The internet has made a plethora of information accessible. Digital marketing should play an important part in your company’s efforts so that you do not fall behind as a result of all the data available. Using digital marketing as a financial advisor can help you interact with thousands of consumers and elicit loyalty from them by connecting you to thousands of prospects. If you’re stumped about what to do or how to begin, here are 15 simple but effective digital marketing ideas that can get you started!
1. Content Marketing
When it comes to content marketing, you have an infinite number of options. You have a practically endless variety of stuff to create, from filming films to publishing blogs. You can educate your target audience and demonstrate your expertise in the field by creating content and advertising it. Furthermore, by producing material, you may utilize SEO methods to increase the number of people that visit your site. This is without a doubt one of the most effective ways to get more people to your site!
2. Referral Program
A referral program is an excellent way to get people to spread the word about your business. Essentially, you offer individuals a reward for referring new clients or customers to you.
For example, let’s say that you offer a $50 referral fee for every new client that someone brings to you. That gives people an incentive to tell their friends and family about your business. And, if you have a great product or service, people will be happy to refer you.
The key to making a referral program work is to make it easy for people to refer you. You don’t want there to be any barriers to entry. The easier it is for people to refer you, the more likely they are to do it.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to interact with your audience. However, keep in mind that the more personal you are with your customers, the better.
Conduct a market research survey to get a better idea of your target audience’s requirements and desires.
The best financial advisers may have a long-term influence on your subscribers by segmenting them and sending them tailored emails if you tailor your message to each group. If you see a portion of your email subscribers looking at your retirement planning site, send them a customized email with retirement advice. You may accomplish this with other elements of financial life, such as exchange traded funds, personal finance, investment needs, and so on.
Segmented campaigns, according to HubSpot’s marketers, have resulted in a 760 percent increase in email income. While utilizing email marketing, keep in mind that your subject line must be effective, you should send your emails during working hours, and you should use email service providers such as AWeber, Constant Contact, and MailChimp.
4. Webinars / Courses
A webinar or course is a fantastic approach to demonstrate your expertise while also attracting a large number of people, allowing you to accomplish two tasks with one stone. It’s an excellent method to genuinely connect with your customers, build brand loyalty, and start getting conversions around financial goals. If you do decide to have webinars, it’s critical that you do so correctly. Here are some things to think about while hosting your session:
- Begin by picking a fascinating topic; there’s no point in conducting a webinar if no one is interested in what you have to say.
- Promote – It’s time to get the word out after you’ve decided what you’ll write about and when you’ll publish it. On your social media sites and through email campaigns, push aggressively for promotion.
- Upload To Youtube – It’s critical to host your webinar on YouTube so that thousands of people across the world may see it after it’s done.
5. Partner With Organizations
Excellent sources of lead generation and referrals are the financial services sector’s XYPN, NAPFA, FPA, and others. It’s all about getting your name out there; see if you can get your contact information and website included in their directories. If you’re able to work with organizations like these, people will be more likely to learn about you. Cooperation makes the ambition a reality, according to the adage.
6. Give Something Away For Free
Who doesn’t like obtaining stuff for free? Giving out free consultations is a wonderful approach to attract new clients for your financial advisor firm. People want information at the end of the day, and if you’ve been able to establish yourself as an expert or authority through things like content marketing, email marketing, webinars, and so on. You may offer things like complimentary consultations, whitepapers, ebooks, and so on. People will like you more and tell others about you if you offer these items. Would you inform your friends about it if you received something for free? Take a look at Twenty Over Ten’s client North Pointe Wealth Management. You may notice that they give out a free consultation and include this CTA on their website.
7. Organic SEO
Improving your SEO is all it takes to get more people to your website. It may appear to be a difficult job, but with some modifications and/or additions to your marketing plan, you should see improvements in your ranks. First and foremost, staying active on a regular basis is necessary. Blogging is the finest approach to establish yourself as a thought leader in your area; there’s no substitute for hard work.However, the more you blog, the more material you’ll provide to Google, which may have a significant impact on your rankings. Using photographs on your website is also an excellent method to improve your SEO. Furthermore, if feasible, utilize genuine pictures rather than stock photos. You have a better chance of ranking higher if you demonstrate that your company is run by real people. Look at Twenty Over Ten customer Quest Financial Services’ team members to see who they are.
The final approach to boost your organic SEO is to enhance the speed of your website. If Google determines that the loading speed of your website is too sluggish, it will be able to do so. Even if you manage to rank near the top with a slow loading speed, your visitors will abandon you. If a webpage takes more than 3 seconds to load, 40% of individuals will abandon it.
