A Practical Guide to Deepening Connections

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Diving into Digital Marketing

A Practical Guide to Deepening Connections with Clients and Prospects

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Click each section to find out more

Connecting through Websites

Making Connections with Social Media

Digital Content to Drive Deeper Connections

Expanding Connections with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Using Online Advertising to Amplify Connections

How Email Campaigns Reinforce Connections

The Current State of Digital Marketing

A Road Map to Integrated Marketing

Dive in: A Checklist for Digital Marketing

Resources to Help Get Started

TACTICS

NEXT STEPS

OVERVIEW

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Insight from research into the status of digital marketing in the wealth management industry today, and why Fidelity believes that digital marketing is an effective vehicle for growth.

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Digital marketing offers an exceptional opportunity to reach your clients.

There are 5.1 billion unique mobile users around the world1 and 3.72 billion active social media users.2 Those are staggering numbers that indicate a remarkable opportunity for wealth management firms to not only experiment with digital marketing, but also adopt a disciplined approach to connecting more deeply with clients and generating leads that will help drive a strong future for their business.

Digital marketing allows you to be available to your clients when traditional means are not possible.

During the COVID-19 crisis, digital marketing became even more essential. Firms used social media, websites and email to rapidly communicate urgent information and reassure clients during a difficult time. It also became more important to keep digital content up-to-date.

Digital marketing is active in the wealth management industry.

According to recent Fidelity research, 90% of advisors employ at least one of the digital marketing techniques. This exceeds traditional advertising at 52% and PR at 49%.3

Ten Things You Need to Know about Digital Marketing in Wealth Management


1

2

Collateral

Events

Social media

Content marketing

Online advertising

Traditional advertising

PR

(e.g., brochures, flyers/one pagers, pitch books)

(e.g., client appreciation, educational, webinars)

(e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)

(e.g., thought leadership white papers/articles, videos, podcasts, ebooks)

(e.g., paid digital ads, retargeting)

(e.g., signage, print ads, radio, TV, sponsorships)

(e.g., radio/TV appearances, news releases, by-lines)

84%

82%

77%

64%

52%

52%

49%

% of firms that engage in each approach3

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5

Advisors are meeting investors where they are: online.

Over 3/4 of advisors are active on social media. LinkedIn is leading the pack: 88% of advisors on social media use LinkedIn, and 58% of them believe it is effective at generating qualified leads.3

Younger generations are especially receptive.

Over half of Gen XYZ* investors said they had a significantly more positive impression of advisors who have a good website.4 At the same time, 2/3 of advisors engaging in digital marketing believe that social media is an effective lead-generation tactic with millennial investors.3 (In fact, Fidelity conducts analysis to help firms understand how their website will appeal to millennials.)

But don’t forget the Baby Boomers.** Over half of advisors engaging in digital marketing believe that email campaigns and online events are effective tools for lead-generation with baby boomers.3



4

5

Advisor Use of Social Media Platforms

10%

10%

14%

25%

26%

49%

71%

88%

2%

2%

4%

9%

8%

13%

25%

28%

Pinterest

Tumblr

SnapChat

YouTube

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Paid advertising Overall use

* “Gen XYZ” = investors born between 1965 and 1998 (Gen Z birth years do extend to 2012, however only those 21 or older were allowed to participate in the survey)

** “Baby boomers” = investors born between 1946 and 1964

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is helping to optimize content, but not everyone knows what it is.

While 35% of advisors employ SEO strategies, 30% of these advisors are not sure what specific strategy their firm is employing. The most common SEO strategy used is leveraging high-value keywords in website copy.3

Regulatory concerns are sometimes viewed as a barrier.

More than half of advisors who engage in social media marketing view compliance issues as the major hindrance to using it effectively.3 It’s important to work closely with your firm’s compliance officer to help manage regulatory issues.

Advisors are investing in marketing technology.

Almost 3/4 of advisors who engage in digital marketing have invested in CRM solutions, and the highest satisfaction levels are recorded when advisors believe their technology solutions are well integrated.3

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(e.g., Vestorly, Financial Media Exchange)

(e.g., Hubspot, Marketo)

(e.g., online advertising, paid search, social advertising)

(e.g., Google Analytics)

(e.g., Khoros, Hootsuite)

(e.g., Constant Contact)

(e.g., WebEx, GoToMeeting)

(e.g., Salesforce)

% of respondents engaging in digital marketingwho use each marketing technology3

12% Content marketing

platform(s)

12% Marketing automation and campaign management platform(s)

20%

Marketing analytics software/platform(s)

Advertising and promotional service(s)

29%

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software

74%

50% Meetings/webinar/event software

Email marketing platform(s) 44%

Social media marketing and monitoring service(s)

30%

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Firms spend less on digital marketing than other industries.

In-person events and collateral, not digital marketing, are the top priorities of marketing budgets. The industry also spends less on marketing overall than other industries. According to Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2018−2019, overall marketing budgets were 11.2% of revenue in 2018.5 By comparison, according to Fidelity research, RIA firms spend an average of 2% of revenue on marketing.6 Spend is expected to either stay the same or increase: only 1% of RIA firms plan to decrease marketing spend.3

Success is still measured by the number of leads generated.

Despite many other benefits, the majority of advisors measure the success of marketing activity by new leads generated. Email campaigns, online events, and social media were ranked as the tactics most likely to generate leads.3



Top Five Priorities in Marketing Budgets:3

1. Events

2. Communications

3. Collateral

4. Social media

5. Digital marketing, excluding social media

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Digital marketing allows you to:

Increase the efficiency of your marketing efforts:

Digital marketing is usually the cost-effective sibling to traditional marketing. It can provide better return for your marketing spend by yielding real-time feedback and better metrics than other forms of marketing, making it easier to understanding what is working.

Enhance the client experience:

Digital marketing can help make your firm more approachable by enabling target prospects to get to know your brand and capabilities before the first meeting. It can allow you to personalize and tailor messages to your audience in formats they crave, increasing the likelihood that they will engage and even share your message. It creates and enhances connections.

Build your brand:

Most people conduct online research before engaging with a wealth advisor. Digital marketing can showcase your products and services while sharing thought leadership that sets you apart, and it educates and engages clients and prospective clients.

Generate leads:

Digital marketing can generate leads and engage prospects by allowing you to connect with people where they are at all times of the day. It presents specific targeting opportunities, including geographic, demographic, and behavioral, and it allows you to test and learn by experimenting with different formats, channels, and messaging.


We believe that digital marketing can be an effective and efficient strategy for growth.

So why are some firms still relatively hesitant to

commit greater resources to digital marketing?

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Based on our research, as well as interviews with firm leaders and marketing executives in wealth management, we’ve found that many firms are simply afraid to begin. Others often feel that they lack the skills or resources to market their firm effectively.

That’s why we’ve created this ebook. In it you will find informative and comprehensive guidance that explains and explores digital marketing, and offers important resources that we hope will launch or enhance your journey:


An introduction to digital marketing, including clear definitions and examples

A road map that includes six steps to operationalize an integrated marketing program

Best practices for the most frequently used digital marketing tactics

Stories, insights, and advice from wealth management firms that leverage digital marketing for success

A checklist and additional resources that provide extra support

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Endnotes:

1. The 2019 GSMA Global Policy Trends Reports: Dependencies and Risks: https://bit.ly/2DYV9LS.2. DataReportal Digital 2019 Q4 Global Digital Snapshot Report.3. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study.4. The 2019 Fidelity Investor Insights Study. 5. Gartner, Inc., CMO Spend Survey 2018–2019.6. The 2018 Fidelity RIA Benchmarking Study.

The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study. The Digital Marketing Study was an online blind survey (Fidelity not identified) and was fielded from June 10 through June 24, 2019. Participants included 474 advisorswho manage or advise upon client assets either individually or as a team, and work primarily with individual investors. Advisor firm types included a mix of banks, independent broker-dealers, insurance companies, regional broker-dealers, RIAs, and national brokerage firms (commonly referred to as wirehouses), with findings weighted to reflect industry composition. The study was conducted by an independent firm not affiliated with Fidelity Investments.


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Digital marketing should be considered in the context of your broader marketing and business strategy, and integrated efficiently for maximum results.

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Before jumping in with digital marketing, it is

important to consider your overall marketing

strategy and how digital marketing will play

an integrated role. Regardless of your digital

marketing maturity, you can help optimize

the impact and integrate your efforts by

following a road map. There are six steps to

consider in a marketing strategy road map: MARKETINGINTEGRATION

1Know Your

Clients

2Strengthen Your

Story

3Create Your Plan

4Build Your Presence

5Drive

Engagement

6Review and

Revise


A Road Map to Marketing

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1. Know Your ClientsThe first step in any marketing effort is to know your clients, both your current clients and prospective clients. When you truly understand your target, you are more likely to deliver a marketing campaign that speaks to their needs, wants, and preferences—and stand out from other firms in the market.

Start with your best clients in mind

One way to zero in on your ideal client segments is to think about the attributes of the best clients you serve today.

Consider their hobbies, likes, and interests

Where can you find your target audience? Consider the magazines or newspapers they read, and the websites or social media sites they visit. Go deeper by thinking through the themes and messages they may be receptive to: their hopes and goals, fears and concerns, and their biggest objections to or reasons for hiring a financial advisor.Begin with the basics

Consider demographics (age, marital status, work status, gender, children, location), assets under management, and services needed, including when, where, and how they access financial services.

Know what matters to them

Get beyond the fundamentals to understand what your target clients really care about, their likes, dislikes, and preferences. Recall the last few conversations you’ve had with current clients. What concerns and challenges are on their minds, and what life events are they dealing with?

Consider a Client Segmentation Strategy

Once you understand your clients and prospects, you may want to consider segmentation. Nine out of ten advisors with a segmentation strategy state

that it’s critical for increasing firm efficiency, advisor productivity, and overall firm profitability.1

According to Fidelity research, the top five factors used in client segmentation are client profitability,

client asset level, time and resources required, future client revenue, and the product and service

needs of specific clients.1


“You have to know your audience to grow

your audience.”

–LISA HAMANN, DIRECTOROF MARKETING,

ADVISER INVESTMENTS

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2. Strengthen Your StoryWith your target clients in mind, evaluate how your firm story can be improved to better capture their attention and leave a lasting impression. Although you likely have an existing story you tell about your brand and history, being as consistent and compelling as possible will help your firm distinguish itself in a competitive marketplace. This becomes even more important as people go online to vet professional service providers.

Why do you do what you do? What is your core purpose?

Your “why” describes the passion you have for the business and why you are excited to come to work each day. This will help others recognize what you stand for—what motivates and inspires you.


Who are your clients and what are the challenges your firm helps them to solve?

Identify the issues your target audiences hope to address. Leverage personal stories from the people you work with to bring your firm story to life.

What do you do to address client needs?

What’s unique about your approach, investment philosophy, and business style? What words and phrases describe how your business stands out in the marketplace, and what can you offer that other firms can’t? Think this through in three areas: your firm and people, your offering, and your approach.

How do clients benefit by working with your firm?

Focus on how your work improves and enhances the lives of your clients. This part of the story relates to your products and services and how they align with what matters to your target audience.

Once you have honed your narrative, test it on your team, your centers of influence, and your clients to ensure it authentically represents your firm’s value proposition and uniqueness. Your firm story should be represented in your marketing materials and evident in how you communicate with your clients.

“We really needed to sit down and write down who

we are before we could relaunch our website.”

