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Tips & Tricks

35 Financial Advisors and Marketing Experts Reveal Their Top Financial Services Marketing Tips

Marketing in the financial services industry is tough. You’re asking clients and customers to trust your business with their life savings, retirement investments, and their future. Naturally, consumers are pretty particular about who they put their trust in when it comes to decisions that can impact their family’s financial stability for decades to come. Coupled with regulations surrounding what financial advisors and financial services organizations can say and do in the realm of marketing and advertising, financial services marketing can be quite complex.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of effective marketing tactics that can drive results for consultants, advisors, and services providers in the financial world. To gain some insight into the strategies that work in the field, we asked a panel of financial services pros and marketing experts to answer this question:

“When it comes to marketing financial services, what is your single most actionable marketing idea, strategy or tip for financial advisors or financial service providers?”

Meet Our Panel of Financial Services Pros and Marketing Experts:


Rob BostonRob Boston

@RisrMarketing

Rob Boston is the President of Risr Marketing, a digital marketing agency based in San Antonio, Texas. They work with all industries, including financial institutions.

“One actionable marketing tip for financial services professionals is to…”

USE CONTENT!

People are looking for answers to their financial questions, and you can answer them through content. Make a list of the most common questions that your target audience has, and start answering them with content. The financial industry is built on trust, and you can establish yourself as an expert/authority just by creating useful content with
accurate answers to your audience’s questions.


Kirk WilliamsKirk Williams

@PPCKirk

Kirk is the owner of ZATO, his Search Engine & Social Marketing agency, and has been working in Paid Search since 2010. In 2016, he was named the #7 Most Influential PPCer by PPC Hero and has written articles for many well-known industry publications. He is also an avid conference speaker, having traveled across the US and UK to talk about Paid Search. Kirk currently resides in Billings, MT with his wife, four children, and little sleep.

“My #1 tip for financial marketing is not to ignore…”

Facebook Advertising. With Facebook Ads, a financial advisor can target unique individuals within ultra-specific demographics (think gender, age, and location) as well as their specific interests and income level. The income targeting layered onto specific interests in a physical radius around the advisor’s office can especially be a golden ticket! Finally, Facebook Ads are relatively affordable compared to other forms of digital marketing so can be a great way of targeting well at a budget.


Casey TibbsCasey Tibbs

@imagesquared

Casey Tibbs is the owner & founder of [image]² marketing, a boutique digital/traditional marketing agency serving SMBs in Central Illinois. [image]² specializes in the creation of full-circle marketing campaigns that leverage social with traditional marketing/advertising, and vice versa.

“Marketing for financial services can be tricky, to say the least…”

In most cases, local financial services offices are affiliates of larger national or international companies. These companies have their own brand and marketing guidelines, and those guidelines often hamper the local office’s ability to market effectively in their region. For example, a financial services client of ours is unable to utilize social media, greatly reducing their reach in our market. In addition, every piece of marketing collateral has to be approved by a corporate marketing team, slowing down a process that is very time sensitive.

Fortunately, the very personal nature of financial services opens up a great opportunity for a couple of the most powerful marketing tools out there—education and referrals. The two work very well together within the financial services sales funnel:

  • Educational seminars
  • Specific topics designed to appeal to the target audience
  • Lunch or dinner provided at a popular local establishment
  • Personalized invites sent out (mailed) to targeted mailing lists
  • Referrals
  • Marketing collateral provided during seminar includes referral forms/info
  • Guests are asked to continue attending seminars and bring a friend
  • Rapport is built during seminar, increasing likelihood of conversions and/or referrals

This system can be reworked into smaller or larger formats, approached as individual marketing efforts, or applied to additional events, such as customer appreciation parties or open houses. Aside from ensuring that the product/presentation is high-value, the most important success factor to consider is developing effective marketing strategies and collateral prior to launching an education/referral campaign. When approached systematically and proactively, this combo is a recipe for financial services marketing success.


