In a September 9 byline for FA Magazine, FMG Suite Chief Marketing and Experience Officer Susan Theder argues that advisors’ content problem isn’t shrinking attention spans, it’s relevance. Clients tune out generic “topics” like retirement or estate planning but engage deeply with the specific “moments” that mirror what they’re actually living through, such as a parent’s diagnosis or an unexpected tax bill.
Theder ties the framing shift to organic growth and answer engine optimization (AEO), noting that the AI tools now surfacing financial answers match on the specific question someone asks rather than a service category, which makes moment-based content both more engaging for readers and more discoverable by AI search systems. She also points to FMG’s Do It For Me content program as an example of building advisor content and website copy around client moments rather than a services menu.
FAQ
Q: What is the main argument of Susan Theder’s FA Magazine article?
A: Theder argues that advisor content underperforms not because clients have short attention spans, but because most advisor content is organized around service categories, like retirement or estate planning, rather than the specific life moments clients are actually experiencing.
Q: Who wrote the article, and what is her role at FMG Suite?
A: The piece was written by Susan Theder, FMG Suite’s Chief Marketing and Experience Officer.
Q: What does Theder mean by “moments” versus “topics”?
A: A “topic” is a generic service category, such as “estate planning basics.” A “moment” is the specific situation a client is living through, such as figuring out what happens to a parent’s house after they move into assisted living. Theder writes that “the expertise underneath is identical. The framing is not.”
Q: How does this relate to answer engine optimization (AEO)?
A: Theder notes that the AI tools now answering financial questions match on the actual question someone types rather than a service category name, so content built around specific client moments is more likely to surface in AI-generated answers, not just traditional search results.
Q: Does the article suggest advisors abandon niche-specific content?
A: No. Theder addresses this directly, writing that niche defines who you’re writing for while the moment explains why they’d bother reading it, and that a piece can still be relevant to a niche audience even if the headline doesn’t name that niche.
Q: What does the article suggest advisors do next?
A: Theder recommends organizing content and website copy around the moments clients are actually living through rather than a services menu, pointing to FMG’s Do It For Me program as an example of that approach for advisor practices.