–TODD BATTAGLIA, PRESIDENT & CEO, MG&A WEALTH

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3. Create Your PlanYou should consider documenting and incorporating your digital marketing plan into your overall marketing plan. This includes revisiting your firm’s business objectives and strategies—both short term and long term–so that you can align your digital marketing activities in support of the firm’s goals. Be clear about what you will do, when you will do it, and how you will measure success. (Visit the Resources section to see a sample marketing plan.)

Depending on the tactics employed in your digital marketing strategy, you will use specific metrics to evaluate performance. Email open rates, subscribers, likes/shares, and website traffic are common metrics that can be easily monitored and viewed on a dashboard, but do not forget about more macro metrics such as: # of new leads/prospects, # of new clients, revenue and asset growth, and share of wallet. Regardless of the metrics you use, identify them up front and be prepared to review and refresh them often.

Fidelity research revealed advisors’ top three marketing goals:

Attract prospective clients

Cultivate referrals

Deepen relationships and share of wallet2

What could your plan include? Here are potential examples of digital marketing objectives:

• Increase new households by 25% via targeted outreach: 4 events, 4 email campaigns, and SEO.

• Interact with customers digitally 2x per month via personalized emails (birthday, anniversary, etc.), invitations to webinars or events, newsletters, and content customized by segment (e.g., financial planning articles).

• Convert more web traffic into leads: achieve 25% increase in overall website traffic through SEO; add calls to action on website for newsletter sign-up; create more targeted content to improve click-through rate by 10% and decrease bounce rate by 20%.

• Increase Facebook followers by 50% by: posting engaging content biweekly to boost shares, likes, and comments; encouraging follows in all email newsletters; and conducting an email campaign with clients and prospects.


1 in 3 broker-dealer advisors also have a goal to acquire new

advisor talent through marketing2

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4. Build Your PresenceEstablishing your digital footprint is the foundational element of your digital marketing plan.

An online presence is built on websites and social media accounts. As a primary consideration, look to where your audience is to determine where to focus your efforts. Also, match your objective with the right social media channel. For example, Facebook is usually better for showcasing the culture of your firm and LinkedIn is better for sharing thought-provoking content for a professional audience. Work closely with your compliance team to ensure your efforts fall within the boundaries of applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

The initial goal is to establish a quality

website and social media business

account. Your website or social media

account should contain the fundamental

information that customers and

prospects may need. Be willing to start

small, learn, and then grow.

Once your digital presence is

established, your job is not done. You

will need to deliver fresh content to

keep your audience engaged and

coming back. Over time, you should

refine the message, appearance, and

approach of your website or social

media.

Unlike traditional marketing, the beauty

and challenge of digital marketing is that

you can make updates very easily. Your

digital presence is never complete. This

provides unlimited opportunity to

refresh your message to connect with

clients and establish your relevance.

Consider your website and social media presence as the equivalent

of a physical storefront.

You want it to be engaging and relate to your target audience so that they

spend time there. Now more than ever, it is important for you to be digitally

available to your clients.


“It’s hard to be seen as an expert in your field

today without a social or online presence. It’s part of how people stand out

and compete.”

–SARAH HOWES, MARKETING DIRECTOR, COMMONWEALTH

FINANCIAL NETWORK

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5. Drive EngagementYour website and social media pages may be well designed and filled with insightful content, but your efforts are ultimately wasted if you cannot attract traffic to your site and drive prospect conversion.


Four sources of traffic: Ways to drive this traffic:

DirectEnter your site by typing your URL into their web browser; visitors know your site address from prior visits, printed materials, or via recommendation

• Include your website URL on all material, including all printed collateral and traditional advertising

Referred Accesses your site through external links on partner sites or via content posted outside your site

• Leverage email campaigns with active links

• Co-create content with other authors

Organic

Finds your site by conducting a search on a search engine; search engine optimization (SEO) is the technique to drive organic traffic to your site

• Post content that is interesting to your audience

• Use relevant keywords that show up in search queries; test keywords often

PaidVisit your website as a result of your paid advertising efforts on social media, websites, or search engines

• Invest in advertising in social media, local business publications, and on relevant lifestyle sites for your target audience

One of the key benefits of digital marketing is its ability to drive two-way communication with clients and prospects. There are several ways you can embrace two-way communication.

Consider the following:

• Be sure to have a call to action clearly present in all material, whether online or printed. Examples include links to sign up for an email newsletter, anda suggestion to read a latest blog on social media.

• Have a process in place to respond to online communication. Note which customers “like” or share your content, and respond to any comments on social media in a timely manner.

• Acknowledge your most active users and those who share your content.

• Negative comments on social media can be a significant drag on your engagement activities. Deal with any negative comments quickly and in a polite and professional way. Engage with your compliance team to ensure adherence to regulations.

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6. Revise and ReviewDigital marketing is a fluid pursuit. Circumstances inevitably change and communication channels

evolve. You will need to be agile and update your approach based on feedback and metrics. Despite

that, there are a few rules of thumb that allow you to make the most of your efforts:

Assess campaigns swiftly upon their completion

Do not wait for an annual review. Following an email

campaign, consider the metrics you stated upfront: How

many people received it versus opened it? How many clicked

to access the resources or link embedded within (responded

to your call to action)? Who are these people and who is

following up with them? How many meetings were set up as

a result? How many prospects became clients?

Include direct client feedback whenever possible

Ask clients how they learned or read about your firm to track the

effectiveness of the medium, and identify the best source of leads.

Ask for client feedback in meetings: What do you think about our

email newsletter? How did you learn about us?

Consider the stop/start/continue framework in your evaluation

What activities should we stop? Should we start? Should we continue? Ask

yourself if you are getting the clients or referrals you were hoping for.

“Even in small doses metrics and analytics can move the needle in terms of helping advisors decide how and

where to focus their digital marketing efforts.”

–SARAH HOWES, MARKETING DIRECTOR, COMMONWEALTH

FINANCIAL NETWORK


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Through Each Step of the Road Map, Drive IntegrationMarketing integration unifies all of your communications and tactics in a coordinated approach to provide a cohesive client experience. But what does that really mean?


Picture this: You write a blog post entitled "5 Tips for Raising Financially Savvy Teens" and you feature it prominently on your website. You post links to it on Facebook and LinkedIn. You include an extended version in your client newsletter. You launch an email campaign for prospects with teenage children, including a link to the blog and the key takeaways, and encourage them to share the blog with their friends. You further nurture these leads by hosting a Raising Financially Savvy Teens event—sending the invitation to prospects and clients, and encouraging them to bring friends. You mention these pieces of content and the event in the opening of your next webinar. You also post photos of the event on social media and your website, and recap the event’s highlights.

That’s marketing integration.

1Know Your

Clients

2Strengthen Your Story

3Create Your

Plan

4Build Your Presence

5Drive

Engagement

6Review and

Revise

The benefits of integrated marketing go beyond enhancing the client experience and can include:

• A greater likelihood that messages will reach their intended audience, since multiple channels are used

• Consistency and clarity of message because content is repeated and reinforced across multiple channels

• Brands that are elevated through ongoing, consistent messaging

• Improved marketing effectiveness because the campaign elements reinforce each other and you maximize usage of the same content

• Fewer siloed activities and wasted resources because efforts are coordinated

MARKETINGINTEGRATION

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Digital Marketing: A Case Study

Marketing Integration from Soup to Nuts

The Bahnsen Group self-described “soup to nuts” approach to digital marketing is constantly evolving. According to Brian Tong, Director of Strategy and Communications at the Bahnsen Group, the firm’s plan relies on “meeting our audience where they are.” For the Bahnsen Group, that crisp mantra entails being proactive across the spectrum of digital marketing tactics.

Tong said the firm uses behavioral data to inform what tactics they choose, and then “every new data point from digital marketing feeds right back into the model.” And it’s an impressive model: They’ve employed social media, online and offline content, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, paid advertising, email campaigns, as well as an impressive array of additional tactics that reinforce their objectives.

Content is an area of intentional priority for the BahnsenGroup, because “time and time again … our clients have said it creates trust with them,” and because it feeds directly into other parts of their digital marketing agenda. Tong said they sometimes have up to 16 pieces of content circulating in one week, including blogs, podcasts, email campaigns, webinars, Twitter and Instagram posts, and streaming media.

If one theme emanates from the Bahnsen Group’s practiced approach, it’s marketing integration. Tong explained: “You can put your content out on your website, on social media, in and on third-party video platforms … but then also in traditional marketing collateral and client engagement efforts.”

Even with such consistent discipline, Tong admits that they are always “grasping for the edges because everything keeps changing.” Still, he insists it’s entirely worthwhile. Why? Because when you “connect authentically” with clients and prospects, and they see who you are through your marketing, then you have a chance to over-deliver on what they hoped they would find—and now you made a connection that you almost cannot sever.”

“You can put your content out on your website, on social media, in and on third-party video platforms … but then also in traditional

marketing collateral and client engagement efforts.”


THE BAHNSEN GROUP

Brian TongDirector of Strategy

and Communications

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In the next section of this ebook, we dive deeper into six digital marketing tactics.

Adoption of these tactics will differ based on the needs of the firm and its clients, its overall marketing strategy, and theresources available. Leveraging the practical guidance and lessons learned by other firms can help you optimize your digital marketing efforts.

WebsitesSocialMedia

DigitalContent

Search Engine Optimization

Online Advertising

EmailCampaigns


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Endnotes:

1. The 2016 Fidelity Advisor Community Segmentation Study. 2. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study.



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Connecting through Websites

Your website should be viewed as your storefront: it provides the first impression to prospects and acts as the hub for your marketing activities.

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WebsitesWe consider your website to be the most basic and essential element of your digital marketing strategy. It should be viewed as the central hub for all of your digital marketing activities.

Your website is a fundamental asset in digital marketing. It is where prospects and clients learn about your brand, products, services, and unique perspective. It allows you to share content, establish your firm personality, and differentiate yourself from your competitors. It also provides metrics for an ongoing feedback mechanism.

People expect you to have a website that is updated, with easy activities to find, and that looks good on a phone, tablet, or computer. In the growing ROBO economy (research online, buy offline) your prospects will increasingly research your firm online before ever speaking to you personally—even when they are directly referred to you. Your website should make it easy for prospects to find you, to understand what services you provide, and to get to know you better.

Connect through Websites

Turn your website into a lead-generation tool.

Nearly 40% of investors said they had a significantly more positive impression of advisors who have a good website.1 That number was higher for Gen XYZ investors at 53%.2

“Your brand has to be present even when your customers are not with you. Their experience

on your website helps accomplish that.”

–CRYSTAL COOPER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS,

SIGNATUREFD

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Websites: Best PracticesAs technology advances and your firm evolves you should revisit your site strategy: a refresh or redesign could be in order. A refresh might mean making cosmetic changes to the site—adding new site content or refreshing some images and copy. A redesign involves a full overhaul of a site (look/feel, content, architecture), and is more costly and labor intensive. If you have not meaningfully refreshed your site in 4+ years, you may want to consider a substantial redesign and ensure that the website is responsively designed to work on all devices.


Consider the following in your website launch, refresh, or redesign:

Capture attention right away.

Visitors can form an impression within seconds of landing on your website, so you need to engage them from the get-go. Use compelling visuals and content. Present stories that visitors can relate to that explain the issues you address.

Showcase your brand.