Hank YuloffHank Yuloff

@SedonaMarketing

Hank Yuloff is the owner of Yuloff Creative Marketing Solutions and Sedona Marketing. He is a Targeted Marketing Tactician with 30+ years experience helping Small Businesses get Bigger. He is the author of three best-selling marketing books and with his wife and partner, Sharyn, hosts a weekly marketing radio show called The Marketing Checklist. Hank and Sharyn are creators of the new DIY with Coaching marketing program called The Small Business Marketing Plan.com launching in May, 2017.

“We find that the biggest fear, or rather the biggest obstacle…”

Seems to be a fear of company regulations, the Compliance Department. We feel that they are looking at compliance the wrong way and that keeps them from even STARTING to put together a plan. They rely only on word of mouth, which is the best, but even that process can be sped up. We say to EMBRACE compliance, because if you know their rules, you can be free to use many of the traditional and technological methods which are available to you. As the old saying goes: Learn it, Know it, Live it!

Then, start at the beginning, you MUST be able to target your best niche market. Go after the clients you know you can service the best. Age, Occupation, Income levels, Financial goals: These are just a few of the demographics which help you target your market. THEN, after your discussion with compliance, you can put your message, your APPROVED messages in front of the right people.


Evan HarrisEvan Harris

@EquitySd

Evan Harris is the co-founder and CEO of SD Equity Partners, a San Diego based money lender specializing in fix-and-flip loans.

“For financial services providers and financial advisors, it’s important to…”

Focus on Benefits to the Client

When creating marketing material, it’s important to focus on the benefits of using your services. Don’t just say that you will help the client – explain how working with you will benefit them. Will you give them peace of mind? A safety net for the future? Use more emotional wording that helps them to understand how their life will be better from working with you. Focusing on benefits will ultimately convert leads into customer.

Establish Yourself as an Expert

An easy way to get your name out there and establish yourself as an industry expert that people can trust is by contributing to local publications in your area. Contact journalists or editors from local newspapers with a story idea related to financial planning, investing, or anything you think your potential customers would be interested in. If the journalist is interested, make sure to provide some quotes that he/she can include within the article. By establishing yourself as an authority within the financial space, potential customers will think of you first when they need financial services.


Christopher RuthChristopher Ruth

@ChrisRuthPR

Christopher Ruth is the Senior Account Manager with Leverage PR, A Caliber Corporate Advisers Company. Holding a decade of experience in public relations, marketing and corporate communications, Christopher oversees strategic planning, media relations and reputation management for Leverage. His knowledge of finances and proven track record providing relevant B2B and B2C stories with solid sources has led him to become a go-to resource for media.

“When it comes to marketing for financial advisors and financial services providers, remember to…”

Become a part of the bigger story. Many people think the extent of marketing and PR is a press release announcing a new employee or an innovative service specific to their company, but if financial advisors and financial services providers really want to make themselves stand out from the pack, they need to find ways to position themselves within the larger trending news stories. Financial reporters are constantly searching for expert sources to weigh in on articles about the new administration’s policies or the value of commodities, etc.

If they’re feeling extra ambitious, FAs can always pen full articles that further position them as a thought leader in their space, but it’s important to research the contributed content policies for each media outlet. There is great SEO and branding value for financial advisors and principals with a service provider to promote themselves as experts.


Stacy CaprioStacy Caprio

@Stacy4Startups

Stacy is the Founder, Google Adwords & SEO Consultant for Stacy for Startups.

“I’ve marketed for a handful of financial service providers…”

And my #1 tip would be to focus on the benefit your service will provide to the customer, especially if your service will be able to save them money.


Sacha FerrandiSacha Ferrandi

@sourcecapital

Sacha Ferrandi is the Founder of Source Capital Funding, Inc. and is an expert in real estate financing. Source Capital Funding, Inc., is based in San Diego and operates across the United States.

