In our quest to bring down the cost of leads and make full use of our high-quality content, we decided to run Facebook campaigns targeting high net worth individuals turning an age significant to financial advisors – 59 ½. The idea was simple: At 59 ½, anyone with a 401(k), IRA, or other qualified retirement account, can start taking withdrawals without incurring a penalty. This is the age at which a large chunk of peoples’ wealth is freed up, and at which they should start thinking about how to turn their savings into retirement income. We ended up getting 53 leads for $4.72 a lead, here’s how.
The Message: 59 ½ is a good age to turn, and we wanted to advertise that fact. A lot of financial messaging on social media relies on a “fear factor” about the market, taxes, or new regulation, but this campaign was about the idea that “age has its privileges,” and that 50 ½ “may be the greatest “1/2” birthday ever.” We created three ads with minimal text and high quality images explaining why 59 ½ is an important age, and then monitored which ad was most successful.
The Delivery: The 59 ½ guide was one of four in an “Important Birthdays Over 50” series. A simple click brought users to a special landing page where they could download the guide, and learn about other important birthdays, like 65 (the age at which everyone is eligible for Medicare) and 70 ½ (the age at which most people have to start taking Required Minimum Distributions). The landing page also included a comprehensive timeline outlining universally important milestones, financial and otherwise.
The Platform: This was a highly targeted campaign; Facebook knows your birthday, and advertisers can target not only people of a specific age, but people turning a specific age in a given month. There is not a huge number of people turning 59 in a given month in a specific area, so the campaign did not require a big budget. We allocated an initial $250 in budget, and ran the campaign for about six weeks. It was served to 3,817 Facebook users in total, and we ended up with 8,482 impressions and 53 downloads.
For a budget of $250, we would say the campaign was successful in raising the advisor’s profile and generating highly-engaged leads at a low cost. When we create a piece of content, we’re not only thinking about what is says and how it looks, but how it can be used to attract new prospects. By going a step further and utilizing the same guide content in blogs on similar topics, promoting the guide in database marketing eBlasts, and offering the guide to a financial advisor’s existing client database, we’re making the most of our long-form content.