Use your website, and particularly the home page, to reinforce your brand with a message and visuals that resonate with your target audience. Include an “About Us” page with a concise and consistent overview of your firm, its history, and its mission, and bios for all of your team members. Post articles, blogs, or videos featuring your firm’s perspectives and insights on a regular basis to drive traffic to your site.

Highlight the client experience and your capabilities.

Highlight the process you use to engage clients and explain what their experience will be like, including images of reports or tools that you may use. Be sure to describe the quality and depth of services that you provide, including specific examples of how you help your target clients.

Keep navigation simple.

Visitors expect intuitive navigation with the ability to quickly find important information. Include a horizontal menu at the top or vertical menu on the side.

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Websites: Best Practices (cont’d)


Make it accessible.

Courts are more frequently ruling websites to be “places of public accommodation” that are subject to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.3

Accessible design can also widen your client base by attracting customers who need assistive devices to use the web. One in five disabled investors say sensitivity to their family’s needs would be a factor in choosing a new advisor.4

Annually, your site should get an accessibility review to make sure all your pages are still fully usable with assistive technology. Keep in mind that browser and media player updates can easily “break” the accessibility of a page, requiring small adjustments.

Include professional photos/non-stock images.

All team photos should be of high quality and have a consistent look and feel. Feature your office and team to help readers get to know you.

Load quickly.

Seek to optimize the speed your website’s home page takes to load. Pages with a longer load time tend to have higher bounce rates and lower time spent on the page. Load speed is especially important for mobile devices. (Note: When someone conducts a Google® search on any device or browser, Google considers the page speed of the relevant matches, and delivers a ranking bonus to the speediest.)

Create opportunities for next steps.

Include calls to action (CTAs) that drive prospects and clients to take next steps (i.e., sign up for our newsletter, contact us, schedule an appointment, learn more).

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Websites: Best Practices (cont’d)


Make it easy to connect with you.

Every site should include a “Contact Us” form to capture potential leads. The page should include a map for visitors to your office, your address and phone number, email address, and social media links. A “contact us” button on each page is another way to ensure that you are easy to reach.

Optimize for search.

All of the efforts to design an impactful website are lost if potential visitors cannot find you. Many factors affect SEO, including how your navigation is structured, the use of keywords relevant for your audience, and load speed. Ensure the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. (See the chapter on SEO to learn more.)

Incorporate client feedback.

When you embark on a redesign or refresh, consider seeking feedback from customers to test new features, understand what they value today and what they would like to see or do on your website in the future, or simply to make sure your website is usable and easy to navigate.

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Websites: CostsCreating or refreshing a website requires both time and money. You may decide that working with an experienced designer or agency will maximize results and minimize your time spent on the site. Beyond the agency fees, costs may include:


• Purchasing a URL: New domains cost $10–15 annually, existing domains are typically $10-40 annually.

• Securing a hosting service and covering web design and maintenance: Pricing depends on the complexity of your site and may be outsourced. You may expect to spend $150+ annually.

• The cost for website design can vary greatly based on a multitude of factors, including the number of pages, complexity of the navigation, use of templates and photography, and the agency chosen, to name a few. The range extends from less than $10K for a minimalistic templated design to over six figures for a highly designed site.

• Also consider that you may need to secure ongoing support to maintain your website.

Advisors do not have to undertake site design or maintenance on their own. There are many design firms, agencies,

and marketing consultants that can help. Consider leveraging that help if this is not an area of interest or expertise, or your current client load does not allow

for the necessary time commitment. Fidelity can help you source consultants

to support you.

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Websites: Getting StartedMost firms are already online. While over 2/3 of advisors say their website content is updated at least monthly, perhaps you are in the 1 in 3 who update their content less often?5 How does your website stack up against your competition?


Good start

• Website <3 years old

• Easy-to-find or memorable URL

• Simple site navigation

• Meets basic accessibility guidelines: intuitive keyboard navigation, alt tags, and accessible media player

• Clearly differentiates your brand

• New content posted quarterly or even monthly

• Messages, images, and content appeal to your target audience

• Your value proposition is clearly articulated on the home page

• Responsively designed (can be viewed effectively on any device)

• “Contact Us” page with a form for site visitors to contact you

Even better

• <2 years old and updated with current styling

• Clear call to action on every page

• Social media buttons visible on every page

• New content posted weekly or biweekly (e.g., blog, events, news)

• Fast loading times, breadcrumbs, powerful site search capability

• Allow viewers to register for in-person events and webinars

• Online scheduling tool to arrange an introductory meeting

• Incorporate interactive content (e.g., quiz, assessment tool, poll) to help with lead generation

“You should continually reevaluate it based on what’s happening with the

company, the brand, and the industry. Your website is a living, breathing thing that should evolve with your brand, and grow with the business

and be evaluated at least quarterly.”

–CRYSTAL COOPER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS,

SIGNATUREFD

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Websites: Metrics to WatchSite visits are the most common way to measure the success of your website, but you should also consider the quantity and quality of leads through your website. The benchmarks for success will vary based on your target audience. A large firm serving a metropolitan area will have different expectations than a small firm in a rural location. Review your website metrics monthly to establish benchmarks, and utilize the data to measure the impact of your site improvements and promotional efforts over time.


Common metrics include:

Unique visitors: first-time visitors to your site (as opposed to repeat or returning visitors)

Traffic source: recall from road map the types of traffic (direct, referred, organic, and paid)

Bounce rate: the percentage of visitors to your website that navigate away from the site after viewing only one page (a high bounce rate means visitors are not engaged on your site)

Time spent on page: helps you understand if visitors are engaged in the messaging and content on your site

Pages viewed: helps you understand which pages resonate with visitors

Leads captured: number of clients providing their contact information via your website

31

Websites: A Case Study


Using Your Website to Cultivate Community

SignatureFD is an Atlanta-based wealth management firm that takes client engagement to the next level with an interactive website designed to go “beyond function” to be “fantastic.” According to Crystal Cooper, Director of Marketing and Communication at SignatureFD, their clients are coming to the site looking for more than just services—"they want a meaningful experience that reflects the things they care about.”

That meaningful experience begins with look and feel. The SignatureFD site resembles a lifestyle magazine—highly visual with lush colors, original imagery, and headlines that pack an emotional appeal. Built to be a destination site, the pages cater to communities of interest, including entrepreneurs, women executives, and attorneys. In addition, the content is segmented into focus areas that connect meaning to wealth: grow, protect, give, and live.

The appealing design is only the appetizer. Cooper and her colleagues elevate and amplify SignatureFD’s online presence with a “two-pillar” approach to web content. The first pillar is what Cooper calls “foundational content.” This includes everything from estate planning checklists to educational articles on executive compensation and philanthropy. These evergreen pieces draw people to the site through search and smart use of SEO. The second pillar is where the SignatureFD website really shines. It features personal stories—lots of them. Cooper says the stories are meant to “frame others and their experiences” in a way that brings people together around “meaningful moments” and things that are important to them.

In the next phase of development, Cooper aims to dial up the interactive elements, with possible “choose your own adventure” functionality and the addition of outside voices from finance and beyond. Cooper says that like the client journey, their website is not intended to ever be static—or even fully finished: “Websites are a living, breathing thing that should evolve with your brand and continue to grow with the business.”

“Websites are a living, breathing thing that should evolve with your brand and continue to grow with the business.”

SignatureFD

Crystal CooperDirector of Marketing and Communications

32

Endnotes:

1. The 2016 Fidelity Investor Insights Study.2. The 2019 Fidelity Investor Insights Study. 3. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG).4. The 2018 Fidelity Investor Insights Study. 5. The 2016 Fidelity Advisor Community Online Strategy Study.


33


Your social media activities complement your website and provide an interactive connection point for clients and prospects.

34

Social MediaSocial media is likely the most cost-efficient component of your digital marketing strategy. In fact, with the time and resources needed to manage a website, some people argue that an active social media presence can replace a company website. We believe that your website and social media go hand in hand in establishing your digital presence. You want to be where your customers already are, which is online.


If managed well, social media can reap multiple benefits:

• Connect you with and help you learn more about existing clients

• Reach new prospects—over two-thirds of advisors who engage in digital marketing believe that social media is an effective lead-generation tactic with millennial investors1

• Help establish your presence as a thought leader through unique new content

• Enable you to share real-time news quickly and easily

• Amplify search engine results—social media results often make their way to the top of the list

• Provide a cost-effective tool for you to share content that reinforces your firm story and differentiators, showcases your expertise, and highlights your corporate culture

• Deliver rapid feedback and results, along with findings you can leverage in other facets of your marketing strategy

Social media can be one of the pillars of your marketing strategy. Even though accounts are free, it still requires time, commitment, and a carefully conceived approach.

Over 3/4 of advisors engage in social media.1

“We are building on what we’ve learned from social

media. We found what works for us, and are using

it to reinforce our other digital efforts.”

–LOU CAMACHO, PRESIDENT, STRATOS WEALTH ENTERPRISES

35

Social Media: UsageThere are a multitude of platforms to choose from in establishing or growing your social media strategy. Some are more common among financial advisors.


Social Media Use by Financial Advisors—2016 and 20191

With the exception of LinkedIn and Twitter, use of every platform was lower at RIA firms than BD firms.1

58% of advisors who use LinkedIn believe it is

effective at generating qualified leads1

55% of advisors who use social media view compliance issuesas the major hindrance to using

it effectively.1

Engage with your compliance officer to plan your social media strategy.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube SnapChat Pinterest Tumblr

2016 2019

88%

78%

71%

44%

30%

49%

26% 25%

14%10% 10%

36

Social Media: Best PracticesAlthough each platform has distinct approaches, there are guidelines to consider across any social media platform you engage on:


Be intentional with your location. Decide which social networks to join based on the types of messages you will be communicating, your intended audience, your time and resources, and your overall objectives. It’s better to be active in one channel where your ideal clients are than to be inactive on five channels.

Complete your profile. Complete your firm social media profiles so that readers can get to know your firm. It is important to fill in each category, including your location(s), website, industry, overview, and especially your contact details. Include your company logo and a banner image.

Put a consistent strategy in place. Create a plan and gain consensus on the frequency, voice, messaging, and format of your social media posts. This is especially important if multiple people at the firm will publish content and when using different platforms.

Post relevant content. Ensure that your posts will resonate with your clients and prospects. In addition to wealth management topics, share news on your firm, viewpoints on industry shifts, as well as lifestyle and leisure topics that you think will interest target readers. Avoid using industry jargon, buzzwords, or acronyms.

Increase visibility. Increase the visibility of your social media posts in search results by including pertinent facts and keywords, including your website URL.

37

Social Media: Best Practices (cont’d)


Be regular. Ensure that updates and posts are being added at least monthly and on an ongoing basis. Use your content strategy to help create your editorial calendar. Review metrics to understand what resonates best with your audience.

Engage with your audience. Encourage interaction by asking readers to weigh in on trending topics through polls or questions. Designate an individual at your firm to respond and interact online. Respond quickly to comments on your posts and professionally address any negative feedback.

Use a multimedia approach. Photos, infographics, and videos attract attention to your social media pages. According to LinkedIn, followers who engage with videos take twice as many “amplification actions” (shares, comments, etc.) as they do on non-video posts.2 Overall, relevant, high-resolution photos reinforce your brand image and bring your firm to life. Test different photos to see which ones your audience responds to. (Facebook® posts with images get 2.3 times as much engagement as those without images.)3

Enlist associates to increase your reach. According to LinkedIn, content shared by employees has 2 times greater engagement versus content shared by a company.4 Tools like LinkedIn’s Elevate make it easier for you to create posts that associates can share. Regardless of how you approach this, create clear guidelines with your compliance team on what can be shared and by whom.