“My top tip for financial advisors and financial services professionals is to…”

Specialize. Although there is value in being a jack of all trades, in the world of finance, being a specialist in a given industry often translates into having more credibility.

When developing your finance company’s marketing strategy, you want to build as much credibility as possible. With a large number of financial companies competing for the same space and claiming to provide the same services, credibility and trust are what are going set you apart from the rest of the pack. Marketing your company as a financial specialist in a specific service or vertical can help you do just that.

Be sure that your marketing efforts convey the message that financial service providers that focus on a specific niche are able to provide a higher quality of service to their clients, since it is what they specialize in and are focused on day in and day out.


Chancelor ShayChancelor Shay

@wrightoncomm

Chance Shay is the Director, B2B & Infrastructure Development for (W)right On Communications. He contributes strong program leadership through innovative communications strategies, established media relationships and cutting-edge outreach tactics. Chance has advanced communications programs for B2B and B2C clients ranging in size from local startups to international enterprises within the technology, entertainment, energy & utility and transportation industries.

“My #1 marketing tip for financial advisors and financial services pros is to…”

Give before you ask to receive. Give value to prospective customers before you ask for their business. Within all industries, but especially for financial services companies, it’s crucial to build trust and a credibility in order to secure business. In marketing yourself or your brand, you should seek to provide solutions your prospective customer can implement for problems they’re experiencing right now. It’s ingratiating, and it proves that you know what you’re talking about. When they’re ready for help solving a bigger issue, they’ll turn to you. It’s similar to the inbound marketing philosophy, but can be applied across all marketing channels.


Anna WolfAnna Wolf

@superscriptmktg

Anna Wolf is the Founder of SuperScript Marketing, a content marketing agency for financial brands. Anna has been crafting and promoting exceptional personal finance and investment content for over a decade, and is passionate about helping financial advisors, fintech startups and Fortune 500 companies achieve their marketing goals.

“I have a few important marketing tips for financial advisors and financial services professionals…”

  1. For financial advisors and companies with small budgets, I usually recommend picking one or two marketing strategies and going deep. It’s easy to get distracted with new platforms and technologies, but you’re better off choosing a medium that a) is ideal for connecting with your target audience and b) plays to your strengths. Posting candid office photos on Instagram? Cumbersome and awkward with very little ROI. Tweaking your PM’s internal market commentary into a weekly blog or newsletter? Now that’s a relatively easy, repeatable process that can drive site traffic and leads.
  2. First get laser-focused on your target audience, then design your marketing strategy around them. You can gather clues from your current client or customer base. What publications do they read? Which social media platforms do they frequent? What financial challenges do they encounter, and how do you help them solve those problems? If you can answer these questions, it should give you a roadmap to effectively connecting with the right people in the right way.
  3. Three words: test, measure, tweak. Financial companies have historically had a tough time experimenting because of compliance restrictions, but many now embrace modern marketing strategies like social media and blogging. The key to successful experimentation is defining what success looks like, measuring frequently and adjusting your strategy along the way. When you know which levers are working, you can improve the effective stuff and discard the ineffective stuff – saving money and driving better results in the process.

Ed McMastersEd McMasters

@Ed_McMasters

Ed McMasters is the Director of MARCOMM at FUSIONWRX in Cincinnati, Ohio. FUSIONWRX is an intrepreneurial division of Flottman Company; designed to support the marketing needs of region family business. Ed has marketed for industry giants Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft as well as University of Cincinnati, Goering Center and Cincinnati Chamber.

“We work with a couple financial services companies, and what we’ve discovered as the absolute best marketing idea is…”

TIME! Be certain to build a lot of time into your program development. We have postponed marketing efforts because of content changes demanded by the financial advisors’ overlords. Getting everything approved through corporate and legal has really slowed down success and limited creativity, especially content. Be certain to leave enough time to have the project review and rejected and be able to start over in time to meet your deadline.


Nick BrennanNick Brennan

@EnJeiBee

Nick Brennan is the Founder & CEO of Watch Social Media, a Chicago-based social media marketing firm.

