There are numerous studies showing that up to 90 per cent of clients research their buying decisions online before speaking directly to a salesperson. Yikes.
The challenge for advisers therefore is to create awareness of your services with potential clients you haven’t shaken hands with yet. It means focusing more of your sales efforts on building awareness and influence. Thankfully, ‘content marketing,’ with the help of the internet, is proving a valuable way for businesses to create awareness and influence targeted client groups.
What is content marketing?
The Content Marketing Institute describes content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” In layman’s terms, this means providing potential and current clients with access to valuable information (aka content) free of charge, which can educate them about, or simply pique their interest in, the value of professional planning advice.
Ultimately, content marketing is deemed to be a ‘soft’ sales method by marketing types. This means that through a content marketing campaign, you’re not directly selling to clients in a traditional “sales” sense in the same way as an advertisement in a newspaper does, or that persistent English backpacker knocking down the door with the latest and greatest telephone plan. Rather, with content marketing, you’re building a relationship with clients through quality content, whether it’s a blog or a video, which builds awareness of your business and its expertise.
Examples of content
Blogging is the most common way businesses deliver content today. Also called ‘thought leadership’ by the marketing cognoscenti, this is the process of providing regular, consistent commentary or opinions. Blogs are mostly delivered through your website, social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook, or an industry publication such as Professional Planner.
Content is not simply limited to blogging, and it can take many forms, such as video content, inbound marketing, public relations, infographics, interactive image content and webinars. This is not an exhaustive list, and ultimately any accessible content that has a connection to your brand is a form of content marketing.
Marketing content
Every good marketing strategy needs content as a component. For example, clients are always at different points in the buying cycle. Some clients are ready to engage now, while others are not yet ready to purchase. If a prospective client is researching “financial advice” or “financial planning”, providing valuable and consistent content is the perfect way to grab attention and build awareness of your business. To illustrate, lets’ say you write a blog about your “Five top super tips for the Over 40s.” By giving clients access to this information, you’re helping to educate and engage them. More importantly, they are not hassled by an overactive sales person. If the content is valuable, brand loyalty will start to build.
Getting started with content
If you’re not sure where to get started, be aware that there’s a million and one content gurus who’ll spruik their services to you. However, content must add value by educating your prospective clients, which is the best tip I can give you. This means ignoring the trap of writing about yourself or your business – prospective clients can already work out what you do from your website.
Consider topics that will resonate with your clients and provide valuable content around these themes. If you’re giving them free advice such as my “Five top super tips for the Over 40s” theme, you’re educating them in a way that engages them with the concept of financial planning and your brand simultaneously.