38

Social Media: Platform ConsiderationsSpecific social media platforms have their own best practices for consideration.


LinkedIn

• Encourage employees past and present to add your company to their personal profile page and follow it for updates.

• Use “pinned” updates to ensure that your most important content gets the spotlight on your company page.

• Use your LinkedIn headline and banner image to promote your brand statement, core marketing message, and client value proposition.

• Add your LinkedIn profile URL to the bottom of your work email signature line.

• For additional cost, “InMails” is a private messaging service that lets you send business and career opportunities directly to any LinkedIn user. It is part of their Premium offering.

Facebook

• Many firms use Facebook to showcase their associates and culture, and connect with clients or prospects on a more personal level. Create posts that will resonate with your targets on this platform by considering their average age, gender, and interests.

• Share content from other Facebook pages to link your business with outside brands and experts. (Look for thought leaders in your industry with a sizable fan base. Sharing their posts selectively can improve your social media visibility and help you gain exposure within a relevant community.)

• “Milestone” posts add a personal touch and encourage likes on your Facebook page.

• Use the “Timeline” feature to produce a digital scrapbook that tells the history of your firm.

• Add a call-to-action (CTA) button to your page, such as “Watch a video” or “Contact us.”

“LinkedIn allows you to find out where the touch

points are and market to them if you choose to.”

–BRIAN TONG, DIRECTOROF STRATEGY AND

COMMUNICATIONS,THE BAHNSEN GROUP

39

Social Media: Platform ConsiderationsSpecific social media platforms have their own best practices for consideration.


Twitter

• Tweets should be concise and focused on one specific topic, rather than trying to communicate multiple ideas. Include a link to a blog post or website if you have a longer message to convey.

• “Hashtags” are a powerful tool to expand your reach and join trending discussions. Focus on keywords that are relevant and specific to your business and don’t include more than two hashtags per tweet.

• Tweet open-ended questions to elicit a response.

• Retweet relevant content and reply to tweets to maintain a robust Twitter presence. When retweeting, include your own comment or question to spark more engagement among your followers.

• The life span of posts on Twitter is short, requiring more frequency than many other social sites. It’s important to experiment with your Tweets to find what works best for your firm.

Instagram

• Use high-quality images to tell engaging stories. (Be sure to format and size them appropriately.)

• Leverage tags to aid in search results.

• Watch for day and time trends to understand when your audience is most likely to engage.

• Encourage feedback and interactivity: ask a question or suggest topics for comments.

YouTube

• Keep videos to less than two minutes whenever possible.

• Ensure captioning is visible to allow people to view videos in any setting.

• Remember you are competing against entertaining content with the potential to go viral—make it interesting!

• Understand the nuances of SEO on YouTube—with all video content, your captions and transcripts become very important.

“… they all have their own nuances … this is really about

putting out quality content that works in multiple

channels.”

–LISA HAMAN, DIRECTOROF MARKETING, ADVISER

INVESTMENTS

40

Social Media: Getting StartedYou need to meet your audience where they are – and for many people, that means online and through social media. The social media channel you choose to use is less important than the action you take to create a consistent, enjoyable, and educational experience for clients and prospects.


Good start

• Ensure your firms’ account on LinkedIn is current. Establish an account on another social media platform frequented by your clients (e.g., Facebook)

• Post to each account biweekly or monthly using text and images, consistently across platforms

• Regularly post commentary to relevant third-party articles

• Experiment with different content, formats, and mediums to see what resonates with your audience

• Use tracking tools (like 77% of those using social media do1) to monitor social media activity

Even better

• Post to each account weekly—or even daily (more than half of advisors using social media post weekly, and 10% of them post daily1)

• Incorporate videos, infographics, polls, questions, and other tactics that increase engagement

• Build a presence on YouTube, Instagram, or other channel

• Experiment with live streaming (e.g., Facebook Live)

• Boost your posts to increase the audience you are reaching (see online advertising chapter)

“We recently gained a multi-million dollar client who said that they came to us because they liked what

we wrote in a Tweet.”

–BRIAN TONG, DIRECTOR, STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS,

THE BAHNSEN GROUP

41

Measuring performance on social media generally relates to reactions and interest from your network of advisors, employees, professional and personal connections, clients, and prospects.

Connections: the number of people in your network, or followers on your page.


Likes: the positive reaction you receive on your content on Facebook and other social platforms.

(Likes increase based on engaging/topical content, as people gravitate toward ideas that are trending.)

Shares and retweets: a personal recommendation for your firm based on someone in your network sharing your content with their connections.

Comments: people responding to your post or message, often with feedback or their own related thoughts on the topic. While you hope for positive comments, you need to be cognizant of and ready to respond to negative comments.

Social Media: Metrics to Watch

Common KPIs include …

42Making Connections with Social Media

Social Media: A Case Study

Northeast advisory firm leverages social media for multiple benefits

Lisa Hamann, Marketing Director of Adviser Investments, says the Massachusetts-based firm approaches social media proactively, with dual objectives. The first goal is lead-generation. Hamann says the process begins with financial planning checklists, investment tips, and posts on social security benefits. “With relevant posts, we’re able to put them out initially and then repurpose them in other social media channels as a way to give people information they want while we generate leads.” The second goal is brand building. “Our executives and advisors are experts, so getting their voices out there on social media to promote their process is a great way to communicate their expertise.” As part of that, the firm features thought leadership, including clips of their associates speaking on cable news programs and a recent article in Barron’s, profiling a firm leader.

For lead generation as well as brand building, the firm uses social media to share photos of their associates volunteering in the community, and highlights of recent industry awards they’ve won, including Pension & Investment’s “Best Places to Work in Money Management.” According to Hamann, “If the firm receives a positive mention in the press, we post the link and include the journalist’s Twitter handle. In part, it's about building relationships with the media.” At the same time, Hamann said, “a lot of our active presence on social media is focused on sharing ideas and updates that will appeal to clients and leads.”

“Our executives and advisors are experts, so getting their voices out there on social media to promote their process is a great way

to communicate their expertise.”

Adviser Investments

Lisa HamannMarketing Director

43

Endnotes:

1. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study.2. LinkedIn Company & Followers Playbook, posted on SlideShare, January 17, 2013.3. How to Use Visual Content to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog, BuzzSumo, May 20, 2015.4. The Official Guide to Employee Advocacy, LinkedIn.



44

Digital Content to Drive

Deeper Connections

Digital content that is fresh, unique, and representative of your brand can attract visitors and keep them coming back.

45

Digital ContentJust having a website or a social media account is not enough—you need content to bring them to life.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, “content marketing” “is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”1 Content marketing can include both online content like blogs and videos and offline content like books and printed papers.


Digital content can help accomplish many of your marketing objectives:

• Communicating your perspective

• Increasing brand awareness and driving brand loyalty

• Differentiating you from your competition

• Enhancing the client experience through “edutainment”

• Keeping you “top of mind” among prospects

• Positioning you as a thought leader, enhancing your reputation, and driving greater recognition

Digital content will not translate into relationships overnight, but in

time it can grow to be a critical vehicle to help transform

prospects into clients.

Nearly 2/3 of advisors produce digital content2

Digital content is any content marketing that is delivered online via websites, social media, email, or any

application or mobile device.

“We create a lot of content, because it is the one thing that, time and time again, our clients

said took them the final mile and led them to engage with us.”

––BRIAN TONG, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS,

THE BAHNSEN GROUP

46

Digital Content: Develop Your Content StrategyIt’s tempting to dive in and start creating content, but take the time to document a simple content strategy first. A documented content strategy across both traditional and digital content can ensure that all content ties together for a seamless reader experience.


Elements of a content strategy

Audience segments you are trying to reach

Topics you want to cover

Which format is best for each segment, and how you will diversify formats across topics and time

Channels that will be used to showcase the content. Remember: you can repurpose content in different channels, but keep your website as your central content hub.

The best author or subject matter expert for each topic, including co-authors

Which content will be offline, which will be online, and which may be both

How you will manage your library of content and retire pieces as needed

Performance measures to be used—may differ by channel

Which resources and timeline you will assign to content overall, and to each piece

Key recommendation: Utilize an editorial calendar

You can create and publish content as often as you like as long as it is consistent. Utilize an editorial calendar to help stay on track.

Create a schedule that works for your team, and stick with it. As your audience grows, so will their expectations: They will take notice

if you stop “showing up.”

Not enough time to develop content?Consider outsourcing the writing of your content to a third party, but ensure your

voice, your personality, and your messages are well represented. You may also

purchase content from third-party content providers. The material will not be unique or authentic to your firm, and may not have as much impact as a piece authored by your

people, but it may help to fill content gaps.

47

Digital Content: FormatsTo meet the needs of your audience, it’s important to create a range of outputs that are effective across audiences, channels, contexts, and campaigns. Your choice of content format from the list below will be determined by those factors as well as your budget, timing, and resources.


Article: Short-form text-based content with some graphics, typically posted on a website but can also be printed for events and meetings. Length can vary, but note that shorter lengths may impact opportunities for keywords.

Blog post: Short online text-based entries with a single author. Length varies (as do the opinions on the optimal length); test different lengths with your audience to find the right fit. Typically easy to produce depending on length and use of data/graphics. Can increase traffic to your website when SEO is effectively used.

Image: A single image in a blog or social media post provides an opportunity for rapid consumption and sharing via social media.

Infographic: Short, graphic-led, digestible insights, usually one page in length and printable.

Webinar: Online seminars or events designed to share information with attendees in return for their contact information.

Poll: Online surveys that can quickly boost engagement and drive insights for your firm.

Podcast: Interview or narrative-based audio for a time-poor audience. The podcast explosion is real: Edison research indicates that over half of the U.S. population has listened to at least one podcast, and that 1 in 3 Americans listen to a podcast at least once per month.3

There have also been gains in adoption by the older generations previously reluctant to adopt: now 17% of people over 55 listen to a monthly podcast.4

Video: Can be animated infographics or live video content. Video is rising to become the king of content: Cisco reports that 82% of all traffic will be video by 2022.5

66%

58%

39%

34%

32%

19%

15%

14%Client case studies

Podcasts

Blog(s)

Videos

Webinars

Non-market-related white papers or articles

Market commentaries or investment-related articles/white papers

Newsletters

Formats used by Advisors

While some research indicates that podcasts and videos may be the preferred format of the

future, you should experiment to learn what works best for your audience.

48

Digital Content: Before You Publish…Content marketing requires an “audience-first” editorial perspective that introduces clients to your brand and its solutions, boosting favorability and interest. To successfully deliver on this mission, consider asking yourself the following questions before pushing “publish” on a new piece of content:


• Alignment: Does the piece align with your strategic initiatives and marketing goals? How will your offline and online content interact or build upon each other?

• Authenticity: Is the content true to the your brand?

• Attention-grabbing: Is the content something your audience will want to read and share? Does it have a catchy headline or the ability to “go viral”? Humor and references to pop culture can be helpful here.

• Resonance: Is there client or target audience demand for this topic or theme?

• Point of view: Are you able to articulate a point of view in a way that is authentic versus “salesy”? Do you have the information you need to authoritatively speak about the topic?