“Financial advisors and financial services professionals should focus on…”

Insight: Give your insight and advice away for free. Make it easy to understand and actionable. Since consumers hate the hard-sell, you’ll build credibility by helping them understand the world of finances without pushing too hard. You’re a necessary part of the process in a complex industry, but you can’t insert yourself into the equation until you’ve built trust and credibility. Skip the aggressive cold-calling and opt for a well-crafted drip marketing campaign highlighting valuable content instead.


Mike JonesMike Jones

@remarkamike

Mike Jones is the managing partner of Resound, a brand agency. They specialize in brand development and digital marketing strategies for financial services companies. Mike has been named on of Arizona’s top entrepreneurs under the age of 35.

“My best advice for marketing in the financial services industry is…”

Hash out your brand purpose – your big WHY behind the advisement and services you provide.

An easy place to start is to answer the questions: Why did I get into this field in the first place? What keeps me going every day? What gets me most excited in the process?

Your mission (as an extension of your brand) is critical to your success in financial services. With so much parity among your competitors, the purpose that drives you, the values you hold, and the customer experience you build (based on that mission and values) are your major differentiators. Dig deep and find your real mission behind the services you provide. And then deliver remarkably authentic, consistent, and personal experiences on your website, your emails, your social media, your office, even your delivery of services to customers. They’ll love you for it.


Michael MignognaMichael Mignogna

@mikeymignogna

Michael Mignogna is the CEO of Minyona, a digital marketing agency based in Baltimore, MD, but serving clients nationally. Michael specializes in SEO according to Google’s best practices, centered around strong content written for human beings. He prides himself on being able to communicate, in layman’s terms, what digital marketing is, what it isn’t, and whether or not it might be beneficial for businesses of all kinds.

“If you’re a financial planner and you want to attract new clients, use LinkedIn…”

More specifically, publish original articles on LinkedIn about real-life financial advice you have that people can benefit from. Organic reach on LinkedIn is currently much higher than other platforms, so you might as well make use of it!

The best part about this strategy is that anyone can do it. You don’t need to learn how to use Facebook or Google Ads, you don’t need to learn how to do SEO on your website, and you don’t need to give yourself a crash course on digital marketing. Assuming you have a LinkedIn profile, all you have to do is write a few paragraphs about something you think others would find valuable.

To get started thinking about ideas, consider writing detailed answers to the most commonly asked questions you get from current clients and potential clients. Answer conversationally, let your personality shine through, and have fun!


Eric AnthonyEric Anthony

@StreamingOb

Eric Anthony is the Founder of StreamingObserver.com, where they report on streaming news and offer tips for streaming and cord-cutting.

“I cannot stress the importance of having a strong online presence enough…”

There’s a lot of free-cheap marketing options out there thanks to social media. It all starts with a social presence. At the very least, get your business a Facebook and Twitter (which are both free to create and maintain). Update both regularly (at least once a day) with meaningful, interesting content – not just information about the products/services you provide. Once you get in the swing of maintaining those pages, seek out guest blogging opportunities – articles you can write for other business blogs. This will introduce your business to an entirely new audience, and most guest blogging opportunities are free.


Debbie PageDebbie Page

@debbiekpage

Debbie Page is an award winning international entrepreneur, business coach and economic advocate for women. Debbie has worked with women and money for 20 years and has acquired, scaled and sold two businesses of her own; first an insurance brokerage and second a financial planning practice.

“A strong network of champions is…”

The single most effective marketing strategy a financial services professional can employ to achieve the the greatest success.

Champions are people who believe SO much in you and your work they can’t help themselves from sharing all your awesomeness to everyone they meet. Consider them your uncompensated, yet highly appreciated marketing department.

They could be mentors, current clients, other business professionals in parallel industries and even your mom. They believe in your ability and can vouch for your character, shortening the “know, like and trust curve” that is particularly steep in financial services.

