The common saying “content is king” has been made even more true in the digital age. Unfortunately, financial institutions and financial advisors face challenges in breaking through the noise and generating client-focused content to engage and retain clients, all while ensuring adherence to firm and governmental compliance requirements.
“I don’t have time to create content.” “I don’t know what content to create.” “Supporting my existing clients means I have no time to look for new ones.” “I have a strong book of business. Why do I need content?” If you’re asking these questions, you’re not alone.
Teresa Leno, Founder and Owner of Fresh Finance recently participated in a panel to answer these common questions concerning compelling content marketing strategies for financial services with Marie Swift, President and CEO of Impact Communications, Scott Rogerson, Chief Executive Officer of UpContent, and Chris Lamoureux, Chief Operations Officer, Veriday Inc. Here is a peek into what they discussed in their one-hour conversation.
What are some of the most influential digital marketing trends?
Scott: The biggest one we’ve seen is employees stepping further into the spotlight and their companies stepping behind to support them in building their own personal brands. We are seeing less of a focus on where you work but who you are at that company. Companies are celebrating their employees’ differences more and using these differences to define their brand.
Teresa: In addition to the uptick in written content, we are seeing a lot more video used on company websites and social media as well as podcasting. These mediums allow financial advisors to advertise their firm through education and providing value to their prospects. The financial services industry is beginning to expand their content marketing mix.
Chris: Both Scott and Teresa’s answers lend themselves nicely to the concept of digital trust. Over the last generation, the financial services industry has moved from relying heavily on word of mouth advertising to having several online channels that can provide this same validation of recommendations. We no longer need to rely on our friend’s suggestion for financial advice and are now able to use more information to make decisions. Achieving digital trust is a major marketing trend.
How are these trends impacting the financial industry?
Teresa: These emerging trends are creating a strong demand for timely content that is relevant today and helps advisors position themselves as someone who is creating a solution for the future. These trends have also created a demand to find multiple forms of content that is readily accessible, modifiable, and comes with a simple delivery system.
Scott: In past years, managing a digital marketing plan for financial advisors was very simple because prohibition was the norm. Advisors didn’t have LinkedIn profiles and if they did, it was heavily monitored. What we’ve seen recently is that to employ a prohibition policy when communicating in mass is nearly impossible. With digital marketing now only increasing in importance for the financial services industry, advisors should use tactics to maintain conversations with clients and build relationships with prospects.
Chris: One of the challenges in this space that we need to try to overcome is utilizing digital marketing strategies that don’t require every financial advisor to be a professional content marketer. The advisors need simple guidance to implement strategies effectively and be able to maintain these strategies moving forward.
Marie, Teresa, Chris, and Scott go on to discuss how financial firms and their advisors can meet the demand for content with an effective content marketing mix that ultimately drives towards lead generation and client retention.
Check out the full conversation to learn more about compelling content marketing strategies for financial services. Additionally, find out the ideal content mix to meet your client and prospects’ needs at every step of their journey, including best practices and strategies to deliver those different content pieces. Learn more about Fresh Finance.