• Value to the audience: The degree to which the topic helps you retain existing clients, grow share of wallet, attract referrals, or get the attention of prospects. Does it:

– Encourage the reader to think in a new way about their investments and financial life?

– Go beyond data points to provide insights?

– Bring concrete examples and case studies?

– Offer takeaways and next steps that are actionable?

– Encourage the reader to discuss it with colleagues and, ideally, share it with their network?

• Differentiation: Does the topic allow you to competitively distinguish your firm in the field?

At times you may publish content that does not answer all of these questions—that is OK! Revisit this list often, but don’t let perfection get in the way of publishing.

49

Digital Content: Moving Past OverwhelmCreating and managing digital content may sound daunting when your time is compressed. Here are some facts about content marketing and strategies to overcome them:


Start slow and build up your efforts. Don’t give up early and miss the opportunity.

2 in 5 advisors working with digital content indicate they update their website content at least weekly.2

A survey from Content Marketing Institute found that the most successful marketers spend 40% of their marketing budget on content marketing.6

Content overload will continue to be a challenge for readers: there is so much content online that only the most compelling messages and innovative content will be truly effective.

Content is critical to search engine optimization and keeping visitors coming back to your site.

Employ an editorial calendar to plan content in advance, keep track of messaging and formats. Produce content en masse when possible and leverage Centers of Influence or other reputable sources for other content.

Your biggest cost in creating content is your time. Distribute authorship across your team and leverage outside editors to ensure consistency in tone.

Consider leveraging your content in multiple places/formats to maximize reach and minimize resources to develop it. You can write a blog post, share it on social media, and include it in your newsletter. You can repeat your messages with less editorial efforts and get better traction in getting your message across.

Make it your initial goal to produce content that represents your voice at regular intervals. Keep your initial expectations low—your personal network may be your early readers—but have faith it will expand.

50

Digital Content: Getting StartedYou don’t need a big budget and a degree in journalism to create quality content that resonates with your customers. Start small, build on your capabilities, and remember to be consistent.


Good start

• Publish articles or other content (text, photos, video, etc.) at least monthly to your website, using proprietary or third-party sources

• Post the content on your social media channels to drive traffic and engagement

• Review metrics and feedback to make changes to future content

• Regularly review your published content to assess what needs to be refreshed or retired

• Repurpose offline content to help build your library of online content

• Leverage news stories to start an online conversation or publish content with the implications for your clients

Even better

• Publishing content weekly (or even daily) on your website and social media—focusing primarily on proprietary content

• Leverage more advanced video and graphic production capabilities, including professional photography

• Create content campaigns around themes such as time of year (e.g., back-to-school, tax season)

• Invite your center of influence or other influencers to write guest blogs/articles for you, and offer to do the same for them

• Find a local cause you can support and share your experience working with them

“Be prepared (but not deterred) that for a long time it may only be your personal

network that reads your content. Don’t give up: It only takes one

client to get your audience rolling.”

––BRIAN TONG, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS,

THE BAHNSEN GROUP

51

Digital Content: A Case Study


Midwest RIA tested different content approaches before settling on podcasts

When Stratos Wealth Enterprises began using digital marketing, their initial challenge was determining what content would engage their audience—in their case, financial advisors. They started posting on Twitter and LinkedIn, and they found out fast that the lighter topics are what helped set them apart and create real connections. Lou Camacho, Strato’s President, said that it was the “engaging content” about “Jessica’s crazy travel schedule” and other relatable pieces that received the most clicks.

They continued to experiment, and before long Stratos found the key ingredient in their content marketing secret sauce: podcasts.

“We wanted to do something different, something with our own unique spin,” Camacho told us. Ultimately, they went with a laid-back interview format, featuring guests from the wealth management industry. They ended each session on a high note—with karaoke. The first episode closed with a spirited rendition of Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.” The result? They received about 150+ phone calls or emails after that episode alone. “Nothing we’ve done before has ever generated the same level of interest,” Camacho said.

Today, they release a new 30- to 45-minute episode every other week, promoted on their website and through email campaigns, and posted on the major podcast platforms. And the podcasts have created significant business opportunities for the firm, Camacho says. People reach out to Stratos after listening, in part because they “have a message and a medium that plays very well” to their audience.

“We wanted to do something different, something with our own unique spin.”

STRATOS WEALTH ENTERPRISES

Lou Camacho

President

52

Endnotes:

1. Content Marketing Institute, “What is Content Marketing?” Article.2. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study.3. Edison Research: The Podcast Consumer 2019 Research.4. Edison Research The Infinite Dial 2019.5. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017–2022 White Paper. 6. Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content Marketing: 2018 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America.



53

Expanding Connections with

Search Engine Optimization

Optimizing your placement in search engine results can drive more visitors to your site and social media accounts, giving an opportunity for prospects to find you.

54

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)You’ve established a digital presence with a current website and social media accounts.You are publishing content that educates and entertains your audience.Now you need to make sure people can find you.

While the financial advisor relationship is a very personal one, your prospects and clients are highly likely to have researched you and your firm online before ever meeting you in person (even when they have a personal referral). They may look up information online by conducting queries on search engines such as Google. These search engines use complex algorithms to determine which web pages to include and the order in which they will appear in search results.

SEO includes everything you do to help your firm appear in search engine queries. Ideally, you want to appear in the top of the

list of results to attract more visitors, especially prospects. (For more information on Search Engine Marketing, please see thechapter on Online Advertising.)

By optimizing your website for search engine results, you drive more traffic to your site. (Recall the four sources of web traffic: direct, referred, organic, and paid. SEO drives both organic and referred traffic to your site.)

The more traffic you drive to your site, the more chances you have to convert prospects into clients.

In addition to driving more traffic, SEO has additional benefits:

• Drives higher-quality traffic by targeting specific people

• Builds brand credibility with appearances at the top of search results

• Can position you against the competition

Expanding Connections with Search Engine Optimization

35% of advisors engage in SEO1

“Want to know my go-to-market strategy? I’m

going to beat my local competitor at SEO so that prospects find me first.”

–RIA ADVISOR IN THE MIDWEST

55

SEO: Types

On-page SEO relates to the content on your website (on-page SEO can be physically seen by visitors on the site itself).

In addition to ensuring you have accurate and enticing copy, images, and videos that are interesting to visitors, it includes optimizing the keywords and tags you use.

Technical SEO Unlike copy, technical SEO is not read on your site by visitors.

Technical SEO includes metadata, the HTML code that works behind the scenes in search engine results. Metadata is not copy that is visible to site visitors and can include the title and description of your site. Technical SEO also includes the measures you take to ensure your site functions well, including readability to allow search engines to comb your content efficiently, and the user experience so that your site is deemed worthy of ranking.

Off-page SEO are the actions you take outside your site to help improve SEO results.

It includes connections to other pages and sites, notably through links back to your own website. Links that point to your site from other reputable sites will help algorithms deem your site as high quality and useful.


There are three different types of SEO:

Consider which type of SEO may be most important and feasible for your firm at this time. Research where you are today, and

then consider what may allow you to rise in the rankings.

Nearly 30% of advisors who engage in digital marketing believe that SEO strategies are effective at generating leads with Gen X and Y audiences.1

56

SEO: Measures

On-page SEO metrics

Bounce rate: percentage of viewers who leave a website after viewing only one page

Time spent per session: how much time people spend reading your content

Rankings: words or phrases that describe the contents of a page; they can drive rankings that can be viewed via your analytics

Mobile rankings: mobile version of search rankings

Technical SEO metrics

Page load time: average amount of time it takes to load pages on your screen

Mobile friendliness: ensure that your site is mobile-friendly

Ease of navigation: complexity of pages, use of internal links

Duplication issues: content and duplication of META elements

Off-page SEO metrics

Backlinks: quality of links from other reputable sites to your site

Submissions to third-party sites

Comments on blogs or social media


Metrics across the three types of SEO should be reviewed in a comprehensive SEO strategy.

57

SEO: Best PracticesSearch Engine Optimization sounds technical, but you can accomplish a lot with a few simple practices. Consider the following:


Create search-worthy content.

Use strong headlines, compelling copy, and include keywords and phrases that accurately describe your business. Give attention to your most important web pages, “Home,” “About Us,” “Products and Services,” and “Contact Us.” Just as important, don’t overload your pages with extraneous keywords or content. In general, create content that is high quality and relevant to your target audience and focus on writing naturally.

Use strong keywords.

Using keywords that are relevant to your ideal searcher’s intentions helps you to land at the top of a search. As you build your keyword strategy, consider the relevant combinations of words and phrases prospects could enter into a search engine (e.g., the challenges your clients are trying to solve or the questions that are top of mind). Keyword Planner by Google Ads is an easy tool you can use to strengthen your list. Using “long-tail keywords” may yield better results, because the users typing them may have a better understanding of what they are seeking and fewer competitors may be employing them. Also use a strong primary keyword in your page’s META title, and use the same or similar primary keyword in your primary page heading and throughout your body copy. This gives the search engines indication to what the page is about.

Manage your metadata.

Google and other search engines use meta tags within HTML to classify your site. While proper meta tags can usually be accomplished through your site’s content management system, it is important to be certain you are properly managing key metadata, including titles, captions, and descriptions.

58

SEO: Best Practices (cont’d)


Remember: Work closely with your compliance officer to ensure you are working within applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

Be social.

Capitalize on your social media presence by posting and interacting on social media regularly. Allow readers to share your content directly on social media from your site with direct links. Positioning yourself as an authority and building your name as a thought leader in your space goes a long way to generating search momentum and driving traffic.

Make it easy to be found.

At a minimum, claim your business profile on Google My Business and verify that all the information is correct. Do the same on other local directories, including Yelp!, CitySearch, and Yellowpages.com. This step not only helps you move up on results, but it also lists your business in Google Maps results and puts your contact information on-screen.

Use links wisely.

Include links to high-quality websites with related industry content to show search engines that your site is connected to the wider digital ecosystem. Consider links to relevant content authored by your COIs on their sites. Also, remember to include links within your blog entries and web pages to help readers navigate around your site. Remember to check frequently that all of your links continue to work.

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SEO: Getting StartedSEO is an extremely cost-effective way to bring visitors to your site. It maximizes the effectiveness of the work you have already done to ensure you start seeing returns through leads.


Good start

• Simple website navigation with clear URLs, page titles, and structure

• Use internal links to support navigation to your other pages

• No 404 pages: these pages won’t be indexed and disrupt your client experience

• Eliminate duplicate titles or content to avoid confusing search engines

• Also avoid similarly themed content e.g., (5 ways to save money / how to save money)

• Curated, unique, and link-worthy content that attracts your audience

• Use keywords – nearly 3/4 of RIA firms who use SEO include high-value keywords in their website copy1

• Use alt tags to provide text alternatives for images

• Claim your business profile on Google My Business

• Watch your competitors to learn what is working for them

While SEO can seem intimidating or technical, it has become easier in recent

years. It does require ongoing action to keep up with changes in the algorithms.

Tip: Consider working with external SEO consultants or web designers to keep abreast

of changes and remain on top of the work.