It is your obligation to train your champions up so they know what a good referral looks like for you, and how to make that introduction. How much money have you lost because someone said, “I told so and so about how amazing you are and they should call you to move their accounts”? These passive introductions, that are really just mentions, take away your ability to extend an invitation to connect with someone who can benefit from your professional services.

Good champions always keep you top of mind when conversations arise about financial services. Because you have trained them to understand your niche and how you work, they can share high level details and then make the introduction directly to you, handing off the beginning of a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.


Clint ArthurClint Arthur

@clintarthur

Clint Arthur is the number one best-selling author of What They Teach You at The Wharton Business School and Break Through Your Upper Limits On TV.

“My #1 marketing tip for financial advisors and financial services professionals is to…”

Be the only possible choice. Having worked with dozens of financial advisors, my #1 piece of marketing advice is to be the only possible choice for your customers and prospects by becoming a celebrity financial advisor. Local TV News and talk show interviews is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to become a celebrity.


Carrie WoodCarrie Wood

@Lease_Ref

Carrie Wood is Co-founder of Lease Ref, the world’s only online commercial lease review service.

“My marketing tip for financial advisors is to…”

Create infographics. Most financial advisors produce standard charts to show clients their portfolio over time. But what about the other stories? For example, creating a timeline on a particular company, showing key strategic moves and blunders and show how that affected their stock price. That is very engaging, tells a story, and differentiates that financial advisor from their competition. And it also ties in to why the client should or should not be investing into that company.


Tieece GordonTieece Gordon

Tieece Gordon works for the marketing side of AMG Wealth Management, providers of financial services in the UK.

“It may sound simple but…”

Your financial marketing is all about knowing who you’re marketing to and for. Most financial service providers know their client base and prospective clients, but appealing to them is another concept.

Take time to understand how people are searching for financial services. Remember that terms used in the search engines may not necessarily be what you think. In fact, it might be surprising to learn that more people search for “wealth management” than “financial services.”

If you’re relying on internet-based inquiries, you’ve got to give people every chance to find you. Focus your marketing efforts on the terms and locations you’re trying to reach and regularly evaluate how successful efforts have been. It might take a bit of tweaking before you finally get it right, but you should soon find yourself hitting the right audiences.


Ankitaa Gohain DalmiaAnkitaa Gohain Dalmia

@Anki_Live

Ankitaa is the Founder & Digital Marketing Strategist for AnksImage. She creates and implements successful digital marketing campaigns to promote your brand online to increase your online visibility and website traffic.

“When it comes to financial advisors and financial services providers…”

Consumers look for those who can save and/or grow their money the most. So to demonstrate their expertise in this, financial advisors and financial service providers need to showcase their success stories in the form of case studies as downloads, as well as webinars with a live audience. A recent client of mine used to hold webinars every time his investment banking firm used to foray into a new sector, or wanted to entice a new client. A webinar with even 10-11 % attendance can be used as a marketing tactic to establish yourself as a leader in your industry, and the same holds true for financial advisors and financial service providers.


Tom AntionTom Antion

@TomAntion

Tom Antion has been marketing on the commercial Internet since their was a commercial Internet circa 1994. He’s the founder of the only licensed, dedicated Internet Marketing school in the country.

“Get good at using automated tools to make sure your name shows up all over the web in credible places…”

I’m personally an Internet multimillionaire and have taught hundreds of people these techniques. Also, when I get solicited by financial advisors, the first place I go to check them out is the web. Those that are quoted and have content everywhere at least appear more credible.

Lately one of the best tools is MeetEdgar.com. It builds a library of your content and puts it out hundreds of times a week based on your schedule. And no, I’m not talking about spamming places, although misuse of the tool could do that.

For $79.00/month it replaces a virtual assistant which can cost $50/hour. What I like about this tool is that it recycles your content so you don’t have to feel pressured into coming up with new content daily or weekly. It pulls content never seen before by a particular audience and keeps your marketing going while you are servicing clients.


