Digital marketing fundamentals for Financial Institutions— Content is still King
In my previous article, Digital marketing fundamentals — empower advisors to succeed online, I covered the outcome of a sound digital marketing strategy for your advisors/agents, talked about the risk of facing irrelevance if your advisors/agents do not deliver on emerging affluent investors online expectations, and reviewed current challenges in the Financial Services Industry.
In today’s article, I will introduce the first key element essential to any turn-key Digital Marketing strategies. This should be particularly interesting for those of you working in a field marketing or home office marketing capacity.
Digital marketing — Content
The whole purpose of the Internet is to house content that can be instantly delivered to users based on their needs, preferences, and priorities. Consider the last time you searched for relevant content; when you came across a site that lacked content, or contained content that wasn’t current, compelling or useful, you probably clicked right through to the next site, all in a matter of seconds. The impression was near instantaneous, and it was not a good one. (more here: 3 Examples Of How An Outdated Website Can Hurt Your Business)
Now imagine a referred lead, maybe the son of a baby boomer client, going to one of your advisor’s static, templated website and finds no fresh or compelling content. No way to learn anything distinguishing about the advisor; no way to gain any insight into his or her practice; no way to determine his or her level of expertise. In this case, the first impression is most likely going to be the last impression.
Aside from the fact that digital content is what people look for when they go to a website, it serves three very critical purposes:
- It keeps the user on the site, and/or keeps them coming back. Whether it’s the static content on the web pages, or the blog posts, or the podcasts, or the availability of webinars, fresh, compelling, well-written, digital content is the primary driver of user “stickiness,” increasing the chance for interaction with the advisor.
- It can be what differentiates the advisor. At a minimum, the static web content on the web pages must be well written and imaginative to the point where it helps to establish the value of the advisor, offering some sense of personal insight and professional distinction. However, it is often the fresh content that is published daily, weekly, or, at a minimum, monthly, that offers the greatest insight into the practices, methods, expertise, and philosophy of the advisor that users look for.
- It is essential to raise the visibility of the advisor. It is content that establishes the advisor as an authority and helps them build influence in their target market, whether it sits on their website or is funneled out to social media. It’s what the market responds to creating opportunities for making new contacts and generating leads. It’s also what the search engines respond to in ranking websites. Websites that contain always fresh, relevant, compelling content rank much higher than those that don’t.
- It is what spurs the call-to-action. Whether it’s a timely blog post, podcast, an offer of a free report, or invitation to a webinar, it is the content that triggers action. Financial advisors with well-placed content consistently receive calls from clients or prospects responding to an article or podcast.
Of course, digital content can also be the bane of OSJs and compliance officers, which is why most financial advisors do not currently post fresh content. Understanding the significance of content in advancing the online presence of their advisors has spurred several broker-dealers and advisory firms to find ways to streamline the processes for content review and publishing. (more here: Financial Advisors, release your content powerhouse)
The digital content component may be the most essential in an effective digital strategy, without which, financial advisors will likely remain invisible.
A word about Blogging in Financial Services
The most successful inbound marketing strategies are built on a foundation of original, handcrafted content that provides its audience with value. Blogs are the primary tool for adding a constant stream of fresh content that can raise visibility, enhance the advisor’s brand, expand market reach, and engage clients and prospects. When integrated with the advisor’s social media apparatus, it becomes the hub of their online presence, directing traffic between social media sites and the advisor’s website.
Did you know? Companies that blog 15 or more times per month get 5 times more traffic than companies that don’t blog at all.
Quantity vs Quality
Until recently, I was telling my marketing team that it was all about quality over quantity. I have changed my mind recently. Why? This was true because we were in a brand building phase. Now I think it’s about volume. My goal is to drown our competitors with content and have our brand dominate search, paid search, and industry publication.
You need to aggressively approach content marketing and aim to outrank your competitors.
All the great content you write can be repurposed to educate your audience through channels such as emails, whitepapers, webinars, blog posts, social media, and even as a Slideshow that you can feature on Linkedin.
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