In this month’s article, marketing expert Faith Liversedge shares some practical tips on how you can successfully market your new advice business online
Many advisers are leaving large firms and going it alone. But they have a big task ahead of them, not least when it comes to marketing. How do they compete with others and differentiate themselves in order to attract new clients? And how do they do this on a small budget?
In this article we look at some of the best ways that new advisers can market their businesses online.
1.) Create a website
A website will give you a clear and direct way to communicate directly with your target audience. You should make sure that your site looks professional and well-designed, but don’t go overboard trying to create something too fancy – keep things simple! When designing your website, you should also consider creating a blog where you can post articles related to topics relevant to your audience. Also think about embedding a Calendly link to your website so people can easily book an initial appointment with you.
2.) Start an email list
If you already have a mailing list, then you could start sending emails to those people. A monthly newsletter, written in a friendly but professional style, will remind them of the value of your advice when you’re not in front of them. Introduce the first one by telling them what they can expect from these emails, and remind them they can unsubscribe at any time if they don’t want to receive them. If you’re wondering about content, include your most recent blog post, a link to a topical story, with your take on it (for example the recent reforms to social care) and end with a light-hearted quote, image or meme.
3.) Use social media marketing
Social media is one of the most effective forms of marketing available today. It’s free, easy to use and you can reach out to brand new potential clients through channels such as FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Don’t worry about what to say, if you’ve already created a blog from step 1 (well done) then all you need to do is post about that. Take a snippet from the post – a quote or a stat for example – and make sure you add a link to the post so that you’re always driving people to your site.
4.) Use video
Video is becoming increasingly important online, meaning that it’s now possible to attract clients simply by uploading video clips onto your website. Videos are also easy to embed across various websites, making them ideal for sharing with friends and family. Also, people buy from people, so showing who you are, that you’re experienced, knowledgeable but also approachable, will help them to get over the hurdle of making the first move to contact you.
5.) Use LinkedIn
Yes we’ve mentioned social media, but adding people to your LinkedIn network is worthwhile activity in itself. Search for ambitious careerists in their 40s and connect with 50 a week. Make sure you add a note to the connection request and follow up with another email introducing yourself and including a link to a recent blog post you’ve written (well done again). This will show them what you’re about. By building your network this way, you’ll be nurturing a steady number of potential clients, who will get to know, like and trust you through your valuable, engaging LinkedIn activity.
6.) Add a lead magnet to your website
A lead, or content magnet is a free item of real value – like a guide, a checklist, or a calculator – given away in exchange for the single most valuable thing you can get from a potentially hugely valuable prospect: their email address. Once you have their email, they’ve entered your world, which means you can legitimately keep in touch with them, slowly nurturing them until they’re ready to become clients. This means adding them to your email newsletter for starters (see point 2).
7.) Collaborate with others in your network
You may not always feel comfortable doing everything yourself, especially if you’ve never done anything similar before. However, collaborating with someone else in your network, for example a solicitor or accountant, not only halves the work, but also enables you to access their audience. You could guest post on their blog for example, or vice versa and add these to each other’s newsletters. You could also co-host a webinar together. So there you have it. Some simple, quick wins that should get you up and running in terms of marketing your new business. Please remember however that persistence and patience are key. But if you follow that, you’ll be inundated in no time!
About Faith Liversedge
Faith Liversedge is an experienced communicator with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the adviser profession. She was Marketing Manager at Nucleus for 5 years, creating innovative and award-winning campaigns. Before that she worked for Standard Life, Prudential and Royal London. In 2017 she set up her own consultancy to help forward-thinking financial advisers and planners to become more profitable through websites, communications and other laser-focused marketing techniques.
