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Written by: Nicole Skalamera
3 Blogging Tips to Help your Advisory Firm’s Website Succeed
As if running a successful advisory practice isn’t stressful enough, financial advisors these days need to ensure that they have a killer website, as well. While referrals are still a great way to generate business, you need to use strong inbound marketing tactics as well to drive traffic to your site and increase your site’s SEO rankings. So, how do you do this? One great way is to integrate blogging into your website. It used to be seen as an “extra,” but this day and age, it’s much more of a necessity! The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the number of Financial Advisors in the United States is expected to grow by 30% between 2014 to 2024. That’s a huge jump and with those kinds of numbers, you need to find a way to stand out amongst the competition!By 2024, there will be an increase of nearly 73,900 advisors in the nation.The bottom line? This may very well be the most growth we have seen, ever! As you compete for business among other advisors, it is especially important that you convey your UVP (unique value proposition). Why do you do what you do? What do you enjoy most about your profession? What topics or subject matter do you wish your clients and prospective clients knew more about?One of the easiest ways to get your unique message heard is by including a blog on your website, and then sharing those blog posts on social media.Blogging is such a great way to share content and increase your SEO rankings by driving more visitors to your site. Keep in mind though, when you are blogging, not only is it important to create consistent content but make sure it’s strong and shows the value of your firm. If you are stumped though and don’t quite know where to get started, let the three tips below give you the jumpstart that you need!3 Helpful Blogging Tips For Financial Advisors
1. CONVEY YOUR PERSONALITY
Your blog is the place to share your style and allow visitors to get a sense of who you are. Are you generally known as a funny person? Are you artsy? Maybe you really enjoy technology and like to stay up to date on the latest trends. Whatever it may be, this is your opportunity to really showcase your personality. Even though it’s important to remain professional, keep in mind that when you are going to be working with clients for a long time and helping them make important decisions about their finances and future, don’t you want to show that you are “human,” and genuinely care about them outside of work? Showing this off in blogs is a great way to make prospective clients feel at ease and that they can trust you.For example, when it comes to blogging, you can write more informally and share personal stories, like you are simply having a conversation with your clients. As research shows, sharing personal information makes us more vulnerable, which allows for rapport-building, and ultimately trust to develop over time.
In the above image, we love the blog section that Brian Plain has created. He has a more down to earth tone and writes about topics that everyday people trying to manage their finances can really relate to! He doesn’t use big financial jargon, and it’s an easy read.He makes his blog post relatable, by starting out about what it’s like to coach his young daughter’s soccer team, which in turn, goes into how you can take this approach to financial decisions. When you bring “real life” situations into financial ones, it makes it much easier to wrap your head around monetary decisions.2. CONSISTENCY IS KEY
One major factor for any successful blog is consistency. It’s so important that you schedule your posts out so that you develop some sort of rhythm. Your readers will come to expect this and will be more likely to check your blog on the day that it is set to run.Let your readers know when to expect new posts, whether its the first Monday of every week or the last Friday of every month. It seems simple enough, but few advisors actually develop a consistent posting schedule and stick to it. Things pop up all the time, client needs, etc. and blogging will start to take a backseat to all of this. So if you are the rare advisor who does remember to post often, you’ll naturally have an edge in this regard. What’s even better is that you can set up your blog to automatically email your list whenever you add a new post.Additionally, don’t forget to share all new posts on social media and routinely reshare old posts as well. Sharing on social is so important because it’s an additional outlet for your clients and visitors to find your information and reshare themselves if they really enjoyed it!
In the above image, you get the picture of how important it is to keep a schedule and write it down to stick with it! It shows that you can publish your blog at 10 am on Tuesday, share it on social and many other digital marketing tactics to effectively drive traffic to your site. Remaining consistent will boost SEO rankings and prove that you are a trustworthy and efficient source when it comes to creating and sharing relevant and informative content.3. WRITE ABOUT YOUR SPECIALTY OR NICHE
As an advisor, If you offer your services to a certain niche, then this is such a great way to get more value for your marketing dollar and gain more quality leads. What you blog about should ultimately showcase your knowledge and expertise, and your blog titles should compel readers to want to read more.When marketing to a certain audience, your posts should include helpful descriptions regarding your business, practice, and the services you can provide to your current and potential clients. Whether you specialize in retirement planning, tax strategies, investment management, or provide services to a specific niche, post about it! Your viewers want to hear your experience and your thoughts.
In the above image, C.L. Sheldon & Company does a great job of consistently posting content in their blog section. While they don’t post every Monday or every Friday, they generally post 2-3 times a week, so when you land on their website looking for information, you can expect to find helpful and updated blogs on their page! Also, since they specialize in working with both active and retired military, they write blogs that really cater to this group. It’s a small percentage, so they need specialized help, so having a blog section with topics, such as “ Military Financial Planning 101: A Primer on Trusts for Estate Planning” is very important.