Even better

• Leverage Keyword Planner by Google or other keyword tools

• Leverage Google Search Console to obtain Google’s perspective on the health of your site

• Use a keyword ranking tool to see where you rank against competitors

• Update keywords semiannually (or even quarterly)

• Leverage meta descriptions–30% of advisors who use SEO use them1–(meta titles should be under 60 characters, meta descriptions under 160 characters)

• Author guest blogs on meaningful, related sites

• Work to increase the speed of your website

• Create your site map and submit to search engine tools

• Review metrics monthly, including use of ranking tools to check your ranking frequently

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SEO: A Case Study


The story of comprehensive services as told through SEO1

Beginning in 1941 as a single accounting firm in Saginaw, Michigan, Rehmann has evolved into a synergistic collection of financial, advisory, and consulting services for high-net-worth individuals and families, while also providing investment services and 401(k) administration for businesses. Rehmann Principal Ron Knipping said that they are “obsessed with proactive planning toward client solutions.” The firm has physical offices in Michigan, Florida, and Ohio, but they attract many key clients, nationwide, online. How do they manage that? Rehmann’sfocus is on digital marketing, with SEO and search engine marketing as critical components of their savvy strategy. “We have some very large clients that have come through the website by the SEO that we put into place,” Knipping told us. “Search is the way of the future, and we know that this part of our strategy is crucial.” Knipping said that best practices, such as having a mobile-friendly site with high-caliber content and an excellent user experience, help them remain visible in organic search and also remain highly relevant and appealing to a broad range of existing clients.

“Search is the way of the future, and we know that this part of our strategy is crucial.”

REHMANN

Ron KnippingPrincipal

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Endnotes:

1. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study

The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study. The Digital Marketing Study was an online blind survey (Fidelity not identified) and was fielded from June 10th through June 24th, 2019. Participants included 474 advisors who manage or advise upon client assets either individually or as a team, and work primarily with individual investors. Advisor firm types included a mix of banks, independent broker-dealers, insurance companies, regional broker-dealers, RIAs, and national brokerage firms (commonly referred to as wirehouses), with findings weighted to reflect industry composition. The study was conducted by an independent firm not affiliated with Fidelity Investments.


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Using Online Advertising

to Amplify Connections

Expand the opportunities for prospects to learn about your brand and messaging by engaging in advertising online.

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Online AdvertisingAfter laying the foundation of a solid website experience, social presence, and content strategy, and ensuring visibility through SEO, you can expand your focus to include online advertising.


There are generally two types of advertising: traditional and online.

Traditional advertising

Traditional advertising includes the promotional strategies used before the advent of the internet and mobile phones. Channels can include print, radio/television, direct mail, and outdoor.

Online advertising

Online advertising leverages the internet, mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. Channels include websites, social media, and search engine advertising.

Benefit Has a long track record and recognition with customers Two-way communication with customers

DrawbacksOne-directional so less opportunity for interaction with clients; more expensive

As with traditional, there is considerable competition for share of voice and how to “stand out.”

Both used equally 52% of advisors use traditional advertising1 52% of advisors use online advertising1

Similar effectivenessat generating leads

36% of advisors who use it believe it is effective1 33% of advisors who use it believe it is effective1

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Online AdvertisingOnline advertising can provide benefits above and beyond those from traditional advertising channels.

Online advertising works like traditional advertising, in that it can attract prospects and keep you top of mind among existing clients. Both work around the clock while you’re out building relationships, and there are multiple mediums from which to choose. But online advertising also has its own distinct benefits. It:


• Helps establish brand identity by bringing your value proposition/firm story in front of your target audience where they are.

• Provides quick feedback via data analytics, allowing you to pivot your strategy and test different messages and formats to optimize effectiveness.

• Is typically more cost effective than traditional.

• Enables more precision and targeting by reaching audiences with specific interests or attributes, or living in a distinct location.

• Is flexible in nature, with the ability to promote content or brand message across platforms.

• Can capture potential leads through unique ad units.

• Helps you to stay top of mind for visitors to your website through re-targeting.

You can create a positive compounding effect with a

combination of traditional and online advertising vs. only one or the other. They can work in

tandem; e.g., search results may increase if you run a printed ad.

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Online Advertising: Setting Goals and a Measurement PlanTo determine the best mix of tactics to employ with paid online advertising, there are key inputs to address to best set yourself up for success. Examples are shown below.


Common KPIs & Metrics for paid online advertising include:

Click-Through Rate to see which ad garners the highest percentage of clicks to impressions or number of times an ad is shown

Landing Zone Visits to identify which ad is driving the most traffic to your site

Brand Studies surveys commissioned by media or research partners to gauge consumer perception

Objective Target Messaging Tactic Success

What are you trying to accomplish with your

campaign?Who are you trying

to reach specifically?

What are you saying, and what do you want them to

do as a result?

Which tactic(s) achieves your objective by delivering the message to your

target within your budget?How will you measure

performance and optimize?

A firm recently expanded and needs to build awareness in new markets.

Affluent, small business owners, given the unique offering the firm provides.

The advertising will promote the content that the firm created for small business owners, including a white paper and a video that lives on the firm’s website.

A combination of:

• native advertising (promoting various quotes within the white paper) with a publication in the new target markets

• campaign on LinkedIn that includes the quotes plus clips of a video hosted on your website

Business success defined as leads/sales in new markets pre-advertising and post-campaign. Additional metrics to inform ongoing optimizations:

• LinkedIn video shares, comments, completed views (which clip is best)

• Native ad click-through rate to see which quote works

• Website traffic, sources

• Inbound leads

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Online Advertising: TypesThere are many different types of online advertising


37% of firms who engage in online

advertising use SEM.1

Social media ads are the No. 2 choice for

advisors who engage in online advertising.1

Search engine marketing (SEM)

Includes advertising on search engines. SEM results appear above SEO results in search queries. The traffic from SEO is organic; the traffic from SEM is paid. You can think of SEM as a hybrid of both SEO and online advertising.

Social media advertising

Social media sites offer multiple opportunities to advertise. The tactics are always changing so check with your account for the latest ad offerings.

• LinkedIn offers “Follow Ads” that can help attract the specific audiences you are trying to reach.

• Sponsored InMail through LinkedIn enables firms to send personalized messages (InMail) to targeted audiences on LinkedIn. The cost of Sponsored InMail depends on the number of targets you would like to reach.

• LinkedIn Lead Gen helps you capture quality leads by pre-filling forms (name, email address, title, etc.) when someone clicks on your ad or call-to-action button.

• Facebook “Boosting” (with the Boost Post button) allows you to pay to instantly promote your content.

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Online Advertising: TypesThere are many different types of online advertising


Video

The most engaging and TV-like experience, often purchased as pre-roll (before content), mid-roll (during), or post-roll (after the content) images but does not show up in search engine results.

Native advertising

Appears within a web page on a third-party site. It looks like editorial content but is a paid ad.

Programmatic

Ads that appear on websites based on algorithms, an example being retargeting users who have visited your site to reengage (banners and native).

Display advertising is the No. 1 choice for advisors who engage in online advertising.1

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Online Advertising: CostHow online advertising is sold


While the models are continually evolving, there are several ways you can pay for online ads:

Online advertising can be relatively simple and cost effective.

For instance, a simple Facebook ad can be launched for as little as $10. You can use the tools provided by LinkedIn and Facebook to design, preview, and launch your ad.

For more complex campaigns, you can develop content yourself, or work with an agency to help develop a standout ad campaign.

Pay-per-click (PPC): you only pay when a user clicks on your ad

Cost per impression (CPI): pay by the number of times the ad is displayed to visitors, known as impressions

Fixed cost: pay a flat fee no matter how many times it is viewed or clicked on

Cost per action (CPA): you pay for people to take a specific action like visit your landing zone

Cost per lead (CPL):pay for predetermined number of leads or by individual lead

Cost per view (CPV): pay for only the completed video views, or a portion (three seconds or more)

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Online Advertising: Best PracticesWhether you decide to engage in paid search, display ads, or another type of online advertising, success begins with a few very simple but important elements. Consider these practices:


66%

57%

52%

46%

30%

21%

Financial services

Business

Investment

News

Sports

Travel & leisure

Types of websites used for online ads1

Choose the best venue

Think back to what you know about your current and target customer. What social media platforms are they using? What types of websites are they visiting? What are their interests, their professions?

Identify the most productive time

Think strategically about when your targets are typically online. Once you have that key information, develop a strategy to reach them when they are active on these platforms. (See the case study for an example of how a local RIA tweaked their approach to align with these findings.)

Test multiple messages

Try different formats, venues, times of day/week/year. Learn what works best for you and focus on creating content that gets your target to click. Consider starting small with a paid ad on social media, see what results you yield, and expand your efforts from there.

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Online Advertising: Best Practices (cont’d)


Consider your user’s end-to-end experience

Ensure that wherever your ad drives to [landing page or content] the messaging is consistent, seamless, and satisfying for the reader.

Be responsive

No matter the type of online ads you choose, your response time can make or break your success. Whenever you receive a positive response, reply as quickly as possible.

Select a performance indicator

Depending on your advertising channel, you may choose different metrics:

• Consider those in the chapter on websites: traffic (paid vs. other types), bounce rates, time spent on page, pages viewed; and the advertising metrics mentioned earlier (Setting Goals & Measurement Plan).

• Impressions: the number of times ads have appeared in paid search ads.

• Leads captured.

• Amount spent: measured as cost per click, cost per acquisition, or return on advertising (RoA), which is the total revenue divided by the total cost of the ad campaign.

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Online Advertising: Getting StartedOnline advertising will only be as effective as the depth of knowledge you have of your clients, and the approach you choose will be unique to your firm. While the examples below can help you get started, knowing your target prospects’ interests and preferences is the real key to identifying your firm’s best practices.


Good start

• Determine what should/could be handled in-house vs. outsourced to an agency

• Shore up SEM (search engine marketing) as baseline for maximum “findability”

• Identify a learning agenda and measurement plan to test at least two ad experiments per year

• Leverage assets (ad creative) derived from owned content

• Leverage company accounts on social platforms for paid targeted campaigns. For example, boosted posts on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Even better

• Expand learning agenda to 4-6 experiments per year

• Explore creative ad copy testing in search before using paid display banners

• Expand budget to pilot new formats and platforms (video, podcasts/streaming audio)

• Develop strong relationships with top performing key media partners/publishers, especially in local outlets

• Leverage those relationships to create customized packages that include online advertising and events/sponsorships/email/etc.

Remember: Work closely with your compliance officer to ensure you are working within applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

“My advice would be to try Google ads. You might not do it perfectly but just do it. You

don't have to figure everything out to make it work initially.”

–-STEPHEN DYGOS, FOUNDING

PRINCIPAL, SDWIA

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Online Advertising: A Case Study


Minneapolis advisory firm goes old-school via the desktop1

According to Stephen J. Dygos, founding principal, Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC (SDWIA), “Google Ads was something we decided to focus on and become really good at, instead of dabbling in multiple things.” They hired a consultant to help them learn the space, drive visibility, and generate leads. Why? As a number of firms told us, options like Google are relatively easy, cost effective, and offer an opportunity to track results.

Beginning with a budget of about $500 a month, SDWIA got started and was able to determine pretty quickly what worked for them:

• Timing and location: You can target ads by time of day and by location, or use their map feature to select specific areas you want to reach. SDWIA settled on a fairly simple formula for local ads: “During the day, we do most of our advertising in downtown Minneapolis. At night, we add in the suburbs.”

• Channel: Do you want to direct ads to desktops, mobile devices, or both? SDWIA discovered that the conventional wisdom didn’t work for them. “Everybody thinks they should be advertising on mobile, but we weren't getting the click-throughs there. Whereas, we surprisingly get a lot more responses on the desktop side.”

