You don't have to be a superstar to win leads on digital platforms

Digital marketing is a skill we learn and practice to grow our businesses, but that doesn't mean it comes naturally to a lot of financial advisors. And some of us really, really feel that learning curve when we're put in front of a camera and a microphone. 

But you don't have to be the Kelce brothers to succeed in the podcast and video realms.

Jon Roemer

On Altruist's The Advisor Journey podcast, James Conole of Root Financial recently told me about his early efforts to build a following on YouTube. Today, he has more than 60,000 followers on that platform and regularly uploads videos with five- and six-digit view counts. But he nearly gave up on what has since become a growth engine for his firm.

Actually, he did give up … for a while. Smart advisors think about the value of their time, and Conole couldn't justify the opportunity cost of sinking 20% of his work week into producing videos with view totals he could count on both hands. But while Conole turned his attention elsewhere, the videos stayed on his channel. After half a year, he noticed a trickle of comments from viewers who wanted to engage with him.

YouTube videos don't disappear after you post them. That content is still there, and if it's good, an audience will find it. For Conole, the trickle of comments and leads eventually turned into a stream. And once he decided to go all in? Conole attributes $100 million of his firm's 2023 organic growth to his YouTube channel alone.

Any advisor who has tried can tell you how discouraging it is to put yourself out there with videos, podcasts and other digital prospecting efforts, only to get crickets in response. But I'll repeat myself: You don't have to be the next digital media superstar. You're not competing with Mr. Beast for new leads. Your competitors are advisory practices like yours, running down the clock while they decide how much effort they're willing to put into marketing. 

LISTEN OR READ MORE: 3 video tips for financial advisors from Snappy Kraken's latest collaborator

And many financial planners seem ready to call it quits. Research from Putnam Investments found that advisors in 2022 pulled back from just about every social media platform except for LinkedIn. Do advisors need to be everywhere? Probably not. Does a less-crowded field give you more chances to stand out? Absolutely.

If that's not enough motivation, then consider what high interest rates and the dismal reports of 2022's organic growth performance mean for RIAs as a whole. Advisors need a pipeline of new leads to thrive in this environment, and the winners here are likely to be the ones who take digital marketing seriously.

Look, you don't need a lot of polish or expensive equipment to get started. Those things help, no doubt about it, but you can go far with a good phone camera and a quiet place to record yourself. What you say matters more. With this kind of digital marketing, your job isn't to sell your firm's services. You're there to educate your audience. 

To focus on the right topics for his content, Conole asks himself: "Who would benefit the most from my perspective and experience?" Our industry talks a lot about niches and target client profiles. Video and podcast platforms want you to take it a step further and build a community. People are starved for financial literacy and the ability to make informed financial decisions. You have what they need. You just need to give your efforts enough time to snowball.

READ MORE: Getting the leads out: Do online client-referral services work?

That said, you should look for help, whether in-house or outsourced. Conole was right to think about the value of devoting his time to video. While he returned to digital content with a vengeance, he soon realized that editing videos was not the highest and best use of his time. Delegate this work to digital natives who understand the medium. Giving your videos the right length and presentation will have a huge impact on your reach, but you got into this industry to help people with their money, not spend your nights editing YouTube thumbnails.

Conole didn't build his video and podcast platforms overnight. This work takes time, and I know that's hard to hear when so many of us are under the gun to keep growing. But the sooner you start and the longer you persist, the more of a chance you'll have to create a new source of success for your firm. 

And your early efforts don't have to be perfect, either. Do yourself a favor and scroll all the way down to the very first videos that other advisors have published on their channels. You'll see how far they've grown. And, I hope, you'll be inspired to give it a shot yourself.