Yikes! If you’re having trouble with the loading speed of your website, contact an expert.
8. Organic Social Media
Social media is an important part of a digital marketing strategy, and you can’t have one without the other. One of the most effective inbound marketing techniques is social media since it allows you to interact with your consumers and reach a large audience. If you’re just getting started, it’s necessary to create a marketing plan. Consider what platforms you’ll utilize, how you’d want to be seen, what material you’d like to put out there, when you’d like people to see it, and so on. There are four critical stages in the process of utilizing social media for marketing:
- Use Viral Marketing – Viral marketing refers to the development of a company or brand through internet interactions without the use of paid advertisements. As a certified financial planner, you may utilize this chance to develop intriguing material that will be shared across many people and collaborate with other financial professionals.
- Respond and engage with the community – You want to make sure you react and interact with people who comment on your post or mention you. Engaging will demonstrate your commitment to the community and gain respect among your peers.
- When you reach a certain number of new individuals, notify your followers. To see whether your campaign paid off after all your hard work, keep track of the results. Use each platform’s analytics to evaluate how well your postings are performing.
- Create meaningful content – You’ll want to use social media to bring your company to life by sharing material that represents you and content that your customers will enjoy. Personal updates have been proven to be popular. In the post below, we’ll discuss what’s going on at Twenty Over Ten. We’ll tell you about Nate Sobiech, our sales development representative, as he travels to Beaufort, South Carolina in the near future.
- Use a scheduling program like Hootsuite to schedule your social media postings – this may save you a lot of time. Instead of updating each platform in real-time to publish, you can produce and schedule your posts ahead of time.
9. Facebook Advertising
Organic reach on Facebook is pretty much dead at this stage. So, if you want to get in front of individuals on this social media platform, you’ll need to start running ads. The best part is that Facebook provides fairly granular control over who sees your ads. You’re able to target individuals based on interests, behaviors, and even demographics.
For example, let’s say that you want to target new parents who are in their late 20s and early 30s who live in the suburbs. You could do that with Facebook advertising pretty easily.
The key to running successful Facebook ads is to have killer copy and visuals. You also need to make sure that your offer is Irresistible. If you can do all of those things, you’ll be well on your way to generating leads from Facebook ads.
10. LinkedIn Advertising
LinkedIn Ads is a fairly new platform, but it’s one that you should definitely consider using to generate leads for your financial planning business. LinkedIn Ads allows you to target individuals based on their job title, company size, and other factors.
For example, let’s say that you want to target CFOs of small businesses. You could do that with LinkedIn Ads pretty easily.
The key to making LinkedIn Ads work is to have great copy and visuals. You also need to make sure that your offer is Irresistible. If you can do all of those things, you’ll be well on your way to generating leads from LinkedIn ads.
11. Video
We’re guessing you were thinking something along these lines: I figured this list would be a piece of cake! Isn’t it true that video isn’t easy to do? You are wrong. We promise that creating video does not have to be difficult. Contrary to popular belief, your smartphone is all you need. If they haven’t already, investment advisors should think about including video marketing in their marketing efforts. On average, 3.25 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube worldwide (April 2017). That’s a lot of video, and it only serves to underscore the importance of this media type for an investment advisor. In fact, over time, 60% more consumers pick videos than PDFs. Not only does video benefit your clients; it also benefits you as a business since videos drive much greater traffic, interaction, and lead conversions.
12. Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool offered by Google that allows you to create and manage a professional online presence. When someone searches for you on Google, this is the profile that appears on the right side of the screen. Contact information, location, business hours, and so on are all included in the profile. If you want to be found on Google, you’ll need a GMB listing. It not only increases awareness but also aids in the formation of customer confidence. Consumers are 2.7 times more inclined to consider a business trustworthy if it appears on Google. When you engage a virtual assistant, keep in mind that GMB is merely the connection between you and your potential customers.
13 . Focus on Mobile
Finally, it’s vital that you focus on delivering a fantastic mobile experience for your clients. Customers will abandon your site if it isn’t mobile-friendly. These people will be less likely to tell their friends about you. It isn’t enough to have a well-designed PC website these days.
You need a responsive website that can adjust to any size screen.
If you’re not sure whether your site is responsive, take a look at it on your phone. If it isn’t, it’s time to invest in a new website.
Conclusion
While the financial planning services industry is highly regulated, there are still numerous methods for you to set yourself apart from your competition. If you truly want to thrive in this climate, then you must put in the effort. People will be more inclined to utilize your investment management services if you can discover a way to make your financial institution stand out from the crowd.