Focusing on Google ads gave SDWIA a higher click-through rate than other venues and delivered leads—including three that were converted into clients last year. The bottom line? Dygos told us: “The revenue more than makes up for the cost.”

“The revenue more than makes up for the cost.”

SCHWARZ DYGOS WHEELERINVESTMENT ADVISORS LLC

Stephen J. DygosFounding Principal

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Endnotes:

1. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study



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How Email Campaigns

Reinforce Connections

Leverage your connections to deliver valuable content and brand messaging through email.

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Email CampaignsEmail campaigns are an essential tactic because they are simple, effective, and can support all of your other digital marketing efforts.

Email campaigns use email messages to promote your business and connect with customers. Think of this tactic like traditional direct mail, but without the printing and postage. As basic as that sounds, email campaigns pack some powerful benefits for firms that position it at the center of their digital marketing strategy.


Email campaigns are…

• Established: While new social platforms continue to come and go, email as a communication channel is evergreen, entrenched, and ubiquitous.

• Cost effective: One survey found that emails had a median ROI of 122%—more than four times higher than other marketing formats examined in the study.1

• Flexible: Email reaches consumers on their desktop, mobile devices, and anywhere else they receive and read email. Compared to other platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook), email has few space constraints and can easily incorporate multiple images and elements.

60% of advisors who use email marketing rank it in their top 3 for lead-generation activities2

60% of advisors engage in email

marketing2

“One of our advisors didn‘t believe in email marketing. We asked him to trust us and give it a try for a couple of months. By the six-month mark, he was a believer. In that time, he heard back from 88 people,

and 1/4 of them were clients he hadn‘t spoken to in years. A simple email

campaign helped him resurrect those relationships—which is incredible.”

–SUSAN THEDER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ADVISOR GROUP, INC.

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Email CampaignsEmail campaigns are easy to undervalue, but the benefits are big and beyond dispute.


Myths Reality

It’s old schoolIt’s innovative. Email campaigns are more innovative than ever. Firms can use customer data and email automation to personalize the content, copy, recipient, sender, and follow-up communications.

It’s staticIt’s versatile. The content you create for email campaigns can be repurposed and posted on your website, re-used in webinars and blogs, and re-formatted for tweets and social media posts.

It’s discretionary

It’s essential. We would argue that most firms should utilize email campaigns as a pivotal tactic. While it is relevant for engaging with most clients, it is especially effective for connecting with older generations: 51% of advisors who engage in digital marketing say that email campaigns are effective for generating leads among baby boomers (which is on par with how events fare with boomers).2

“Email marketing is a basic tool, but it’s pivotal. We have a whole financial planning series that we

send out as part of our email campaigns. What’s really great is

that we are able to repackage that same content and use it in our blogs

and social media campaigns.”

–CRYSTAL COOPER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION,

SIGNATUREFD

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Email Campaigns: Best PracticesEmail campaigns are only effective if your target audience reads your email. Here are best practices for consideration for effective email campaigns:


Know your audience.

The best way to get people to open your email is to send them the content they want to read. Choose topics you know your target readers are interested in and send at a time of day when you know they are online. Consider segmenting your audience and select email topics accordingly.

Create content they will want to share.

Use an engaging subject line to capture the reader’s imagination, write about a topic that your target clients will want to read and share with their friends or colleagues, and utilize images and video elements to hold their attention. Creativity, humor, and relevancy can make your content stand out and be something that readers want to send to others.

Build a sense of urgency.

Create calls to action in the copy of the email or in the subject line by emphasizing special offers or reminding readers of time constraints like tax season or retirement planning. In general, keep subject lines short, and test different subject lines and calls to action to learn what drives the highest open rate and click-through rate.

Personalize it.

Send emails that address your clients by name (e.g., Dear Jane). Go a step further by personalizing the content within to the specific recipient, so that it feels even more bespoke. Use CRM software to customize email greetings and recognize milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries. Remember, your results will be better if you are using data that is “clean” (i.e., correct email addresses and client information with no duplication). As a general rule, avoid sending blast emails that are irrelevant to the audience.

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Email Campaigns: Best Practices (cont’d)


Manage timing.

Sending emails at regular intervals creates expectations, and builds campaign momentum. Be careful not to inundate your audience; use your editorial calendar to manage timing and ensure integration with other content.

Ensure continuity.

Ensure that your email messages connect to other content you have created, both online and offline.

Rely on metrics.

Ask for feedback periodically. Find the right cadence for frequency and stick to it. Measure success and make adjustment by tracking deliverability, open rates, click-through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, list growth rate, and unsubscribe rate.

Allow for opt-out.

Always provide a link within the email that allows a reader to unsubscribe. Watch the results for trends.

“If I had to give one piece of advice for email marketing I

would say ‘think carefully about the subject line.’ Make it

engaging and keep it relevant.”

–SUSAN THEDER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER,

ADVISOR GROUP, INC.

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Email Campaigns: Getting StartedEmail is a great place to experiment—use metrics to see what works and then switch things up. Consider increasing your frequency over time.


Good start

• Send monthly email newsletter to clients and prospects

• Repurpose email content in blogs and social posts

• Personalize greeting and send individualized email at birthdays, anniversaries, or special occasions

• Include a link to allow readers to forward the email or share it in social media

• Utilize an editorial calendar for consistency

• Avoid using “no reply” in the email address and provide opportunity to opt out

• Monitor the metrics and make adjustments to increase readership

Fidelity research showed that the average open rate for advisor email marketing is 27% and the average click-

through rate is 16%.2

Even better

• Optimize emails for mobile reading—test on yourself first

• Leverage online tools to help you test and improve your email subject lines

• Test different subject lines and topics to understand what resonates

• Create a metrics dashboard and set specific goals around open rate, forward rate, and conversion rate.

• Vary content to include video and images

• Segment your client and prospect lists and send emails customized for each group

• Devise a plan to email clients and prospects with a regular cadence and with targeted/segmented messages

• Create a process to regularly clean your contact list

• Give subscribers options for their email frequency

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Email Campaigns: A Case Study


Make it simple, yet strategic

Susan Theder, chief marketing officer at Advisor Group, Inc., says her team’s objective is to be the authority on marketing “so their advisors can focus on what they are exceptional at—financial planning and managing client relationships.” Advisor Group is one of the largest networks of broker-dealers in the United States. While each firm has a unique culture and history, the Advisor Group structure allows firms to enjoy “state-of-the-art technologies and broad-based operational support.” And a major part of that support is giving advisors access to sophisticated and effective marketing strategies and best practices—including email campaigns.

Email campaigns “absolutely continue to be a powerful medium for the advisors and firms in our network,” Thedersaid. While they typically see open rates upward of 60% on email newsletters, and sometimes north of that when an email features a video, Theder is quick to acknowledge that these results are conditional. As such, she suggests a few effective methods employed by Advisor Group:

• Make it easy: Theder and her team maintain a content library of compliance-approved pieces that advisors pull from, adapting them to suit their needs instead of creating them from scratch. They also leverage marketing automation software to make the email process as turnkey as possible.

• Make it relevant. Theder stresses the importance of customizing campaigns based on client needs and interests. She suggests varying tone, subject matter, and even the length and frequency of emails, to suit each client or client segment. “The more one-to-one it is, the more likely it is to have an impact, “she said.

Theder believes that email campaigns are a core element of a larger digital marketing strategy. “Regardless of whether you create an email campaign or post a video on social media, it drives traffic back to the website and creates consistent touch points with clients, month after month.”

“The more one-to-one it is, the more likely it is to have an impact.”

ADVISOR GROUP, INC.

Susan ThederChief Marketing Officer

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Endnotes:

1. Data Marketing and Analytics (DMA) and Demand Metric, “DMA 2016 Response Rate Report,” July 28, 2016.2. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study.



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Dive In: A Checklist for

Digital Marketing

Use this checklist to dive into digital marketing and to understand the steps needed to adopt digital tactics

83

Diving into Digital MarketingWhether you are new to digital marketing, advanced marketers, or advisors trying to carve out time to engage in digital marketing, there are many approaches to getting results.

Dive In: A Checklist for Digital Marketing

If you are working within a limited budget …

Focus first on establishing your digital presence with a website and social media accounts. Ensure you use keywords and metadata so that your target clients can find you, and slowly work toward a regular content publishing cadence.

If you are constrained by limited timeor interest to work on marketing …

Consider outsourcing some or all of your marketing, but be sure to stay closely involved to ensure your voice and messages are represented. Do not market someone else’s idea of your firm story.

If you are an advanced marketer with an established audience …

Invest your time in keeping educated on advances in digital marketing, including search algorithms, advertising techniques, and industry benchmarks. Don’t be afraid to work outside the box and try new things.

Use the following checklist to assess your firm’s readiness for implementation of the digital marketing tactics.

1. Start where you can.

2. Learn from your efforts.

3. Adjust your approach.

4. Repeat.

Our best marketing guidance for anyone in financial advisory services is:

“The advisors who are good at digital marketing make a commitment to it. They carve out some time

and they are consistentin their efforts.”

–SUSAN THEDER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER,

ADVISOR GROUP, INC.

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Implementation Checklist: Following the Road Map


Strongly Disagree

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Identify Your Target

We know the demographics of our ideal clients (marital status, work status, gender, children, location, etc.).

We know our target clients’ interests and preferences, including the websites they visit, the social media sites they use, and the publications they read.

We know what our target clients care about, including their goals, concerns, and key life events.

We use client segmentation to better understand the needs of clients and prospects.

Strengthen Your Story

We have a unique and compelling story to tell about our brand and history.

We have evaluated how our firm story can be improved and honed it to better capture the attention of our target clients.

Our firm story communicates our core purpose and unique approach, as well as our target audience and how they benefit by working with us.

Our firm story is represented in our marketing materials and evident in how we communicate with clients.

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Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Create Your Plan

We have documented our strategic objectives for digital marketing (e.g., attracting prospective clients, cultivating referrals, deepening share of wallet, and attracting advisor talent).

We have created a digital marketing plan that includes specific goals, metrics, timing, and owners.

We use specific metrics that can be easily monitored and viewed on a dashboard (email open rates, likes/shares, and website traffic) and set clear benchmarks for performance.

We revise and refresh our digital marketing plan quarterly, based on what has worked/not worked for us.

Build Your Presence

We have a website that is updated, high quality, and responsively designed (to work well on all devices).

Our website contains updated content targeted for our ideal clients and prospects and clear calls to action.

We regularly engage with clients on social media, including LinkedIn, and we choose social media platforms based on the preferences of our target clients.

We refresh our website periodically, and frequently refine our messaging and social media approach to be more relevant to clients’ needs and preferences.

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Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Drive Engagement

We respond quickly when people connect through the web and reach out to us on social media, and deal with negative comments swiftly in a polite and professional way.

We include our website URL on all printed collateral, online collateral, and traditional advertising.

We leverage email campaigns with active links to drive traffic to our website or social medial channels.

We create and publish our own content regularly, ensuring that it’s optimized for search engines.

We co-create content with outside authors and influencers, and/or publish content on external sites that link back to ours.

We have optimized our website for SEO, making it easier for prospects and clients to find us.

We invest in advertising on search engines, social media sites, business or local publications, and/or relevant lifestyle sites

Review and Revise

We assess campaigns swiftly upon their completion and make adjustments based on metrics.

We test different tactics around message, channel, and timing to see what works best for us.

