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The right type of content sets the tone for your website, provides your clients with useful information, establishes you as a financial expert and even creates a personal connection with your clients. You can use many different types of content in many different ways and places.
In part one, Six Reasons Why Financial Content Marketing Matters, of The Ultimate Financial Advisor’s Guide to Content Marketing I went into detail about why it is important to create quality content and what advantages your firm can gain from doing so.
Now, I will talk about the four different types of content you can create and what is unique about each one.
It’s important that you spend your time and money on the right types of content for your target market. Within the four major types of content, I recommend that advisors stick with topics that are interesting and valuable to their ideal clients. It’s about finding a balance between what your audience wants to learn about and your areas of specific knowledgeable.
1. Evergreen content ideas for financial planners
Evergreen content is unique in that it remains relevant for many years. It is well-written, easily understood, concise, and addresses the needs of your clients. It is a timeless asset you can promote in numerous ways. Spend the most time creating and distributing evergreen content as it gives you the biggest “bang for your buck.”
Evergreen content ideas:
- Answer questions that your clients frequently ask;
- Cover unique topics where you have experience or specialization;
- Discuss common situations you see frequently;
- Help with personal finance – Topics like budgeting, tax planning, and retirement planning are of interest to a wide range of people; or
- Provide guidance for health and wellness
Examples:
- Key Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid for Medical Professionals
- Little Things That May Help Young Professionals With Retirement Saving
2. News and commentary on economic and financial issues
Your clients and prospects need timely economic- and market-related information. But what is true today may not be true tomorrow. Publishing time-sensitive topics, while they are relevant, is crucial. Some information may need to be updated and/or removed at some point. Some of this type of information may be “canned” news that is available elsewhere online, so adding your perspective on the topic gives it a unique and personal touch.
Timely content ideas:
- Market and Economic Updates
- Political Updates
- Year-End Planning
- Yearly Outlook
- Yearly updated limits and/or thresholds
- Important dates/deadlines
Examples:
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- IRS Warns Taxpayers of Numerous Tax Scams Nationwide
3. Content that helps clients get to know you
An important part of marketing is to help clients and prospects get to know more about you, your team and your firm. To accomplish this, you need more than just an “About Us” page on your website. It’s about humanizing your brand and helping people relate to you personally. This type of content needs to be more personal, but you don’t have to write these pieces yourself.
You can share links to:
- Articles that you’re featured in;
- Awards that you have received;
- Community-involvement pictures showcasing you and your team; and
- Business and personal (if you feel comfortable) news items regarding you and your business or team members
- ○ Anniversaries, birthdays, births, etc.
4. Third-party content from trusted sources
You can share third-party content that is provided by trusted news outlets. If you want to distribute information that requires some authority or is a subject that is important to your clients, then third-party content is perfectly acceptable. Use a well-known and reliable source that is articulate and carefully researched. Avoid sharing articles from sites with a lot of pop-up ads and distractions, as this makes them look less credible. Third-party articles are great to use if you are short on time and need to fill in the gaps to maintain a regular content sharing schedule. It helps to show your audience that you know what type of information is important to them and that you are staying current on the hot topics of your industry.
Self-promotion content ideas:
- Don’t have to be financial specific — can be news, food, leisure, or vacation;
- Can target a niche that you service:
- Medical professionals
- Women
- Divorcees
- Retirees
- Widow/Widower
Useful resources:
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- Bloomberg, Forbes, USA Today, Fortune, CNN Money, CNBC, Financial Times, WSJ, Advisor Perspectives
- Food & Wine, Food Network, Travel and Leisure
- AARP, Reader’s Digest
- LinkedIn Pulse
- Use Twitter to share what influencers share
5. Dynamic third-party content
Have you noticed that when you use Amazon, Google or Facebook that some of the advertisements or articles that show up are tailored specifically to something you have recently searched or a site you have visited? This is dynamic or adaptive content. It has been specifically chosen just for you. Those sites are personalizing what they show each visitor so that every person gets their own experience. The content is based on your past searches or history online.
This can be the most engaging type of third-party content because you can capture email information so that you get those prospects in your marketing funnel. Using this type of content requires subscribing to an outside service, but the rewards, in the way of a steady stream of new prospects, are often worth it.
Useful Resources:
Other sources of financial content
When deciding what type of content you want to focus on, remember that nothing beats the value of content written by you: It’s personal, unique and specific.
But, if you are having trouble coming up with ideas here are a few more sources to help you:
- Have you written any books? Excerpts from it are a valuable source of content.
- Check your website tool as many financial advisor and wealth management website companies provide free content.
- If you are a CFP® charterholder and FPA member you can receive free monthly articles that you can use for content on your blog.
- A marketing content library that is a downloadable, professionally pre-written content with compliance review built right in (i.e. marketing.pro)
- As part of its subscription, Inside Information with Bob Veres has monthly articles and cartoons, and at the end of each quarter, there are market and economic summaries.
Closing
The type of content you post is a key factor in generating more website traffic. Researching current trends in the financial industry (and maybe beyond) is a great way to find topic ideas.
Make sure that the content you use is high quality. Use images to break-up text, choose a strong article title, publish honest reviews, have accurate spelling and grammar, and use your blog as a way to help readers solve a problem or answer a question.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to mix it up.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is a creative marketer and results-oriented business consultant with over a decade of experience collaborating with independent advisers. At Crystal Marketing Solutions, she delivers exceptional insights for financial professionals enabling them to create a consistent marketing presence so they can focus on the things that matter most to them.
Download a free copy of the Financial Advisor Content Marketing & Optimization Guide here.
Sometimes content marketing can seem like an overwhelming task to undertake on your own. This is exactly what we do for our clients! We help create and select the right content, optimize it so it is reaching the right people, and handle the scheduling to ensure it is as far-reaching as possible. Let us help you get a handle on the whole process by scheduling a discovery meeting today.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives