The financial services industry is one of the most regulated in the country. That’s because consumers are rightly wary of giving their money to someone who doesn’t understand it, or worse, doesn’t care about it.
Financial services marketing falls into a group that Google calls YMYL, or Your Money, Your Life. These are pages that have the capacity to impact your happiness, financial stability, or safety.
Another example of this type of webpage would be healthcare advice. But it could also include something as simple as an eCommerce website. If you’re asking internet users to trust you, you’d better be prepared to give them a quality experience and valuable content in return.
To build trust with your audience, you need to be clear and transparent about how you make money, how much they can expect to pay if they work with you, and what benefits will come from doing so.
You also have a responsibility to provide sound advice and give them access to investment opportunities that suit their needs and risk tolerance. And finally, never forget that this is a relationship business; people want someone to talk to. They don’t necessarily want to trust their investment to a company they can’t
Financial advisor marketing is more than just having a friendly website with your contact information. It’s about establishing trust, providing quality content, and offering good advice.
Fewer investors mean lower profits. So you need to make sure that the marketing you’re doing on your website brings new clients through the door who are ready to invest. The marketing process for financial advisors is all about education.
And above all else, marketing must be compliant. Having a passion for your industry is undoubtedly essential, but this passion needs to be harnessed and translated into something inexperienced investors can appreciate without exploiting their lack of knowledge.
Financial services industry oversight is a good thing. It’s there to protect the consumer, but also financial advisors. In addition, regulation helps to manage customer expectations. With more rules come greater accountability, but it also provides you with an opportunity to share your knowledge like never before.
The Internet has made marketing more effortless than ever before, which means more competition for consumers’ attention. But this ease of access puts customers in a vulnerable position. While you might be a reputable financial advisor, there are others out there who would exploit any opportunity to make a quick profit. Since the internet levels the playing field, regulation helps to stamp out scammers and inexperienced investors.
Even if an investor can work around the regulations and fly under the radar, online reviews may ultimately expose them.
Building trust with your audience is essential. It’s not enough to just talk about the benefits of working with you; you have to prove it. Your credibility as an advisor matters but so does the information you publish on your site and beyond.
Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials from clients, and make this process as simple as possible to complete. A database of positive reviews is a great way to build trust and show potential clients that others have had a positive experience with your services.
You should also pay close attention to things like online security. A secure website will give customers confidence that hackers cannot intercept their data. Being respectful of email marketing permissions will also help to inspire trust in your audience.
And finally, make sure your accreditations and affiliations are visible in all digital communications. This could include:
So, what are some of the best ways to market your services as a financial advisor? The first thing you can do is use content marketing. Suppose you’re not familiar with this technique. In that case, it’s essentially using written content, video, images and interactive tools to share valuable information that will educate people about your industry in an interesting way.
Your blog posts should always be well-researched and informative, but they also need to have personality, so readers feel like they know who you are. Plus, if these pieces generate buzz online, then you might capture the attention of relevant journalists. Writing guest articles and achieving coverage of your ideas is another way to spread awareness for your business.
By maintaining a strong website presence, you can make the most of SEO opportunities. Marketing your financial services business through PPC is more complex, but not impossible. You can read more about Google’s advertising guidelines here.
Another idea would be connecting with influencers or potential customers through social media platforms where there’s already established interest in finance topics. Younger generations want to become more financially literate, and they appreciate when companies make an effort to speak to them on their level.
And finally, using video marketing to share your thoughts and advice is an excellent way to sell your passion for investing. Customers are more likely to trust what they can see. So rather than being another faceless corporation, you can place yourself front and centre.
It’s important to know that there are some things you should never do when marketing for financial advisors.
For example, you should never write false or misleading information about your firm or anyone else’s in the industry. This may also include profiling others as dishonest competitors.
Another no-no would be attempting to use click-bait style headlines for social media adverts. Again, this could be considered to be misleading and could land you in hot water.
And finally, make sure you work with professionals who know your sector inside out. For example, when working with copywriters, marketers and designers, they might be more inclined to get creative with their language.
In an attempt to be clever, witty or eye-catching, they might come up with headlines and content that fall foul of best practice. But, ultimately, you are responsible for everything you put out in the world, so it makes sense to work with people who know how to do this correctly.
Ready to get started with Digital marketing for financial services business with us? Get in touch with our team today!