More and more advisors are blogging informative and entertaining tidbits to further engage their clients and attract new ones.
Catherine M. Seeber, principal and senior financial advisor at Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC in Philadelphia, says that her firm contracts with a marketing firm to write blogs using the team’s input. The firm also sends newsletters to clients and centers of influence twice a month and sends out email alerts about market events, staff milestones or when team members have appearances in the media.
Kevin J. Meehan, regional president at Wealth Enhancement Group in Itasca, Ill., says that his team blogs often, posting articles, clips from the firm’s radio show, webinar replays -- “you name it.”
For email newsletters, the team shares articles that staff members have written for Forbes and MarketWatch, as well as brief updates on their own lives.
Ashley O'Kurley, a certified financial planner in Miami, says that he creates content not so much to demonstrate his expertise but to reveal more about himself, his humor and what he has been thinking, “hopefully in a way that is interesting to the reader.”
Some examples of recent pieces include one on a chance encounter that he had with JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon and another on how 30 years of globalization “has brought great benefit to multinational actors but how technology might help individuals be more global as well.”
“I just try to create some content on my website to convey a little bit more of ‘me’ on a regular basis without running afoul of all the restrictions that are in place when it comes to commenting on markets,” O’Kurley says. “We ask clients to reveal so much of their lives to us, and it helps to encourage trust and authenticity by revealing something of ourselves in return through personal content.”
Advisors should also pick the medium that their target prospect groups prefer, says Claudia E. Mott, CFP and principal at Epona Financial Solutions LLC in Basking Ridge, N.J.
An advisor who works with retirees or near-retirees may find that mailing a newsletter or perhaps using email is a more effective way to reach them, while blog posts are often favored by younger advisors or those targeting younger clients.
In any event, compliance-approved content is imperative and often a reason why pre-approved material is used, Mott says.
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer in Running Springs, Calif. She has contributed to American Banker, Risk & Insurance and Human Resource Executive.
This story is part of a 30-day series on how to prosper as an advisor.
