As a financial advisor you want to grow your practice and increase sales using all of the tools at your disposal. But one very powerful tool is right under your nose, and chances are you aren’t even using it! If you aren’t blogging, you could be missing out on a valuable opportunity to build credibility for yourself and your business – and credibility translates into profits.
What is credibility? Credibility means that you have established yourself as a leader in your field. Before we had the internet, this might mean that you had a good reputation around town, or that people recognized you from your advertisements. Nowadays, prospective clients will Google your name before doing business with you. When the search results display a number of blogs you’re written, and those blogs showcase your knowledge and expertise, this builds your online credibility.
Why is credibility so important?
- Gain the trust of your prospects. After all, they won’t entrust their life savings to just anyone!
- Increase website traffic. Your website is your home on the internet, where you showcase your skills and explain your practice. But prospects have to see it, in order for it to be effective. As you produce more content online and build your reputation, more traffic will be directed toward your website.
- Attract more referrals when your content is shared on social media. Loyal followers will value your content, and will see you as the person to call when they have a financial question.
- Establish yourself as a leader in financial planning field. In the future this could lead to valuable opportunities and partnerships.
Clearly, credibility is a big deal! But you may still be wondering, “how can my blog help me to establish online credibility?”
The first rule of blogging: Content is everything. Your blog must focus on topics of interest to your target demographic, it must be readable and valuable, and it should display your expertise in a way that makes you appear friendly and helpful to the average person.
The following steps should get you on the right track to blogging success.
Choose topics. Your target demographic is probably preparing for retirement. What keeps them up at night? What are their worries and fears? What type of questions do you current clients most often ask you? Answering these questions through blogging will establish you as a trustworthy expert.
Produce quality content. High-quality, well written content will help to establish you as a knowledgeable expert. Keep in mind that your audience wants answers to their questions, stated in a way that the average person can understand. They aren’t all financial experts like you, so keep it simple but informative! Remember to cite statistics properly to back up any claims you might make.
Make sure your blog is compliant. Contact your current compliance provider and ask them about reviewing your blogs. You don’t want to run into any compliance problems.
Include visuals. A picture will grab much more attention, especially when you share your content on social media. You will find that your click-through rates are higher when you include a picture.
Stick to a schedule. Produce your content on a regular basis. A good rule of thumb for financial advisors is to blog about four times per month. Reaching out to your audience on a regular basis keeps you fresh on their minds.
Distribute your content. Post links to your blogs on social media sites, or send them directly to your audience via an email marketing campaign.
Engage. When readers respond to your blog with questions, this is a prime opportunity to further establish credibility! Remember to reply to questions and comments, and keep the discussion flowing.
Analyze and adjust your methods. Use Google Analytics to monitor your blogging success. You may notice that some topics attract more interest than others, which will help you to choose future topics. If readers are quickly navigating away from your site, you may want to hone your writing skills. Keep in mind that no one was born great at blogging. It takes time, persistence, and willingness to respond to your readers. But in time, you will build online credibility and a loyal following, which over time translates into years of growth in your practice…and your profits!