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Social proof is a great way to build trust among your web visitors and demonstrate that you have the financial knowledge, experience, and support to successfully help your clients.
When choosing an advisor to manage their money, prospective clients are much more likely to choose an advisor that is proven to be successful compared to one with no supporting qualifications.
Here are six compliance-friendly ways to incorporate social proof into your website to establish trust and capture new leads.
- Quantify your expertise
Turn your expertise into easy-to-digest statistics that grab your visitor’s attention. Share details such as how long you have been in business, how many clients you have assisted, or your assets under management.
For compliance purposes, don’t share specific client results, such as how much money you helped your clients save, since you cannot guarantee the same results for everyone. But, if you have accurate data that doesn’t offer any false promises, it can be used to prove your experience.
The hero section of RCS Financial Planning’s website contains three strong stats that are quick to process. Over 20 years of industry experience and 175 households served are both impressive stats that can make a strong impression on their visitors.
RCS also uses this section to further define their ideal clients: high-income professionals and retirees.
- Showcase your partners
Financial planning is a massive profession, and many advisors use strategic partners, memberships, and other networks to support their services. Including logos of your partners shows visitors that you have professional connections that can help improve your client’s results.
People like the idea of a one-stop shop, and sharing the companies you collaborate with shows people that you extend your client’s experience beyond just your services.
Some people may not be familiar with certain logos, so include a brief explanation of the value these partners provide, as Align Wealth Management did on the “Our Strategic Partners” panel above.
- Feature success stories
Success stories illustrate the experience you have in specific situations, share more details about what it’s like to work with you, and serve as a qualification tool to weed out visitors who don’t align with your ideal client type.
For compliance purposes, success stories should always be hypothetical and should never share specific results. Share the type of plan you implemented and how it helped the client emotionally (i.e., less stressed, more confident, etc.). But don’t include any specific results, such as how much money you helped them save or earn.
Twin Cities Wealth Strategies (above) shares three success stories on its home page. This allows website visitors to determine whether their situation and needs align with Twin Cities’ experience.
These success stories emphasize that Twin Cities has the expertise to help people in various circumstances, ranging from corporate growth to retirement planning and business ownership. Each success story has a disclaimer to explain that the situation is hypothetical and cannot be guaranteed for other clients.
- Share certificates or awards
Show off your awards or completed membership certifications on your website. These strengthen your credibility by showing that your services and experience have been recognized by reputable industry professionals.
You can share local or national awards, as well as certifications from NAPFA, CPA, or FPA.
Morling Financial Advisors showcases awards it’s won multiple years in a row on its home page above. Even if people aren’t familiar with the specific award, they can understand that Morling’s advisory services have been proven to be effective and valuable.
- Create a “featured-in” section
If you have been featured in the media, showcase it! Similar to awards, it shows that third parties have acknowledged your firm and are talking about what you do. While this may be difficult for smaller or newer advisory firms to achieve, it is a very valuable element on your website to establish credibility.
Riverbend Wealth Management (above) has been featured on some noteworthy websites and articles, and the website shares these logos in a “featured-in” section of the home page.
Don’t link to these companies since you want people to stay on your website. Showing the logos alone is enough to back up your reputation and start to build trust with web visitors.
- Share your custodian
To gain a client’s trust to manage their assets, you must ensure their money will be safe. Showing who your custodian is and how that benefits your clients can provide peace of mind.
On the home page, Open Road Wealth Management features its custodian, TD Ameritrade, and explains that clients’ money will be safe and secure with such an accredited company.
Web visitors are more likely to trust Open Road knowing that they partner with an established company to manage their client’s assets.
Conclusion
Financial advisors often face strict restrictions when creating compliance-friendly website content. But as a professional in the finance industry, it’s important to demonstrate your experience and support your reputation. Implementing social proof into your website is a valuable way to reaffirm that you can help your clients succeed and increase conversions on your website.
Be careful; including social proof in too many places on your website can be harmful if it comes across as bragging. Keep your website’s content focused on the visitor, not yourself. Position your social proof strategically to show why your experience, partners, features, or successes are beneficial to your clients and ultimately why they should work with you.
Mikel Bruce is the CEO of TinyFrog Technologies, a San Diego web design agency specializing in WordPress web design & development and secured hosting & maintenance. Founded in 2003, TinyFrog offers a conversion-based approach to web design and has built over 1,100 websites. TinyFrog also has extensive experience in designing and building websites for financial advisors.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
