Developing a strategic inbound marketing plan is not only important but also effective in growing your financial planning business. There are so many moving parts to inbound marketing that it often times can be overwhelming. I like to think of a marketing plan as applying layers. You can’t possibly do it all at once; however, by starting slow and working towards your end goal, (converting traffic to clients) you can implement a strategic marketing plan that drives traffic to your website and delivers results.
Our industry tends to be pretty old fashioned. Many of us still advertise in print newspapers and magazines instead of the internet. Mainly because the internet can be a complicated, big, scary, hairy monster that some of us would just rather avoid. However, it’s 2016 and we have to advertise in the present year, not in the past, and the present year is inbound marketing because the majority of our population is online. The main goal we want to achieve is conversion, but how do we get there? Here’s where you can start:
Define your target market
The first step is to define your target market with as much detail as you possibly can. Old style marketing interrupts the viewer. Commercials on TV and radio stations are a good example of this. Inbound marketing on the internet focuses on a different perspective. When we market to our target market online we should really try and blend in with what they’re already viewing, by providing value and becoming part of the conversation. As a financial advisor, you probably have a certain clientele that you serve. We call this “client personas”; you might have more than one persona so you may need to do this exercise a couple of times in order to attract clients online. Let us first define them on paper:
Geographic
Start with the location in which you wish to target or where most of your clientele resides at.
- Is it a certain part of your city?
- The city itself?
- The entire state or multiple states?
Demographics
- Are they males, females, or married couples?
- What’s the age range?
- What job titles and positions do they hold?
- Do they own businesses?
- What’s their level of education?
Financial position
- What’s their annual house hold income?
- How much investable assets do they have?
- What type of debt do they have?
- What type of job benefits do they receive?
- What does their current portfolio include?
Primary goal
- What’s your client’s primary goal?
For example:
“To feel like all areas of finances are in order; to manage finances through changing markets, life stages and economies.”
Pain Points
This is the most important part of defining your client persona because it will help your financial planning business to understand what your clients are searching and engaging with online so you can tailor your content to meet their needs. What are the problems your clients come to you with and what problems do you help them solve?
For example:
- Know they need financial planning but don’t know who to trust
- Don’t quite understand their investments
- Wondering how to handle stock options
- May have old 401(k) accounts but haven’t rolled them over
By understanding your clients and how they function online, you can form your website and content to add value to the investors you wish to serve. Implementing an inbound marketing strategy, maintaining a website, and publishing quality content will set you apart and begin to help establish your reputation as a thought leader and expert in the financial planning industry.
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