Your Financial Advisory Brand Has a Story—Share It!

Your brand story is more than content and narrative. A brand story goes beyond website copy, the text in a brochure or the seminar used to pitch to prospective clients. Your story isn’t just what you say —  it’s also what your audience believes about you and your services based on your brand’s message. Your brand story is a big picture view of your financial services made up of facts, feelings, and perceptions that go beyond the story you tell.

Everything you do, from the services and products you feature to the colors and formatting of your website pages, becomes a part of your brand story. Every email you send, every tweet you create, and every interaction with prospects and clients is a part of your story, too. While you can’t control how your story is perceived, you can use powerful tools for telling your story the way you want it told. Learn how to tell your brand story with an authentic voice to position your brand right where you want it.

 

Why You Should Share Your Brand Story Visually

Sharing your story through using written content will always be a part of your content marketing strategy. But when you tap into the power of visual marketing, your story will reach a greater audience and be better understood. Content like videos, infographics, and images that are visually appealing are easier to digest and the information is better retained. When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information after the same amount of time.

 

Featured images are the introduction to your story.

 

In most blog posts you will have the opportunity to choose a featured picture. This is true on blogging platforms like FMG Suite, WordPress, and Medium as well as social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. The featured picture is the first impression people receive of your written content. Your featured image needs to communicate the tone and subject of your piece as well as fit in with the overall look and feel of our brand. With a little effort, it’s not difficult to source images that promote your brand story.

 

Infographics are the summary of your brand story.

 

Infographics give you a way to tell your story in pictures and words in one convenient format that’s easy to distribute and easy for your audience to understand. This blend of text and imagery is a great way to summarize elements of your story or explain complex terms or concepts. With the availability of online services and available software to help you create infographics for your story, creating effective infographics is well within reach for even the most “creatively challenged” financial advisor.

 

Video is the movie version of your story!

Content marketing and social media changed marketing in a big way. Brand storytelling took center stage, allowing even the smallest of brands to tell their story in a personalized way that resonated with their audience. For individual financial advisors and advisory firms, video can take their content marketing to a new level with enhanced storytelling and an even more personalized approach. When you consider that mobile video usage has increased by nearly 10 million daily viewing minutes in the last two years, financial advisors have the opportunity to market to a huge mobile audience with a desirable format.

 

Slideshows are Organic Gold

Google indexes every slideshow and Slideshare receives over 80% of its traffic from organic searches. This Google-friendly medium is a visually engaging way to tell your brand story quickly but clearly. According to LinkedIn, the sweet spot for an effective slideshow presentation is 37 images with under 30 words per slide. With 80 million users and 18 million pieces of content, SlideShare is an easy but powerful way to reach your audience.

What happens to our brains when we hear a story?

Storytelling is all the rage in marketing talk. But why is it important? It turns out that is much more than just the current buzzword. A story has a very specific effect on the human brain, an effect that can be a powerful tool for communicating to your audience. Join Kirk Faulkner and Brandon Brown as they discuss the different chemical and neurological phenomena that accompany a well-told story.

 

 

 

5 Reasons You Need to Tell Your Brand Story

We all remember the magic of being a child lying in bed, reading a story and transporting ourselves into a new world. Stories have captivated our attention since humans learned to communicate with words and that same captivation translates into digital marketing. From case studies to testimonials, brands that tell their story are enjoying greater engagement and loyalty.

 

Stories create connection in a disconnected world.

Most of the advisors we work with tell us that the reason they got into the financial services industry and what they love most about their job is building strong relationships with clients. They get a great amount of satisfaction helping their clients create a better financial future. These personal connections are essential in many industries, but especially so for financial advisors. Advisors who share their brand story in authentic ways create trust and confidence.

 

People love to share good stories.

Imagine you’re on Facebook, scrolling through some of your friend’s and family’s most recent posts. You come across an article about the best long-term investments for couples looking toward retirement and one about a couple that invested wisely and retired at 45 years old. Which are you more likely to share with your connections? The second, of course, because it is compelling and interesting, and it shares a personal story about the world of financial services. If you want more shares and likes, share compelling, personal stories about the benefits of sound financial planning.

 

Stories inspire action.

A good story about someone who reached their financial goals with the help of a financial advisor will keep readers on your website or blog longer. Incorporate imagery, especially video, in your story presentation and your site visitors will stay even longer. Whether it’s a story about a satisfied client or about how much you love being a financial advisor and helping your clients, if the story engages readers they are far more likely to reach out and engage with your services. Make sure you make it easy for your mesmerized readers to take that next step with strategically placed CTAs.

 

Stories personalize your brand.

We talk a lot about social branding and building a cohesive content marketing strategy that ties all aspects of your brand together for prospects and clients. Stories are a great way to make your brand resonate on a personal level. Remember, people like doing business with people they like. Tell your story and let prospective clients know they can do business with a real person they can relate to. Did you spend years building your advisory firm, struggle in college but finally graduated, etc.? Tell it in a story and watch your connections grow.

 

Stories differentiate your brand.

Lastly, brand stories posted on social media, your website, and other platforms let your prospects and clients see how your services work and what makes you different from other financial advisors. Did you just complete some intensive financial services training and learn some new concepts or techniques? Tell your audience with a story. Did your firm earn an award last year, sign on your 150^th client, or some other milestone? Put it in a story and post it.

 

Telling your brand story can motivate prospective clients, build trust, and set you apart from the competition. You and your firm will be seen as authentic and competent, because your stories tell them so. If you need help writing your brand story, check out our Copywriting service and we’ll help you put together a great story with a happy ending.