What’s Your Inbound Marketing Strategy?

Written By : Greg

In the past, financial advisors relied upon a variety of tactics, such as networking events, word-of-mouth advertising, and even cold calls – to attract new leads. Over the past decade, though, those old-fashioned methods have fallen increasingly out of favor, as the internet continues to influence the way we communicate and do business.

Up until this point, you might have viewed most digital marketing strategies as “nice to have” rather than essential. But in 2016, most experts agree that inbound marketing will become absolutely crucial to your continued business success.

What is inbound marketing? Chances are, you’re already using at least one form of inbound marketing. The basic premise is that inbound marketing helps your prospects discover you, as opposed to outbound marketing in which you directly advertise to them. Outbound marketing (advertising) puts prospects on guard; modern consumers can spot an advertisement a mile away, and they often react with instant skepticism. Inbound marketing helps the prospects, who are already looking for your services, find you. It’s like swimming with the current, instead of against it.

How does it work? Inbound marketing plays upon what your prospects are already doing: As they use the internet to search for information, you provide them what they need. Content such as original, keyword-rich blogs boosts your search engine rankings. This helps your prospective customers find you. You can also offer additional free content, such as a download or newsletter, in exchange for your prospects’ email addresses. This gives you the upper hand, because now you can contact them more directly in the future.

But that’s just one form of inbound marketing. Using social media to expand your brand recognition is another way to grow your practice. Social media helps you to personalize your practice; customers now see a name and a face behind the business, and they connect with you on a deeper level. This aids with customer retention as well as attracting new clients.

Why do I need inbound marketing? There are several reasons that inbound marketing is becoming more important. As we already mentioned, internet users are increasingly savvy these days. They avoid obvious advertisements, so marketers have to become more clever and find better (in a way, more sneaky) ways to interact with them. Advertisements still have their place, but inbound marketing helps to ensure that your overall campaign remains modern and relevant. You don’t want to miss out on a significant portion of your demographic, who prefer to remain in the driver’s seat of your interactions.

Inbound marketing works by identifying the needs of your audience, and then providing for those needs. When prospective customers search for information about retirement, for example, they are practically asking for you to enter their lives! Provide the information they need, and work to form a personal connection with them, and you can gather new leads while their defenses are down.

When it comes to cost, inbound marketing is also more affordable than outbound marketing (advertising). One Hubspot study found that inbound marketing costs 62 percent less than outbound marketing to gain the same number of leads.

There is one final reason that inbound marketing has become an essential tool for financial advisors: Other advisors are already doing it. It’s the ages-old concept of competition at work: If your competitor is doing something, you have to contribute at least an equal effort if you want to stay in the game. Google information related to financial planning or retirement income, and you will see what we mean. Most likely, Google will display search results for advisors in your area, who are already connecting with your target audience online. With most businesses maintaining at least a basic online presence these days, and many others already adopting complex digital marketing strategies, you should view inbound marketing as an essential part of your overall campaign this year.

 

Filed under: Financial Advisor Marketing