Knowledge. Shared Blog

March 2018

Beyond Referrals: Three Tips to Start Your Inbound Marketing Strategy

In an increasingly competitive landscape, advisors must look beyond referrals and focus on distinctiveness to grow their business. In fact, in 2014, research revealed 25.3% of investors used the Internet to find their advisor, a 9.1% increase from the previous year¹. In addition, 74.8% said they prefer the Internet because it enables them to be anonymous while determining if the advisor is competent and ethical.

At Knowledge Labs™, we believe one opportunity for advisors to stand out online is by leading with what makes their business unique and adding value through inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is a digital marketing strategy that uses content to attract potential clients to you rather than you fighting for their attention². This method of marketing has also shown to have cost- and time-saving benefits for advisors.

Ready to get started with inbound marketing? Here are three easy steps to start building your strategy.

Define Your Ideal Client

Before you start creating valuable content, you should define who you’re creating content for. The simple answer is “investors,” but the truth is you’ll want to attract a specific kind of investor based on the clients who energize you the most. Start by taking our Personality Self-Assessment to establish whether you’re a Driver, Social or Analytical personality type.

Once you know this, consider which of your existing clients you’re most excited to work with and what they have in common. Perhaps you find you’re a Social type who focuses on building relationships. You also identify your favorite clients as young professionals who have to balance investing with paying off student loans and saving for an emergency fund. These clients also have interests outside of traditional investment goals like saving for their dream vacation to Japan.

Create Valuable Content

Now that you’ve defined who you want to attract, you’ll need to create content that is relevant to them. Spend time ideating on what your potential clients may be searching for online. In this example, some potential topics could include a blog post on how to pay off debt quickly, a LinkedIn article on prioritizing financial obligations, a newsletter on tips to save more while still enjoying life and a worksheet on how to budget for a vacation. Since your target is young professionals, you could go broader too and talk about how to negotiate a raise. View content as an opportunity to share your expertise, demonstrate your investment philosophy and build trust with a potential client before even speaking to them.

Convert Your Readers

After establishing the kind of content you’re going to create, start thinking about how to convert your readers. Capturing a reader’s information and unmasking their anonymity can be done in a variety of ways. Be sure to provide the option to subscribe to your newsletter and include a call to action at the end of every post to set up a complimentary consultation. You can also create high-value content that requires users to submit their name and contact information to access it. For example, at the end of a blog post about budgeting tips, you could include a downloadable budget spreadsheet. Continue to select content that is relevant to your audience and will further establish your credibility.

Developing a strong inbound marketing strategy will not only help you attract the type of new clients you want, but it will also help you strengthen current client relationships.

Let Your Passions Ignite Your Business

This program offers a step-by-step process to ignite client acquisition by targeting the “right” prospects and delivering an extraordinary prospect experience to win over new clients.

Igniting Acquisition: FireStarters

¹http://blog.paladinregistry.com/advisors-2/investors-find-financial-advisors/
²https://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing

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