George SmithGeorge Smith

@InfiSIM

George is a Digital Marketing & PR Assistant for M2M SIM card specialist, InfiSIM.

“When it comes to marketing financial services there are many challenges to overcome, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible…”

If we’re honest, financial services is one of the dullest subjects to write, blog, and post about; that’s why we need to think outside the box with our marketing tactics. So let’s forget about the short-term for a second and think about the long term goals you want to achieve from your marketing strategies; like every other marketer in the world you want the same thing – more customers – right?

The truth is it’s extremely difficult to change an adult’s way of dealing with their financial habits. That’s why they shouldn’t be the only audience you target. Instead, you should be spreading your efforts across many different age brackets starting from school kids to those in their 80s. I know what you’re thinking, “You want us to market to children?!” – but hear me out. There are very few businesses offering financial support and education to those who need it most, students. By approaching them early and teaching them the importance of finance you’re opening up endless doors to future prospects and opportunities.

It’s all about building trust and giving something back to the young adults and teenagers that are likely to use services like yours in the near future. But how do we actually market to them? This is where you can get creative; the young generation is obsessed with technology, social media, and virtual ways of interacting. So that’s where you exploit your marketing tactics, create short informational videos that are fun, post bright, colorful infographics across your social media platforms, and just make financial services fun. Simply carry on with the marketing methods you’re currently implementing just alter it slightly to suit a younger audience.

I’m not saying stop marketing to adults (because that would be downright stupid!), just move away from one niche market and stop mirroring your competitor tactics. Stay ahead of your competitors and strike while the iron is hot, the sooner you gain an interest in the younger generation the more likely you’ll be first choice for them in the near future.


Devon KirkDevon Kirk

@GetPayroll

Devon Kirk is the Marketing Manager of GetPayroll. She brings seven years’ experience as a multi-business owner and 21 years’ experience in all aspects of marketing. She has a degree in IT and certifications in digital marketing, web, and graphic design. As a business owner, she would stress each time payroll had to be done, and after being overcharged by several large payroll companies and several costly mistakes, she learned the in-and-outs of doing payroll correctly. She shares small business tips and tricks through her company’s free online education.

“When marketing financial services the most important strategy I have found most success is…”

The tap, smack, punch, tap strategy through education. Education is key when marketing financial services. You build trust in your skills and expertise, and then confidence in your brand.

I begin with providing education about something related to my product. For instance, I am the Marketing Manager for a payroll company, and part of my goal is to establish our owner as a thought leader in the micro and small business industry. We do that by offering free education, tips, and tricks on running their businesses better that may not even be related to payroll. Here is an example of what I may do:

Tap: Social media blog post: How do you manage a difficult employee? Tips on surviving a negative nelly without killing morale.

Sprinkle in related articles by others to reinforce the message that also includes my next topic.

Smack: Social media blog post: You overpaid a negative nelly. How do you solve the problem and get the money back and deal with a disgruntled employee too? Sprinkle in past articles we’ve written about recovering funds, share related articles we find on social media.

Punch: Social media blog post and paid social media advertising: Overpaid your employee? No worries. We WILL fix the problem for you and tell you how to easily handle it with your employee. Include a short contact us form to learn more. Include graphical representation and sprinkle in current client testimonials for fixing similar issues.

Tap: Social media blog post and paid social media advertising: Listen to what our current clients have to say when they overpaid an employee. Sprinkle in outside resources to encourage the idea that we thought leaders in the industry.


Holly WolfHolly Wolf

@SOLO_labs

Holly is an Experienced Business and Marketing Executive for SOLO LABORATORIES.

“As a former chief marketing officer for Conestoga Bank and a personal finance junkie, my number one tip is…”

Be consistent.

Send me tips throughout the year to remind me of how to save for taxes all year long. Share apps that may make the job easier. Don’t wait until April 14th to tell me what I should have done. Small tidbits throughout the year add up to big savings at tax time.


