Massive Marketing Mistakes

Poor results

Let’s assume you have an adequate budget and are ready to deploy it. Do so with caution.

One survey (discussed here) found only 15% of advisors were satisfied with the return on investment on their marketing.

Translation: They spent a lot of money and generated few leads.

A fatal error

There is a dizzying array of vendors eager to take your marketing dollars. They include:

• Website designers
• Content writers
• Executive coaches
• SEO experts
• Social media consultants
• E-mail marketing consultants
• General marketing consultants
• Pundits of various stripes

And many others.

Each vendor is a hammer, viewing you as a nail. They often perceive marketing only through the lens of their particular expertise.

You extol the virtue of integrating the financial needs of your clients. But do you take the time to do the same with your own marketing strategy?

Here are some examples.

It’s unlikely your website designer understands the intricacies of your advisory business, yet you assume they can draft compelling website content.

Even if you get a brilliantly designed website, with high-level content, here’s the bad news: If you build it, they won’t come. Prospects won’t beat a path to your new website just because you created it.

Unless your website is SEO optimized, and you engage in an SEO marketing campaign, you’ll be lucky to get a few hundred visitors a month.

And here’s what content marketers won’t tell you.

Unless they are providing unique, high-quality blogs on a regular basis (at least two a month, 750-1,000 words each) and an infographic every other month, you’re wasting your money. I can count on one hand the number of firms capable of generating this quality content. My list doesn’t include any website design firms or SEO vendors.

If you’re using shared content that you’re branding, your Google ranking is likely to suffer.

Social media marketing should be part of your SEO campaign. SEO won’t be successful on its own.

I know many advisors who pay for Facebook and other platforms ads. I’ve never met one who had a positive ROI.

Conversely, paying for Google ads, when done by a legitimate SEO agency, should result in an immediate, measurable increase in website traffic and conversions.

Next week, I’m going to crack the code on SEO – the most underutilized marketing strategy for advisors – and explain how implementing a high-quality SEO campaign can be an investment that generates a consistent return.

Dan trains executives and employees in the lessons based on the research in his latest book, Ask: How to Relate to Anyone. His online course, Ask: Increase Your Sales. Deepen Your Relationships, is currently available.

Read more articles by Dan Solin