We solicit feedback to determine what content and messaging resonate with clients and what approach generates referrals.

We end campaign activities that are not working and focus on approaches that deliver the results we are looking for.

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Implementation Checklist: Digital Marketing Tactics


Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Websites

Our website showcases our brand, our thought leadership, and our people through compelling copy, content, and high-quality, authentic images.

Our website highlights who we work with and what it’s like to work with us—emphasizing the depth of our services, the technology and processes we use, and the ways in which we engage with our clients.

Our website makes it easy for prospects to reach us with our location, phone number, email address, and a “contact us” form to capture potential leads.

Our website contains regularly updated, multimedia content that is relevant for our target clients, and reinforces our brand.

Our website includes social media buttons and calls to action (CTAs) that drive prospects and clients to take next steps (i.e., newsletter signup, contact us, schedule an appointment).

Our website meets basic accessibility guidelines, such as intuitive keyboard navigation, alt tags, and accessible media player.

Social Media

We maintain active company pages on LinkedIn and other channels relevant to our target audience.

We post to each account at least monthly using text, images, and video—and post content in the format, style, and tone that is appropriate for each channel.

We have a social media calendar to ensure that appropriate content and updates are being added at regular intervals in support of our marketing goals.

We use tracking tools to monitor our social media activity and regularly review the data to improve our approach.

We use a compliance-approved strategy for firm leaders and associates to share posts and updates and be active on social media.

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Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Digital Content

We have a clear strategy across both traditional and digital content to ensure that all content has a consistent point of view and ties together for a seamless reader experience.

We utilize an editorial calendar to help us plan content in advance, keep track of messaging, and post at regular intervals.

We experiment with content in multiple formats, including blogs, photos and images, videos, infographics, podcasts, webinars, and polls.

We create catchy headlines and relevant content, invite comments/shares, and use calls to action to engage our audience.

We vary our content types from evergreen, educational checklists to thought leadership, including original insights and guest articles.

We look for ways to repurpose content on multiple platforms.

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Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SEO

Our website is easy for prospects to find with strong keywords; effective meta tags, titles, captions and descriptions within HTML; and a rapid load speed.

Our site does not suffer from broken links, 404 pages, or duplicate/similar content.

We post search-worthy content that is high quality and relevant to our target audience. We post and interact on social media regularly and allow our audience to share content via direct links.

We only use links to high-quality websites that are relevant for our audience.

We have claimed our business profile on Google My Business and verified that all the information is correct, and we have done the same on other local directories.

We regularly leverage analytics tools to gain perspective on the health of our site and use keyword ranking tools to see where we rank against competitors.

90



Strongly Disagree


Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Online Advertising

We identify a learning agenda and measurement plan to test at least two experiments per year, setting a clear objective and determining the most appropriate tactics.

We optimized our approach to paid search to make it easy for prospects and clients to find us.

We have experimented with several types of ads (pay-per-click, sponsored content, sponsored InMail on LinkedIn, Boosted Posts on Facebook), and created multiple versions of ads to see which performs best for us.

We place online ads in the venues we know our clients frequent and during the times of day when they are online.

We use metrics and KPIs (impressions, click-through, visitors, bounce rate, page views, etc.) to measure performance of our online ads.

When we receive a positive response to our ad, we move fast to reply, reach out, or make contact.

Email Campaigns

We take time to understand the audience for our email campaigns and determine messaging and topics that will resonate with them.

We write headlines and subject lines that are crisp and catchy to make it more likely that our email is opened and read.

Our emails include a clear call to action (Sign up, Learn more, Call us, etc.) and offer next steps that invite readers to follow up.

We test different subject lines, calls to action, and copy to see which messages drive the most engagement.

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Resources to Get Started

In this section, you will find additional resources to support your digital marketing efforts: a sample marketing plan, glossary and list of other Fidelity resources.

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Marketing Plan Template


Before you complete this template, spend time on the following activities to help ensure your success:

• Aligning your marketing plan with your overall business plan for the year

• Identifying your target audience(s)

• Honing your firm story, value proposition, and core messages

• Socializing your plans with key stakeholders

• Confirming your budget and resources

Consider the following template to document your firm’s overall marketing plan for the year, including your digital marketing strategy.

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Budget

Success Metrics: Insert specific KPIs/metrics to measure the success of your efforts, for example:

• Acquire XX new leads per month

• Increase website traffic by XX% and website leads by XX%

• Develop a COI network and strategy

• Create a thought leadership program to showcase our expertise

Item Spend

Events $X

Content & Communications $X

SEM/Online Advertising $X

Consultant/Agency $X

Marketing Technology/ Website

$X

Total $X

Goals & Objectives: Insert 3–5 overarching goals or objectives – for example:

Examples are for illustrative purposes only.

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Goal Key Initiatives & Activities Owner Budget Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Insert goal/ objective from prior page here

Insert initiative name Insert lead name

Insert budget

Identify planned activity for this quarter




COI Strategy

COI strategy A. Adams $X • Create prospective COI target list (Jan)

• Conduct introductory meetings, ID three targets (Feb-Mar)

• Develop one joint event with top COI (Apr-Jun)

• Develop measurement plan (Jun)

• Develop one joint event with top COI (Jul-Sep)

• Continue measurement plan

• Develop one joint event with top COI (Oct-Dec)

• Evaluate results and plan for next year

Thought Leadership

Create editorial calendar and publish content

J. Smith $X • Create editorial calendar (Jan)

• Develop one thought leadership article, and deploy to existing client base via all channels

• Develop/distribute second article

• Measure results

• Develop/distribute third article

• Measure results

• Develop/distribute fourth article

• Review metrics and plan for next year

Write and publish ebookfor small business owners

L. Jenkins $X • Develop outline and begin writing

• Finish writing• Develop promotion plan• Finalize design/layout

• Edit and finalize content• Put in layout• Begin promotion plan

• Launch ebook• Execute promotion plan


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Key Initiatives & Activities Detail

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Insert activity name from prior page

• Insert activity or milestone

Create editorial calendar and publish content

• Define editorial calendar

• Write article

• Publish article

• Review results

• Write article

• Publish article

• Review results

• Write article

• Publish article

• Write article

• Review results

• Publish article

• Review results

• Plan for next year


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Glossary A–F


Article Short-form text-based content with some graphics, typically posted on a website but can also be printed for events and meetings.

Backlinks A link from another website to your website.

Blog post Short online text-based entries with a single author.

Bounce rate Percentage of viewers who leave a website after viewing only one page.

Call to action The action you want your reader or listener to take.

Comments Responses to your post or message on your site or social media.

Connections Number of people in your network; includes followers on your page.

Cost per action (CPA) Online advertising payment form; pay only for people who take a specific action (i.e., visiting your website).

Cost per impression (CPI) Online advertising payment form; pay for the number of times the ad is displayed to visitors, known as impressions.

Cost per lead (CPL) Online advertising payment form: pay for pre-determined number of leads or by individual lead.

Cost per view (CPV) Online advertising payment form: pay for only the completed of video views, or a portion (i.e. > three seconds).

Digital content Content marketing that is delivered online via websites, social media, email, or any application or mobile device.

Direct traffic Visitors that enter your site by typing your URL into a web browser.

Ease of navigation The ease of navigation for visitors to your site, including complexity of pages, use of internal links.

Editorial calendar A publishing schedule to help plan your message, format, timing of your content.

Fixed cost Online advertising payment form: pay a flat fee no matter how many times item is viewed or clicked.

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Glossary I–P


Image A photo or graphic typically used in a blog or social media.

Infographic Short, graphic-led, digestible insights, usually one page in length and printable.

Leads People providing their contact information via your website who may eventually become a client.

Likes Positive affirmations received on content on Facebook and other social platforms.

MetadataPart of Technical SEO; includes the title and description you assign to your site in HTML code that works behind the scenes in search engine results. It differs from the copy visible to all visitors to your site.

Mobile friendliness Ability to view site on mobile devices (site should resize appropriately).

Mobile rankings Mobile version of search rankings.

Native ad Appears within a web page on a third-party site that looks like editorial content but is a paid ad.

Off-page SEO Actions taken outside of the site to improve SEO results.

Online advertisingOnline advertising leverages the internet, mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. Channels include websites, social media, and search engine advertising.

On-page SEO Content on a website that can be physically seen by visitors on the site itself.

Organic traffic Visitors that find a site by conducting a search on a search engine.

Page load time Average amount of time it takes to load web pages on the screen.

Page views Total number of times a piece of content is viewed. Unique page views are the total number of page views by the same user during the same session.

Paid traffic Visitors that find a site as a result of paid advertising efforts on social media, websites, or search engines.

Pay-per-click Online advertising payment form: only pay when a user clicks on the ad.

Podcast Interview or narrative-based audio for a time-poor audience.

Poll Online surveys used to gather audience input.

Programmatic ad Ads that appear on websites based on algorithms, i.e., retargeting users who have visited your site.

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Glossary R–W


Ranking The position of a website in search engine results (aka search ranking).

Referred traffic Visitors that access a site through external links on partner sites or via outside content.

Search engine marketing (SEM) Advertising on search engines; results in paid traffic. SEM results appear above SEO results in search queries.

Search engine optimization (SEO) Everything done to improve results/rankings in search engine queries.

Shares and retweets When social media users distribute your content through their social media network.

Social media advertising Advertising on social media; results in paid traffic.

Technical SEO Unlike copy, technical SEO is not read on your site by visitors, but pertains to site functionality and coding.

Time spent on page Average length of time visitors viewed specific pages or screens.

Time spent per session Total length of time visitors viewed specific pages or screens; stops counting at beginning of last page read.

Traditional advertisingTraditional advertising includes the promotional strategies used before the advent of the internet and mobile phones. Channels can include print, radio/television, direct mail, and outdoor.

Traffic source Visitors to your website.

Unique visitors First-time visitors to your site (as opposed to repeat or returning visitors).

VideoCan be animated infographics or live video content. The most engaging and TV-like experience, often purchased as pre-roll (before content), mid-roll, (during) or post-roll (after the content).

Webinar Online seminars or events designed to share information with attendees in return for their contact information.

99Resources to Help Get Started

Additional ResourcesAs you proceed with your digital marketing strategy, please be sure to explore additional resources from Fidelity that can help you implement or further enhance your approach.

On-Demand Resources

• Putting Public Relations to Work for Your Firm

• Creating a Consistent Story for Clients and Prospects

• Own Your Space: The Case for a Differentiated Marketing Strategy

• A Business Development and Marketing Planning Toolkit

For more information contact your Fidelity representative.

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For investment professional use only.

Information provided in this document is for informational and educational purposes only. To the extent any investment information in this material is deemed to be a recommendation, it is not meant to be impartial investment advice or advice in a fiduciary capacity and is not intended to be used as a primary basis for you or your client’s investment decisions. Fidelity and its representatives may have a conflict of interest in the products or services mentioned in this material because they have a financial interest in them, and receive compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with the management, distribution and/or servicing of these products or services, including Fidelity funds, certain third-party funds and products, and certain investment services.

The third parties referenced herein are independent companies and are not affiliated with Fidelity Investments. Listing them does not suggest a recommendation or endorsement by Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity Institutional® provides investment products through Fidelity Distributors Company LLC; clearing, custody, or other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (Members NYSE, SIPC); and institutional advisory services through Fidelity Institutional Wealth Adviser LLC.

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A Practical Guide to Deepening Connections

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