Beth Anne BallBeth Anne Ball

@thebethanneball

Beth Anne Ball is a leading digital marketing consultant in the industry as well as a business loan broker. Beth lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband of 11 years and two sons that she homeschools. Beth loves the Oregon Ducks and runs on a lot of coffee.

“The absolute number one thing, and the best thing you can do to market your service is to…”

Have a website and rank it using traditional SEO methods.

The reason this is the best way to get leads and close them is because it bring the merchants to you, instead of you going to them through cold calling or other more annoying methods.

You want your client to find you. You want someone to search for your financial service in Google, see your business right away, and get to your website. I quite literally just wait for the leads to pour in, and they do. The merchant already wants what you have, so there’s no convincing them they need financing. It’s win-win.


David LangtonDavid Langton

@langtoncherub

David Langton leads Langton Creative Group, a NYC financial services branding and digital communication firm. He is a guest columnist at Investment News, American Express Open Forum, and other publications. David is co-author of Visual Marketing (Wiley) and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

“The most important thing you can do as a financial advisor is…”

To build a relationship of trust with your clients and prospects. How do you do that? First, it’s not just about performance. Often it’s how you react and deal with a down market that says more about your investment philosophy and true personality. Use blogs, email blasts, your home page on the website, and social media—where appropriate—to build your brand with authentic stories about yourself, your firm and your distinctive approach to investing. Your clients want to know that they are being taken care of by a knowledgeable advisor who is always looking out for them. Comment on the issues of the day; explain why you invest the way you do. Do not get into the details or mechanics of trading. Share that you are on top of the issues that affect investments and demonstrate that you understand how the needs as of your clients are being met in good and turbulent times in the marketplace.


Mike ScanlinMike Scanlin

@borntosell

Mike Scanlin is the CEO of BornToSell.com, a web site for covered call investors. He has been trading covered calls for over 30 years.

“The best way I’ve found to market our investment software is…”

To do list swaps with other [non-competitive] financial services companies. We do a free exchange where I promote their offer to my email list and then they promote my offer to their email list. It’s free for both sides and an effective way to reach targeted new audiences.


Danielle O'RourkeDanielle O’Rourke

@RondCapital

Danielle is the CEO of ROND Capital, a Nashville-based private equity firm investing in small to midsized businesses.

“The best tip I have for financial services providers is…”

To stop marketing and start solving their customer’s problems with valuable content. Becoming a trusted source of information online is the best way to begin a relationship with customers. Create content that answers customers’ problems, gives them resources they can implement, or helps them solve a problem.


Tommy BurnsTommy Burns

Tommy Burns is a Marketing Specialist at Matrix Marketing Group. He is a registered HubSpot partner and top Quora writer for 12 marketing & business-related categories, and his work has been published in Inc.

“Financial service providers have an opportunity to capitalize on inbound marketing…”

The most effective campaigns are inbound-based because it avoids the typical disruption of advertising. Ironically, inbound is the hardest marketing activity for business owners to engage in as the short-term effects are limited. However, these results need to viewed similarly to compounding interest with continuous long-term potential.

As an inbound strategy unfolds, organic website traffic begins to increase exponentially. That isn’t even the best part. You are providing leads with the material they need to make buying decisions and this makes conversion rates skyrocket. It’s a full-funnel approach that concentrates on attracting new strangers, converting visitors, closing leads, and delighting customers.

With an inbound marketing campaign, companies can easily see a 2 – 4x ROI in their digital marketing efforts.


Stacey CohenStacey Cohen

@StaceyRossCohen

Stacey Cohen founded Co-Communications, Inc. in 1997, a full-service marketing and public relations firm with offices in New York and Connecticut.

