When I first moved my practice online, there were a lot of digital marketing ‘tricks of the trade’ that I had to learn through trial and error. I didn’t have access to the Conneqtor training or templates, or the global Conneqtor community of advisors. I had to figure out the best ways to reach new clients as well as how to use the tools available to me to grow my online presence and generate leads.
What I discovered is that digital marketing was crucial to the success of my practice and essential if I wanted to connect with prospective clients. I also discovered digital marketing is an art & science and so much more than just having a static LinkedIn page or boring website. There were a few digital marketing secrets I learned along the way that helped me to effectively compete in the online marketplace. These four secrets are what I want to share with you today.
Let’s get started!
Email marketing delivers the best ROI
Digital marketing secret number one: email marketing has an incredible return on investment. Statista reports that for every $1 spent, the average return is $36. Even though it’s been around forever, email is still one of the best ways to reach your target clients.
To take advantage of this great ROI, you need to include an email newsletter signup on your Financial Advisor website. Or even better, offer a free eBook as a lead magnet in exchange for a name and email address. This gives you a reason to keep in touch with website visitors who subscribe. When they enter their email address, they’re giving you permission to contact them. Start collecting email addresses and use your email list to nurture leads until they’re ready to convert.
Thanks to the plethora of options email marketing is an inexpensive and easy way to build a relationship with prospective clients. You can set up automated responses to thank users after they’ve subscribed. You can even track how many people open and read your emails. Although the free options can work, and I’ve tried a bunch of free and paid vendors, I ended up using ActiveCampaign and have been happiest with not only their product but also great pricing.
You need a mobile-friendly website
Digital marketing secret number two: your Financial Advisor website must be mobile-friendly. According to Statista, over 90% of the global internet population uses a mobile device to go online and over 55% of web traffic comes from a mobile device. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile traffic, you’re doing yourself, your practice, and your potential clients a huge disservice.
As a Financial Advisor trying to connect with clients, your website needs to be accessible to as many people as possible. A mobile-friendly site is easier to navigate because it loads quickly and works across all different types of devices. Another thing not many people realize is that mobile-friendly websites tend to rank higher in Google search results!
If you’re not sure how mobile-friendly your website is, I’ve got a free website and SEO analyzer tool that you can use to learn more about how your website is performing and how to make it better. Or, you can simply visit your website using your mobile device and study it objectively. Is the font legible without having to zoom in? Does the content adjust automatically to fit your screen? Is the site easy to navigate? Can you click on all of the links and do the pages load quickly?
You never want a potential client to land on your site and immediately click away because the content is distorted or dysfunctional.
Create visual content
Digital marketing secret number three: a picture really is worth a thousand words, so visual content is key. Our brains process imagery 60,000 times faster than text. As Financial Advisors, this can be really useful when trying to explain complex information or concepts to clients. Visuals are what’s going to help your practice stand out online.
Visual content includes images for blog posts and social media, as well as infographics and videos. Imagery makes information more digestible, memorable, and compelling. This is especially true on social media where the shareability of content is often decided by its visual appeal. Images also tend to generate a lot more engagement online than plain text. It’s important to think in visual terms when creating your marketing content.
Not to worry if you don’t have any design skills to speak of; there are loads of tools available to Financial Advisors to support you on your marketing journey. Canva, for example, is a great free platform for templated social media posts. And the Conneqtor Financial Advisor Coaching Program provides plug-and-play customizable templates for blog posts, social media, and email marketing campaigns.
When it comes to video, you don’t need a professional setup to film. All it takes is a good smartphone, a tripod, and some good lighting. Video is great for building trust and rapport. As people feel like they already know you from engaging with your video content.
Landing pages and CTAs
Digital marketing secret number four: landing pages and calls-to-action (CTAs) are crucial to boosting conversions. A landing page is the web page prospective customers ‘land on’ when they click on a link on another site, say on LinkedIn. The landing page is where you want to direct people in order to get them to do something.
You might direct people to a landing page to fill in a form and download aa eBook or to subscribe to your email newsletter. The purpose of the landing page is to focus attention on one goal so the visitor doesn’t get distracted. A good landing page will have a high conversion rate because it has only one call-to-action, i.e., it gives the visitor just one thing to do. The CTA tells visitors what you want them to do. For example, when people click through to my Financial Advisor eBook landing page, the CTA is to “Get the eBook”. People fill out the form and click ‘Submit’. The entire page is focused on that one product (the eBook) and goal (click submit). A good landing page is focused on one CTA, whether that is to ‘sign up’, ‘subscribe’, or ‘download’. In fact, if you want to experience a solid marketing funnel, just download the Conneqtor eBook and you will see exactly how a nurturing process works, give it a shot!
Bonus Tip – Ideal Client and Brand
You may be wondering; “how do I know what to say on my website, in my eBook, in my email nurturing campaigns, etc.?” Well, it’s all a byproduct of knowing who you are trying to target. By first figuring out who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish you can then start to define exactly who your ideal client is. Then, once you have this persona crystal clear you can use this knowledge to create your brand and digital marketing strategy. We dig deep on how to do this in the Conneqtor coaching course.
Wrapping up: digital marketing secrets every Financial Advisor needs to know
There are so many digital marketing tricks of the trade I’ve picked up since launching my online practice. Fortunately, you don’t have to embark on the same process of trial & error to reach new clients and see results. My four secrets are tried and tested, and with the right execution should help you get ahead in the digital world.
Conneqtor is the Financial Advisor training I wish I had when I started. It’s easy to get confused when there’s so much marketing information out there. Your time & financial resources are limited. You’ve got to spend your energy where you can get the most bang for your buck! For more digital marketing tips and insights, check out my blog.
Thanks for reading,
Derek Notman
