Mastering Content Marketing for Financial Advisors

Courtesy of AdvisorStream

Marketing is impossible without great content. Regardless of the strategy or specific initiative, content is almost always at the center. For financial advisors in particular, great content serves to position you as a thought leader and amplifies your brand.

Knowing this, more and more advisors are recognizing the adage that content is king.

Over half (53%) of investors report wanting and appreciating financial education from their advisors, according to the 2024 Financial Advisor Marketing Trends Report. Yet many also acknowledge that keeping content fresh and relevant is a heavy lift. Some financial advisors are concerned about running afoul of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation. Others aren’t comfortable putting themselves out there on social media.

Not surprisingly, 49% of financial advisors say they don’t share content because they don’t know how to best go about it, our survey found. Current, creative, and compliant content is the gold standard and requires time, effort, and expertise to master. The following tips can help you get it right.

Tip 1: Create a thoughtful content marketing strategy

Posting relevant and useful content drives traffic to your website — but only when it’s the byproduct of a well-thought-out strategy. Consider your target audience, their demographic profiles, and financial goals. If your target audience is pre-retirees, then your content marketing plan should include pieces on retirement income planning, Social Security, and tax strategy rather than articles about the financials of family planning.

The next question to consider pertains to your goals. Will you design a strategy to help spark conversations around your clients’ life events? Perhaps you’re looking to strengthen your referral pipeline, or nurture leads more closely. Defining your goals provides clarity when it comes to the types of content you share and the channels you go through.

Tip 2: Think beyond the blog post

Blog posts are probably the first to come to mind when you think about content marketing. But that’s not all there is to it. It may be that the best way to reach your target audience is through a combination of content mediums, like:

• Articles
• Checklists and budget resources
• Case studies
• Emails
• Infographics
• Podcasts
• Social media posts
• Videos

Variety enhances the experience for investors and helps you reach a wider audience, meeting clients and prospects where their preferences are. Test out different content types to get a sense for what your target audience responds to and interacts with. The right marketing platforms can provide that level of insight.

Tip 3: Avoid these content marketing pitfalls

Although content marketing for financial advisors has many benefits, it’s not without its challenges. Steer clear of these pitfalls to get the most from your marketing investment:

• Content marketing takes time to do well. The good news is there are a few simple ways to become more efficient at it. Consider how you might repurpose existing content for different audiences. For example, where some investors want in-depth market analyses, others might prefer the same information in a bite-size summary video. Or consider how you might leverage content from other publications to complement your own.
• expensive, especially for those focused on growth. Growth-focused advisors invest 4x more in marketing than non-growth-focused advisors, according to our study. Spending an average of $15,908/year on marketing programs, advisors are right to scrutinize and reflect on their efficacy.
• And there must be a way to track leads. Content marketing won’t have a meaningful impact on AUM without the ability to capture leads and follow-up. A best practice when it comes to content marketing is to provide prospects with the opportunity to easily opt-in, subscribe, or follow your communication channels.

Tip 4: Keep it personal

Consumers expect personalization in every brand they interact with, and financial advice is no different. In a recent Dow Jones study, 42% of investors expressed wanting more personalized content from their advisors. Only 4 in 10 advisors are doing this today, representing an opportunity to improve the client experience with more personalization.

Personalization doesn’t have to be complicated. Nor does creating an omnichannel content marketing strategy. If you’re not sure where to start, lean on intelligent automation tools like those available from AdvisorStream. AdvisorStream is a digital marketing and prospecting solution designed to help you:

• Curate the highest-quality investor-focused content from leading publications and accredited sources
• Capture and intelligently nurture leads with AI-powered insights and automation
• Convert your marketing spend to quantifiable AUM

We know that great content helps position advisors as experts in the minds of investors, amplifies their digital presence, and builds rapport with new leads. It’s the quality and timeliness of your content communications that counts and makes a world of difference in growing your book of business. To learn more about how AdvisorStream can help, contact us today.