“Financial service providers need to demonstrate their expertise and ‘Why choose me?’ factor by creating unique and relevant content…”

They need to reach their target audience (individuals plus “trusted advisors” to these individuals) through a multi-channel approach via a blog, media coverage, webinars, and video. Video marketing is a “stand out” way for financial service advisers to educate their audiences and build trust. In fact, studies have shown that the use of video marketing is incredibly impactful in increasing engagement, search, and conversion rates.


Ericka LewisEricka Lewis

@AdhereCreative

As the Marketing Manager for Adhere Creative‘s business services vertical, Ericka Lewis leads her clients and team towards inbound marketing success. When not generating leads and cracking the latest Google Algorithm update, she can be found cooking up a (yummy) storm in the kitchen.

“There are a wide range of financial services but they all have one thing in common: people…”

Customers want to work with a provider that can not only deliver results but with someone they feel a connection with. What’s the easiest way to do this? Workflows. Connect with your clients and build relationships using automated email workflows. If you’re in the midst of tax season and your client hasn’t been contacted in over a month, drop them into a workflow to let me know you’re still thinking about them. Or perhaps their workiversary is coming up; create a workflow for that too. Workflows are simple yet very effective at making your clients feel engaged and appreciated.


Marc RocheMarc Roche

@AnnuitiesHQ

Marc is the founder of Annuities HQ, a financial services business helping users create a retirement plan that works for their unique needs.

“One of the best marketing strategies for financial advisors and financial services professionals is to…”

Create and use social media channels to engage with your audience.

It’s a low-cost, but effective method of sharing helpful, timely advice, promoting blog articles and other useful content you’ve created, and building a rapport on a one-on-one basis. By developing these channels, you’ll have a much better understanding of their greatest questions and concerns and can tailor your marketing messaging to meet those needs.


Adam VienerAdam Viener

@imwave

Adam Viener is the Founder of Imwave & Yazing.

“Setup re-targeting cookies on your site…”

So that your can run advertisements that target your recent site visitors across the web. This simple tip will increase the value of ALL your other efforts by giving you the ability to keep your brand in front of your recent site visitors after they have left your site.

 

 


Robert BarrowsRobert Barrows

@RobertBarrows3

Robert Barrows is the President of R.M. Barrows, Inc. Advertising and Public Relations in Burlingame, California.

“Marketing in the financial services field is challenging…”

Nobody knows your name?
Need a lot more business?
Need to reach a lot more people?
Need to get the word out about how good you are?

Advertise!

Think about the budget you want to spend on advertising. Call up a few ad agencies and invite them to come in and meet with you to discuss the costs and opportunities with them and see which ad agency seems to make the most sense and then start developing your advertising with them.


John SmiddyJohn Smiddy

@leadplanmarket

John Smiddy is an Author, Marketing Consultant and Co-Owner of LeadPlan Marketing. He Specializes in direct response marketing strategies and is a certified inbound marketer.

“Marketing for financial advisors can be a daunting task…”

The industry itself is heavily regulated. Every message you put out on facebook, advertising campaigns and blog you post’s must be approved by compliance. Advisors are not allowed to ask for testimonials or leverage case studies of people they have grown assets for. These are all reasons that make a marketer’s job difficult when trying to drive leads for the financial sector.

The number one thing you can do is great work. Have a high level of integrity and drive results for your clients. These things increase word of mouth. Word of mouth advertising is a financial advisor’s best friend. In order to grow that word of mouth, make moves to become the authority in your area. Contribute articles to local publications. The demographic most advisors are chasing is still heavily engaged in traditional media (i.e., TV, radio, and print). So contribute to that publication or that radio show that is happening in your local area. Watch the news, when something happens on Wall Street, call your media reps and offer to come on air to speak about it. Local TV stations are always looking for professionals to talk about a subject that is happening on a national level from a local perspective. As your word of mouth increases, people will come looking for you. Making sure that you rank for the proper keywords in search engines is essential, but also once they come to your website, don’t make the mistake of having a portfolio-style website. Be a resource to your prospects and make sure your site has plenty of valuable information that could answer any questions they may be searching to answer.