Almost all businesses need marketing, from supermarkets to mega conglomerates. Marketing is the lifeblood of any successful company because it brings in new prospects and keeps current ones interested. Advisors use marketing as a way to grow their business and increase clients. Now, as a financial advisor, your marketing might look different compared to someone in the insurance field or the grocery game. That’s why it’s essential to go in with a marketing plan. Not only will it save you headaches and hassles, but it will also save you from wasting money.
We created this blog to help provide you with a foundation for your marketing plan. Along with steps to get you started and a way to continue marketing once your plan has been established.
1. Getting Started on Your Plan
Beginning your marketing plan is the hardest part of the process. This is due to having to take into account all your goals and lay a plan to match them. It’s not as simple as just saying, “I want to sell this product or service in this way.” Forethought makes the difference between a marketing plan succeeding or utterly failing. The first thing you want to do for a marketing plan is come up with both short-term and long-term goals. What are you hoping to get out of the plan? How do you think you’ll be able to do this?
Included with coming up with goals, establishing your target audience is almost as important. If you’re trying to sell to the wrong group of people, your campaign is due to fail no matter what you do. It’d be like trying to sell sausages at a vegetarian restaurant. Knowing your target audience goes hand in hand with setting goals, as it allows you to set goals with your target in mind.
For example, if you’re trying to sell financial services to a younger generation, you might want to try connecting to them through more modern means. Instead of newspapers, you’ll try creating a social media plan. Having a plan allows you to interact with them directly easily and, in turn, increases the likelihood of new clients.
2. Find a Voice for Your Brand
All successful businesses have a brand, and those brands have a voice. Your brand voice showcases a unique personality to present to the world. It’s something that should line up and run consistently in all your communications, no matter which team is handling the channel. Brand voice establishes who you are as a financial advisor and allows your audience to identify your brand on all platforms. Just think of your brand voice as a representation of your financial firm.
For example, a very well-known company such as Coca-Cola has a very positive, friendly, and down-to-earth brand voice. They love to show off what living a happy life looks like, and that transfers over to their advertising and social media. Take a look at any of their videos, and you’ll notice all of them are happy the whole time or end on a happy, wholesome note. Their voice is feel good, and they do a great job making sure that it transfers to all forms of media. That means social media, advertising, products, and more.
Have trouble finding a brand voice? Try these steps:
- Describe your brand in three words
- Think about what you want your business to represent
- Ask your clients what they feel best describes your advisory
It’s important to remember that brand voices don’t change but they evolve as time goes on. Your voice’s goal should be to stand the test of time and represent what makes your business so great. What does your financial advisory stand for, and how does it want to be seen? Maintaining your brand and its voice is a never-ending challenge, but one that is sure to be worth it.
3. Create a Timeline
The ability to stay organized is important when planning any sort of plan, especially a marketing one. It’s always a great idea to try and plan out when you want to reach certain milestones in the process. Create a timeline that sets certain due dates for parts of your marketing plan. Are you trying to establish an online presence as part of your marketing plan? Set dates that you want to get certain parts accomplished by. It’ll help you stay on track and keep you focused.
For example, when setting up a digital presence, you’ll want to think about what aspects you want to get going on. Maybe you want to create social media, a website, and a blog to start with. Creating a timeline will help to ensure that you get each task completed by its due date. It’s simple, but it’s sure to help keep you on schedule to ensure your plan is successful.
4. Set Up Your Digital Presence
Now that you have a plan, it’s crucial to establish an online digital presence. In an age where social media has over 3.7 billion active users, it’s important to have an active social media account. Your digital presence should also include a well-designed website. Your social media and website should be used as a medium for sharing events, information, and updates about your advisory. Connecting with your current clients and potential prospects should fit into every advisor’s marketing plan.
According to Google Consumer Insights, 53% of shoppers say they always do research before making any purchases. Having a well-made and easy-to-navigate website makes it easy for your target audience to do their research on your business and increases the likelihood of them coming on as a client. Social media works in the same way but in a more personable way. Sites like Facebook and Instagram push companies to be more friendly and casual by sharing things they find interesting or fun. This is a great way to connect to potential prospects and show off what makes your financial advisory different from all the others.
There are numerous ways to establish your business as an online presence. Here are a few of the most impactful:
- Establish yourself on social media
- Create an online store for your products/services
- Make sure your SEO is optimized
- Produce quality content on a consistent basis
- Set up a professional website like the one below
Your digital presence makes it possible for you to connect with a seemingly almost endless amount of people. Once you’ve established your online presence, it’s important to keep it going to help your clients stay in the know. This means that you should always be making updating on social media, engaging with your users, and ensuring your website is up-to-date. Much like brand voice, digital presence is an ongoing project, but it’s completely worth it for the great results produced.
FMG offers an all-in-one marketing platform and website creator that is sure to boost your online presence. Check it out today to schedule a demo.
5. Take a Look at Your Data
Now that you’ve gone through and followed the steps to creating a great marketing plan, I’m sure you want to know what you got out of it. That’s why it’s important to keep track of all your data and statistics as you go through the campaigning process. Doing so allows you to see what your ROI is and how effective your marketing efforts were. Make sure to use both quantitative and qualitative data to accurately measure your plan’s effectiveness.
There’s another crucial part to data measuring, though, and that’s the review and revision process. After a marketing plan or campaign has been completed, it’s a necessary habit to review the data and see what can be taken, changed, or improved for the next marketing plan. See what worked and what didn’t. Marketing doesn’t always have to be done from scratch, so it’s good to keep data from past campaigns to improve on its successors. This will help ensure that your marketing evolves and grows to fit your needs as a financial advisor. Remember, things can always be improved, so always keep your mind open to new ideas.
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