Hint…We live in a digital age
Attention financial industry: It’s time to invest in your own future. You might have noticed that every one of your prospects and clients are glued to a smartphone. So, why is the industry who wants people to invest “for the long-term” so quick to judge something that is so clearly HERE, and at the same time cling to AM Radio and snail mail?
We believe in all forms of marketing, but the bulk of ours is in “the digital space”…because we live in a digital world. Whether you like it or not, YOU are in the digital space.
The Facts
The facts are in (they have been in and they’re getting stronger every day): The high-net-worth Baby Boomer is online. A lot. The best part about it is that the financial industry still hasn’t figured it out…making it beachfront property for those who have.
- 78% of Baby Boomers are active in Facebook
- 67% of Baby Boomers are heavy users of YouTube
- 31% of Baby Boomers are active on LinkedIn
- The “Number-1” Talk Station in any market averages about one-fourth (25%) of the reach that Facebook has among the Baby Boom demographic
The Opportunity
There are only a few online platforms that reach an amazingly high percentage of people…Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram. The fact that you can reach them in very narrowly targeted footprints is a huge plus. In the past, there weren’t so many captive people in one place since there were three television networks and no cable If it was a weeknight at 11:30 PM, the entire country watched Johnny Carson. Now the entire country watches Facebook.
- Digital represents a much larger field of prospects with a much lower field of competitors
- Effective digital campaigns are about half the cost of broadcast campaigns
- You can get far more information on the success of your campaigns
- Social media is a great way to establish your brand
How Data Works
A common objection to digital is that many of the leads aren’t ready to “meet”. The fact of the matter is that about 10-12% of digital leads can convert to a one-on-one meeting. So, yes, maybe 90% of the total people that populate your new list of prospects will be face-to-face.
Compare this to the .05% return on snail mail and compare this to how many people “might” hear your commercial on radio versus how many people actually call you. Why are advisories OK with this?
The fact is that DATA is not perfect…it’s a game of percentages. It just turns out that the data you receive from DIGITAL is more tangible than broadcast or mail. You can SEE the “bad data”…whereas you don’t see the 99.5% of the people that don’t respond to your snail mail or radio campaigns, you just get the leads that “might” convert to an appointment.
We’ve routinely seen some advisories spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in “safe and traditional” forms of marketing to predictably poor results. It’s senseless.
The Problem
It’s still (stunningly) “new” to your industry. Oftentimes, your only advice comes from in-house marketing departments at financial institutions, or “specialists” in only one form of digital marketing (kind of like putting your equities investments in one company’s stock). Of course, there’s also the “generalist” digital company that doesn’t understand the financial business.
Effective digital campaigns are much more affordable and yield a MUCH higher ROI. Generating results in digital requires two things:
Look, 40-years ago when someone decided to do a dinner seminar, there was a bit of trial and error. Generally (almost always), it takes about two months to learn the algorithms to your online audience. The good news is that even in the very beginning, when you may not be converting leads to appointments, WONDERFUL things are happening:
- You’re branding your firm to thousands of prospects and clients (not bad for referrals)
- You’re building a first-party database, the most important thing for any business today
The Solution
First and foremost, you must accept the fact that we live in a digital world, and like it or not, as long as people use Google to find your number, visit your website, or look at their financial statements online, YOU are in the digital business.
- Commit to finding your own advisor to help you understand realistic expectations
- Find a firm who can share quantifiable results over multiple clients in multiple markets over multiple years
- Your digital path should have multiple platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, email, etc.)
- Commit to a reasonable budget for at least 1-year
- Create benchmarks along the way
- Build a first-party database to market to for the long-haul
If you have all of these components, it is very likely that you will transform the way you compete and be ensconced in the new world. Remember, anything new takes time…and in a world of “instant gratification”, TIME is the hardest part for many.
