If you’re a financial advisor, wouldn’t it be helpful if you could find out exactly what your prospects are concerned about? If you could, it would allow you to craft your messaging to address those concerns and use targeted digital ads to reach those have them.
Lucky for you, in November and December of 2019, Facebook commissioned Audience Theory and Ipsos to survey 1,000 consumers, both those who have bank accounts and those who don't, aged 18 and over. They then put together an article and infographic that summarizes the information they found. Here are some of our favorite statistics from the survey...
As you can see from the infographic above, consumers have many financial fears. Plus, it’s not always easy for people to face them and figure out how to make their situation more comfortable. The process often requires navigating through a sea of jargon-heavy articles and “professionals” who are more concerned with making money for themselves than acting in the client’s best interest as a fiduciary.
Financial advisors who truly believe in providing clients with unbiased and personalized advice often find themselves struggling to find, much less reach, this audience of fearful consumers. The best way to make yourself available to those who are ready for financial help is to take to the Internet. This is the perfect place to show that you can help quell financial fears. Here are 5 easy ways to start using digital marketing in a way that will grow your client base...
- Optimize your website.
Modern websites need to be much more than online brochures. Your website should be your main marketing tool. This means you have to make sure that it’s attractive, up-to-date, informative, fully functioning, includes SEO keywords and phrases so that the site can easily be found, and is overall designed to move today’s empowered consumer through the Buyer’s Journey. A lot of people these days figure out who they’d like to do business with by conducting online searches. When asked to rank the most compelling financial content delivery methods, those who responded to the previously mentioned Facebook survey ranked “website” within the top three. This is why it’s important that yours be optimized; you want people to find you online and quickly deduce from one visit to your website that you have the answers to their problems.
- Create solution-based content.
Your content (website, blogs, emails, social media posts, etc.) are how you prove that you are not just selling services and products, but solutions. So, write pieces that address the financial fears many modern consumers share, such as those reported on in the Facebook survey and any other common issues you’ve come across. Use content creation as an opportunity to show that you understand these worries and that you are ready to help.
- Be active on social media.
Aside from including solution-based content on your website and sending out similar messaging to your email list, you should also share it on social media. Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are other places that modern consumers conduct their research before choosing to do business with a company. Posting often can help you prove that you know what you’re talking about. You should also be engaging in places beyond your own pages. A great way for financial service providers to do this is by joining relevant groups, on Facebook and LinkedIn especially. Here you can join in conversations and share your unique and helpful perspective, thus gaining the trust of those who see your comments. According to the previously mentioned study, around half of the weekly Facebook users who were surveyed expressed interest in groups that provide financial content. The numbers don’t lie! Get in there and get commenting.
- Respond to social media users.
Not only should you be sharing your own content and commenting on other pages, you also need to be monitoring social media on a regular basis so that you can respond to consumers who may come to the platforms with specific questions. You may receive some of these questions as comments on posts, but when it comes to discussing someone’s personal finances, you should move these conversations over to Messenger. Private messaging is the best of both worlds because it’s a way to connect with people that prefer to communicate on social media, but it’s still personal and discreet. According to the Facebook study, around half of all US consumers surveyed said they’d be completely comfortable receiving financial information and advice over chat and messaging apps.
- Incorporate video into your content and communications.
Video is truly the preferred format of online content and communications these days, especially for younger demographics. A lot of people who are first learning about finance and retirement planning may have a hard time understanding some of the more complex concepts. Video is a great way to comprehensively and clearly cover some of these topics because it is visual and engaging. You could try a Q&A, which is a great format for addressing frequently expressed concerns. It’s also a great format for live videos! We highly recommend going live as it’s fairly casual and personal as far as professional content goes, making it a great tool for gaining trust. Video is so popular and compelling that we even recommend hopping on video calls and conferences instead of picking up the phone. It helps with connection in situations during which you can’t actually meet up face-to-face.
So, if you want to deliver valuable information to consumers and prove to them that you’re a thought leader in the financial field and worthy of their consideration, then digital marketing is for you. It allows you to meet prospects right where they’re at - online! Digitally show these prospects that with you on their team there’s no need to fear and there’s a much greater chance that they’ll turn into clients!
