Content marketing may seem like an impossible mountain to climb, but writing marketing content can be broken down into three principles:
- Who
- What
- Why
Before tackling a piece of content, whether it is a web page, a blog post, or a video broadcast, marketers ask themselves three questions: who (and where) are my clients, what is my intention, and why will this piece of content help?
Here’s how financial advisors can apply these tactics to their marketing.
Who (And Where) Are Your Clients?
We’ve talked before about the importance of finding your niche market, which is a specialized but profitable corner of the market. Finding this niche market is finding the answer to the question of who your clients are. There is little point in creating content that is not addressed to this market because your niche market is going to be your most loyal readers.
In addition to establishing who your customers are, you must also establish where there are. Social media is a great place to start when producing content because 78% of people are on these platforms. And it’s not just teenagers on social media. More than half of Baby Boomers are on social media, and retirees age 65 and older are the fastest-growing group of social networking site users. Even more attractive to financial advisors is the large number of wealthy investors who use social media — a whopping 74%.
Websites that house their own blogs are also a great way to get traffic from your clients and prospects. In the beginning days of personal blogging, users would host domains through sites like WordPress and other blogging spaces. Now, though, many websites allow you to put your blog posts right on your websites. Most of our Exclusive themes, for example, have a dedicated space for an advisor’s blog.
What is Your Intention?
Now that you know who your clients are and where to find them, think about what you want your content to accomplish. These “calls to action,” as they’re called, motivated your reader to take action. Depending on your content and business model, these may vary, but some common calls to action are:
- Follow you or your firm on social media
- Subscribe to your blog
- Subscribe to your email newsletter
- Reach out to schedule an appointment
- Share your post
- Comment or like your post
Why Will They Read?
There is a sea of information available at our fingertips, so why would someone choose to read your blog or website above all the rest? This is the content marketing million-dollar question. How do I set myself apart, help my readers, and address their concerns?
First, you need to learn what your clients’ concerns, or pains are. You likely have a good sense of some of these already, but feel free to ask some of your best clients why they enjoy working with you and how you help. Ask them what keeps them up at night and why they continue to refer you to their family and friends. The answers to these questions will be the jumping off point for your content.
One of the benefits of content marketing is that through regularly produced, helpful content, you can establish yourself as a beacon of knowledge for your readers. Rather than just relying on getting information during their semi-annual or annual meeting, your clients can subscribe to your newsletter and follow you on social media to hear from you on a regular basis.
