Content marketing is not going anywhere for financial advisors. While so many companies use it these days to ⬆️ SEO and convert leads into clients, many people are not utilizing it properly. Obviously, if something isn’t being employed properly, then it is not going to help with conversion rates at all, so how do you go about fixing this?
We are here to dispel 10 myths that might be keeping your company from taking the plunge into content marketing, or maybe utilizing it, but not as well as you could be!
Myth #1: Your Audience Won’t Respond to Content Marketing
This couldn’t be further from the truth! You work so hard to gain a group of followers who look to you for information and what they want is to see are the answers to their questions when searching the internet. Be careful about what you are posting, as customers would much rather get to you know through your brand, rather than feeling like you are constantly trying to sell something. Engage them! We can’t stress this enough. Just like when you are meeting new clients, you should make it personal and come across as a company that they can trust.
Consumers want to be reading content that is useful, relevant and relatable. If they find your content too generic or it doesn’t answer their questions, they will probably not seek your company out again. One simple way to find out what your customers are most interested in is to simply ask them! Send out a survey to gather their information and tailor your content on that.
Myth #2: It Won’t Work in your Industry
At first glance, the financial industry doesn’t seem like one where content marketing is going to really thrive. Well, times have changed, and it’s incredibly important to create awesome content in order to increase your SEO and generate traffic.
As we mentioned above, if you create meaningful work, you can prove yourself as a thought leader in the industry, which will, in turn, create more leads, referrals and eventually clients. When you create great content, your viewers stay engaged, and they will most likely remain on your website longer, which will assist in your SEO efforts and also allows your visitors to explore your site more and eventually take action.
Myth #3: It’s too Expensive 💸
The most effective marketers spend 39% of their marketing budgets on content.
Content Marketing Institute
Like any form of marketing that you choose to employ for your business, it is going to cost money, and that’s okay! 39% of your marketing budget may seem like a decent chunk of change, but it’s not going to break the bank. The important part is that once you spend the money, you’re smart about it and efficient!
Myth #4: You Can’t Create Enough Content 📝
Many advisors say that they can’t create enough content either due to time or manpower, yet many continue to do it. For starters, try repurposing your content or other content resources for help! If you created awesome content even a year or more back, that can be optimized for the present! Go back in and add links, remove ones that are no longer relevant, add in keywords, and update information. This is a quick and simple way to add “fresh” content to your site.
Also, don’t be afraid to share third-party sources. While this is not your original content, it gives you connections to other companies, who in turn, will probably share your content in the future! It’s a great way to “network” and gain exposure!
At Twenty Over Ten, we have been helping clients create 💣 content to help them excel in the industry with Content Assist. A new type of content offering solution on the market that was developed specifically for financial advisors to assist them in creating blog posts. Built into Twenty Over Ten’s proprietary website-builder, users are able to choose blog posts by category (retirement, home-buying, young adults, etc.), load them into their website, and then edit and further optimize the content for search engines. Advisors have the ability to customize and edit the content to add their voice, SEO keywords, and further promote their expertise, or use the content as-is.
Myth #5: You Don’t Have Anything Interesting to Say
You don’t need to let this type of doubt creep into your mind, especially when trying to be productive at work. If you don’t have a story, then there’s a good chance you wouldn’t have a business. There are so many ways to show how you are unique! You can discuss data📊and research findings of your company, showcase employees and show how they got to where they are, or tell the beginning of your company. Showcase your brand! There are so many great ways to show how you got to where you are in the industry.
Myth #6: You’re not Getting Enough ROI
If you don’t think that you are getting enough ROI, then set goals and then build your strategy around them using content to entice visitors, keep them on your website and eventually move them down your sales funnel. This would be a good time to include call-to-actions (CTAs) on your website in order to help move your leads in the right direction by obtaining their information and encouraging them. This can be done by including buttons that say, “schedule a meeting,” subscribe to newsletter” or “download our whitepaper.” When you put the work in, you should see the results you want!
Myth #7: I Can Use the Same Content Marketing Strategy as Other Companies
Just because something works well for one company, doesn’t mean that it will work well for you. Like anything in this business, you have to work at it through trial and error. Whether you run a five-person firm or a multi-million dollar business, you have to determine what works best for you and continue on that path.
Myth #8: I Can Focus On a Single Aspect
When you are trying to increase sales and drive traffic, you cannot just focus on one single aspect. There are many things that you need to take into consideration when creating the perfect combination of content. You can’t only include images, or only a blog section, or just videos. You need to use a combination of these to captivate all different types of audiences, and then see what parts are drawing in the most readers.
You will want to pay close attention to your click-through rates, how they are arriving at your site and the demographics of your visitors through Google Analytics. This data will help you assess which types of strategies work best for your brand, which can ultimately help you optimize your content marketing strategy for higher sales.
Myth #9: I Can Let Anybody Create my Content
If you create tons of content, but it is of low-quality, then it will obviously not benefit your company. In this theory, you might hire a freelancer to pump out a lot of blog content, but the truth is that NOBODY knows your firm better than YOU. Just assuming that anybody can create content that will draw quality leads to your website. Creating great content is a very specific skill. You’re going to get what you pay for, so make sure you invest in quality creators if you want to build content that engages and converts your followers.
Myth #10: You Don’t Need to Worry About Social Media📱
These days, you must be active on social media! It is not enough to simply create content, then not promote it across social media platforms. Almost everyone is on social media these days, and while a company may not be across the main three, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, they are generally on at least one of them.
As an advisor, you work with all different types of clientele who are looking for guidance in different areas of their life. Because of this, you cannot use the same message across the board and expect to see results. To effectively cross-promote your work, you need to tailor your message to each individual platform. As we mentioned above, this is a game of trial and error, as well. See what times work best for when you should post on different platforms, what types of response you are getting and just keep track of your audience. If you continue to work at it, you will get better and better until you find the best route that works for you and your firm!
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