headshots on the team page so you know who you will be working with.
A third way to boost your organic SEO is by improving your page speed. Google is able to recognize if your loading speed is too slow and hurts your rankings. Moreover, even if you do make it near the top with a slow speed, your visitors will definitely not stay. A surprising 40% of visitors will abandon websites if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Related: 10 Ways to Restart Your (Stalled) Prospecting Efforts
1. Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool offered by Google. This is the profile that appears on the right side of the page when someone searches for you. The profile includes things such as contact info, location, hours of operation, etc. If you want to be found on google, it is critical that you have a GMB listing because it helps boost your SEO. Not only does it help with visibility, but it also helps with earning customer trust. Brands that show up on Google are 2.7 times more likely to be considered reputable by consumers. GMB is simply the bridge between you and your prospective clients. Check out the example of the GMB listing for C.L. Sheldon & Company
2. Content Marketing
Content is king, and when it comes to content marketing, there’s an unlimited array to choose from. From creating videos to writing blogs, there’s so much content you can generate. Content creation and marketing let you educate your target audience and showcase your expertise in the field. Furthermore, by creating content, you can utilize SEO techniques so that you can be visible in Google searches. This is by far one of the best ways to boost the number of visitors to your site!
3. Organic Social Media
You definitely cannot talk about digital marketing without talking about social media. One of the best digital marketing strategies is social media as you can reach a large audience and engage with your customers. If you are just starting out, it’s important to take some time to create a marketing strategy. Think about what platforms you want to use, how you want to be seen, what you want to post, when you want to post, etc. In general, there are four basic steps you should take when engaging in social media marketing:- Post meaningful content – you want to bring your company to life by posting content that reflects you and content that your customers will enjoy. We have seen that people love seeing personal posts. For example, here at Twenty Over Ten we post about what our team has been up to. For instance, in the post below, we share our sales development representative Nate Sobiech on his trip Beaufort, SC.
- Engage with the community – you want to make sure that you respond and interact with people who comment on your post or mentions you. Doing this will build loyalty and will demonstrate that you are an active member of the community.
- Schedule your posts – using a scheduling platform such as Hootsuite for your social posts can be a HUGE timesaver. Instead of manually logging into each platform in real-time to post, you can set up your posts and schedule them in advance.
- Track your results – after all your hard work, it’s time to see if it paid off. You can tap into each platform’s analytics to see how well your posts have been performing.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to engage with your audience. One really important thing to remember about email marketing, however, is that the more personal you are, the better. By segmenting your email subscribers and sending them specifically targeted emails, you will create a long-lasting impact. For example, if you see a group of your email subscribers checking out your retirement planning page, send that specific group a targeted email containing retirement information. In fact, marketers report a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns. While engaging in email marketing, its also important to have a strong subject line, send your emails at appropriate times of the day, and use email service providers such as AWeber, Constant Contact , and MailChimp.
5. Webinars / Courses
Hosting webinars or courses is a great way to show your expertise and reach a large audience, allowing you to kill two birds with one stone. It’s a great avenue to actually engage with your customers, build loyalty, and get those conversions going. However, it’s really important that if you do choose to host webinars that you host them right. Here are some things you should keep in mind while you are hosting your webinar:- Start by picking an engaging topic – there’s no point in hosting a webinar if it’s not a topic that people want to hear about
- Promote – once you’ve got a topic and set a date, it’s time to get the word out. Promote heavily on your social media accounts and email campaigns.
- Upload To Youtube – After hosting your webinar, it’s important to upload it to Youtube so that thousands of people around the world can see it.
Related: 8 Financial Advisor Marketing Strategies
6. Give Something Away For Free
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Free consultations are a great way to generate new leads for your advisor business. At the end of the day, people want access to expertise, and if you have used some of the strategies above like content marketing, email marketing, webinars, etc. successfully, then you’ve been able to position yourself as an expert or authority. You can offer things such as free consultations, free whitepapers, free ebooks, etc. By offering these gifts, people will tend to not only like you more, but also tell other people about you. Think about your own experience if you get something for free, will you tell your friends about it? Take a look at Twenty Over Ten’s client North Pointe Wealth Management. You can see that they offer a free consultation, and they put this CTA right on the homepage.
7. Partner With Organizations
In the financial services industry, organizations like XYPN, NAPFA, FPA, etc. are good sources of lead generation and referrals. It’s all about getting your name out there, so see if you can get your contact information and website listed on their directories. If you are able to partner with organizations like these, people will be more likely to find you. As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dreamwork.
8. Organic SEO
A large part of getting more traffic to your site is boosting your SEO. This may seem like a hefty task, but with a few additions and/or changes to your marketing strategy, you will see your rankings go up.
First things first, it’s really important that you are consistently blogging. You want to show that you are a thought leader in your space, and there is no better way to do that than through blogging. In fact, the more you blog, the more content you will feed into Google and let Google know you exist, which can significantly impact your rankings.
Another great way to boost your SEO is by adding images to your website. Furthermore, try to add real images if you can rather than generic stock images. By showing that your company has real people behind it, you have better chances of being ranked higher. Check out Twenty Over Ten client Quest Financial Services who includes headshots on the team page so you know who you will be working with.
A third way to boost your organic SEO is by improving your page speed. Google is able to recognize if your loading speed is too slow and hurts your rankings. Moreover, even if you do make it near the top with a slow speed, your visitors will definitely not stay. A surprising 40% of visitors will abandon websites if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
9. Video
We know what you thinking – I thought this list was all EASY stuff to do?! video isn’t easy! Well, your wrong! we promise. Video doesn’t have to be hard to execute. Contrary to popular opinion, all you need is your smartphone. So, if videos are currently not a part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to make a change for the better. If you aren’t convinced, hear this: the average amount of video content watched on YouTube globally is 3.25 billion hours each month. That is an incredible amount of video and just goes to show why this content format should be a priority for your business. In fact, 60% more people prefer watching a video than reading the text. Not only does video benefit your customers, but it also benefits you because videos generate much more traffic, engagement, and lead conversions.
10. Focus on Mobile
Last but definitely not least, it’s important that you focus on providing a wonderful mobile experience for your customers. If your site is not mobile-friendly, people will leave your site. Not only that, but these people will also be less likely to recommend you to their friends. As smartphone usage is widely increasing, it’s simply not enough to have a well-designed PC site.
Related: 10 Ways to Restart Your (Stalled) Prospecting Efforts