Virtually all of us need financial services at some point in our lives. We invest, insure, save, lend, and manage our money, and someone’s got to point the way and help us do it. Even so, prospects and clients won’t simply walk in without effective financial services marketing.
Many disruptors have challenged the status quo for the financial services industry in recent years. Downward trends in consumer trust, the emergence of successful fintechs, tightening regulatory barriers, and the digitization of our daily lives are all obstacles that you must overcome as you market your advisory practice.
Fortunately, there are three easy steps you can take that will address some of these core influences on today’s market:
- Go digital and omnichannel
- Optimize for mobile
- Embrace video content
Go digital and omnichannel
Traditional marketing isn’t what it once was. Deloitte has found that today’s financial services consumers prefer to do their own research on wealth management — which often starts with a Google search. Case in point: there were 60,500 searches for “financial services” in the last month, as well as 246,000 for “financial advisor” (according to Keywords Everywhere data in September of 2021).
Embrace digital marketing — and mobile marketing in particular — through as many channels as possible to reach this sea of potential customers who are actively looking for your help.
Optimize for mobile
U.S. adults now spend an average of 4 hours and 16 minutes with mobile devices per day. Mobile devices have been the king of web browsing market share since 2016, when mobile devices overtook desktop for the first time.
Make sure to consider the impact of the vertical format and smaller screen on text, visuals, and videos. Film vertically or make sure Don’t forget to conduct keyword research for voice search, as an increasing number of searches are being done by mobile voice search in 2021 and beyond. Tackle the trend and get ahead of your competitors by incorporating longer conversational phrases and full question-style queries into the body text of your online marketing material.
Embrace video content
U.S. internet users consume over 15 hours of digital video each week. Search-engine friendly video content, video advertisements, and other video materials should make up a greater percentage of your digital marketing efforts than ever before. Make sure to include subtitles on any video-type marketing materials, as many users leave the sound off by default, but will still be willing to read it!
Consider how you can deploy visual-oriented digital content in your mobile-optimized, omnichannel financial services marketing strategy, perhaps in the form of:
- Differentiator videos: How are you better than the competition? These are critical sales enablement tools.
- Testimonials: Testimonials from satisfied customers are among the most convincing forms of marketing. Video testimonials are even better. While the SEC’s amended advertising rule now allows for the use of testimonials, be sure to check with your compliance team first.
- Educational video guides: Help your potential clients navigate the complex financial system with how-to guides and video explainers. These types of videos are extremely popular on YouTube across all industries. With enough consistent, regular, high-quality uploads, you could build a following that drives leads.
- Financial calculators: One of the best ways to engage users who are searching for answers is with an automated tool that solves their problem (and spreads awareness of your brand to boot).
- FAQs: Answer common questions in short videos (or blogs, or podcasts) that respond directly to common search queries. Share these in newsletters and marketing emails, on your blog, and on your social pages.
- Video ads on social media: Promoted ads on visual social sites like Instagram have high engagement rates.
These ideas are quick and easy steps to implement in your financial services marketing plan, but they’re just the beginning of what’s possible. As always, be sure to consult with your compliance team first. Check out more of our helpful resources and programs for further guidance on how you can engage and convert vetted prospects through financial education and marketing.
Are you ready to become a better financial advisor?
This article was originally published in September, 2021. Updated January, 2023.
