Written by Chris Ball, CEO, of Hoxton Wealth
In 2013, I didn’t post a single thing online. But, in the past twelve months, I’ve grown my LinkedIn following by 870%, launched a podcast that hit number 22 in the UK career charts, and built a newsletter that now has more than 4,000 subscribers.
This growth didn’t happen because I’m special. It happened because I finally started showing up. And that should be the core take-away for any financial adviser: if you’re not building your personal brand, you’re already falling behind.
Because too many highly competent IFAs are sitting on the sidelines, watching less-qualified individuals dominate the conversation and the client base online. And that means the silent majority is losing out.
But why? For most, it is fear: a fear of looking foolish, a fear of being “cringe”, a fear of stepping into the spotlight.
But here’s the truth: there is no downside to building your personal brand. You don’t need a viral moment. You don’t need 100,000 followers. You just need to be known by the right people.
And it works. Since investing in personal branding as a company, we’ve expanded Hoxton Wealth, attracted top talent, and even had acquisition conversations initiated by others, all because I started taking this seriously a year ago. This isn’t just anecdotal, CEOs with strong personal brands see their companies’ share prices grow up to 80% faster than their peers, as revealed by Golin in its CEO Impact Index last June. The opportunity is real.
So, my advice is to stop delaying success and start posting. You wouldn’t advise a client to “just throw some money into the market and hope.” You’d build a strategy, analyse, tweak and then stick with it. Your brand requires the same approach. Most IFAs treat their online presence as an optional extra: they post inconsistently, with no plan, and wonder why nothing happens.
But if you recognise that your personal brand can be an asset and treat it like one, it will pay dividends. You need to decide what you want to be known for and then stick to two or three key themes; post consistently – even twice a week makes a difference, and engage with other IFAs, comment on their posts, start conversations, make sure you are seen. You don’t need it to be perfect. You just need to start.
In terms of content, early on, I made the mistake of thinking I had to sound “clever.” The reality, though, is that people want clarity, not complexity. So, think about your clients and whether they respond better to jargon or to plain, helpful advice. My tips would include to write the way you talk. If it sounds weird in a real conversation, it’s probably weird online.
Share stories, because stories build trust, stats don’t. Don’t flex your knowledge, help people solve problems.
And stick with it, play the long game because most people won’t. You wouldn’t tell a client to invest for six months and expect them to retire.
Yet some IFAs post online for six weeks and then give up. You need to recognise that this is a marathon, not a sprint and needs to become a part of your routine. I started with LinkedIn. Then came the podcast. Then the newsletter. Each step built on the last. The results weren’t instant—but they were exponential over time. And ignore the critics – they’ll either come around or they’ll come asking for advice.
The biggest risk is staying invisible. If you build a personal brand today, you’ll be in a leading position in five years. If you don’t, you’ll be forgotten. It’s that simple. Your brand isn’t about vanity. It’s about visibility and visibility builds trust, credibility, and opportunity.
So ask yourself, what’s really stopping you?
The moment you decide to show up will be the moment that everything can change, for your business, your career, and your clients. So, start now but play the long game and own your space because your brand is your reputation at scale, and in this industry, trust is everything.
