Meet Bill (fictional)…
Bill is a successful financial advisor in his late 40s. Over the years, Bill has learned that his clients are demanding a more sophisticated approach to communication. They’re becoming increasingly internet-savvy and want to stay in touch online, and Bill realizes that his prospects probably feel the same way. Bill has heard a lot about online marketing, and believes that he can use these methods to bring in more clients and better satisfy the ones he has. But Bill has no idea how to get started. What does he do first?
If you identify with Bill, this article is for you. When you’re looking to jumpstart your practice with online marketing, but have no idea where to begin, there is one important rule to remember:
Your website is the hub of your online marketing strategy.
Everything begins with your website. Think of it as your home on the internet; this is where you build an online presence and create a lasting asset for your company. You own all of the content on your website, so it acts as your own little publishing company. Once you create content to represent you, it keeps working for months and even years after it is published on the web.
So what kind of content should you include on your website? Generally speaking, we recommend that financial advisors consider the following four important website components.
Blog. Try to view your blog as an educational library that you can offer to clients and prospects. This is where you display your expertise, and offer them something of value. Your blog also helps with search engine optimization (SEO). Update your blog regularly with useful, relevant content, and you will find that visitors often return for more.
Video. Research has proven that video is the most effective way to communicate your message. Your video doesn’t have to be overly long or complicated; just a simple introduction of yourself and your services helps prospects to feel as though they already know you.
Lead Generation. Offer your prospects something valuable, such as a white paper download or free seminar, in exchange for their email addresses. Once they opt in to your email newsletters, you will be able to contact them directly. Staying in touch via email is still the most personal and effective method of online communication, but you need the lead generation feature on your website to first gather your prospects’ information.
Social Media. Your website should also include social media share buttons, so that your readers can easily share the information they read on your blog. This will boost your SEO, because search engines place a lot of emphasis on social media sharing. And of course, your leads will multiply as hundreds or even thousands of prospects view your website.
One final word of caution…
When you’re deciding which features to add to your website, it can be tempting to take advantage of every tool offered to you. Many advisors go overboard adding calendars, calculators, and other tools that their viewers don’t even use. Then the website is cluttered up with so many underused features that it’s hard for viewers to find the content they actually want to read! When you first begin building your website, conduct some research to see which tools your target audience actually wants to use. Then, keep it simple and clean, so that your audience is able to access the valuable information that you intend to offer them.
Article Originally Posted Here.