March 9, 2010
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Given the ever-shifting landscape of information consumption and consumer behavior, financial advisors have been forced to change their thinking about the way they market themselves. The combination of new media and increasingly accessible technology has fundamentally altered the marketing tools that financial advisors have at their disposal. Those who have not taken a serious look at the way they currently market themselves – both online and off – run the risk of stagnant growth.
With so many marketing channels at the fingertips of anyone with a computer, the days of buying an ad in the local paper and watching the business roll in are long gone. While this may constitute a blatant over-simplification of “old marketing,” the complexion of “new marketing” can be confusing to anyone not on the bleeding edge of the tech world.
In an effort to flatten the marketing landscape for financial advisors, we spoke with two financial professionals, Brian Schreiner and Blane Warrene, about some of the marketing practices they have used to grow their businesses. Their insights may be valuable to financial advisors seeking guidance about current best practices, how to create a marketing program, and how to set realistic goals for a marketing initiative. What follows are some insights into some of the broader lessons they’ve learned in their “new marketing” efforts.
Brian Schreiner is Vice President and Head of Advisor Services for Schreiner Capital Management, Inc. and Blane Warrene is CEO of Arkovi – a social media archiving tool built with financial professionals in mind.
What is the most important step in developing successful marketing initiatives?
One of the most important steps – and it’s often overlooked – is setting a clear strategy for any initiative before you start. It sounds simple but it’s incredibly important and applies as much to old media as it does to new media.
Set a clear goal for what you hope to accomplish and the metric by which you will track success or failure (e.g. newsletter signups, email opens or twitter followers). If you don’t have a clear picture of what you want to accomplish, you’ll never be able to adjust or improve based on the results.
How do you measure the success of your marketing initiatives?
The goal for an initiative depends largely on the channel you pursue. If you’re launching a direct mail campaign, you’ll probably want to judge the campaign based on the number of qualified leads it generates. If it’s an online advertising campaign, you might judge success by visitors to your website.
With new media/social media, the metrics of success are very different. It’s unlikely that someone you “friend” on Facebook or connect with through LinkedIn is going to send you funds to manage after a purely online courtship. So while the raw number of connections or followers you have is important in tracking your progress, it’s not the end of the line.
The value of social media channels is in large part the opportunity they present to build your personal brand, cultivate relationships and promote yourself as an expert. By tweeting interesting articles, updating your status with useful information, or keeping a blog up-to-date with relevant and insightful market commentary, you are showing both prospective clients and your current client base that you are staying on top of the market – and that their money is safe in your hands.
If your clients are not getting the information from you, they’re going to get it from someone else. Social media ensures that every opportunity to build your brand is being utilized.
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