When you think of information that puts you to sleep, what comes to mind? Weather statistics, C-SPAN, the encyclopedic history of real estate? Financial information, despite its centrality in our lives, is often relegated to the "snore list." Spreadsheets and data tables don't usually come to mind for leisure reading, which is what makes content marketing for financial advisors such a sticky wicket.
But here's the secret of marketing for advisors: don't be boring. That's it.
This stuff isn't dull to you. You wouldn't be still doing this — with all the stress and complication that comes with it — if it put you to sleep. You know how important finance is to the world as a whole and how it can change the tide in an individual's life.
How can you convey that passion to your clients without turning them off? How can you tell them how exciting and important healthy financial management really is?
Let's look at a few tools of content marketing for financial advisors and how to create engaging content that gets your prospects' attention and keeps it.
Metaphorically Speaking
Most advisors are solid storytellers. It's a fundamental skill in the business. You compare other stories to a situation ("A family came to me once …"), you connect with the client's larger story ("It seems like this plan reflects your values of …"), and you cast the future in terms of story ("OK, if we make that decision, we could have two different outcomes …"). Much of the energy in a sales and service relationship is generated in exchanging stories.
Metaphors are central to any story, especially when conveying something as complex as financial advice. If you want to tell a story, you need to parallel it with something that relates directly to your audience. This means you need to know your topic (which you do) and you need to know your crowd and be sensitive to them.
If your firm is in North Dakota, you might want to pull back on the beach and ocean metaphors. If you're in Florida, paralleling surviving a market downturn to a blizzard probably won't land as well with your target audience. Carefully crafted metaphors give your content texture and punch and draw people into the story — just know your audience.
Leveraging Mystery
Think about a solid title, for example: "The Fundamental Rule of Content Marketing that Most Advisors Overlook." A title like this sends a spark of intrigue — what's this about? It gets your readers' attention and entices them to engage with the article.
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