Social and digital marketing efforts play an increasingly important role in life. They keep people aware of what you are doing, trends you have identified, reports you like, and so on - all of which keep you front of mind. But for a lot of wealth managers, particularly those at smaller firms, social and digital marketing efforts are often left on the back burner.

And there may be some good reasons for that. After all, clients generally want their advisers working on their financial plans rather than blogging. But that is not to say that completely ignoring marketing efforts is a wise move. Not only can compelling content attract new clients, but it can also be a valuable resource for existing clients.

Unfortunately, many wealth managers and financial planners, who are in the business of planning, find themselves at a loss when it comes to developing their own content strategy. They either fail to get started or they launch an ambitious effort, such as a newsletter, and fail to keep up with it. In some cases, abandoning a launched product may be worse than never getting started, because it can signal a lack of organisation and follow-through to prospects.

“Marketing efforts are not a casual first date; marketing requires continued effort and commitment. When preparing a content strategy, perhaps the most important step is to identify the audience you want to reach. Is it purely clients? Prospects, too? Other wealth professionals? Or a mix?” April Rudin, Founder, The Rudin Group

Just think how many times in your personal life you have been excited to follow a musician or sports team on social media only to find that their Instagram page is stagnant. That same feeling applies to business, too. Luckily, it is not too hard for wealth managers to avoid these same pitfalls.

First, your firm has to realise that if it is determined to revamp its marketing strategy, it must commit to doing it. Think of it almost like dating. Marketing efforts are not a casual first date, marketing requires continued effort and commitment. When preparing a content strategy, perhaps the most important step is to identify the audience you want to reach. Is it purely clients? Prospects, too? Other wealth professionals? Or a mix?

Demographics
To get started, it may make sense to start with one demographic and build from there. After defining your audience, think about the tools you want to use to reach them. Newsletters, company websites, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X are all readily available tools. For social media, make sure to use a similar handle and keep branding consistent across platforms so that your audience does not get confused.

Also, be realistic about the capacity you have. Sometimes businesses launch with heavily-produced, time-consuming content, such as video, and find that they do not have the manpower to maintain it. Starting small and staying consistent is a much better strategy.

Content calendars
Now with the audience in mind and the tools in place, here comes the most important part: developing a content calendar to ensure that you stay on track and that your audience always has something valuable to connect with.

Understandably, this is the part where a lot of wealth managers fail. There may be a lot of activity in the early days, but as the reality of the job sets in, blogging and newsletter efforts fall by the wayside. A content calendar helps with this by allowing you to think about the needs of your audience ahead of time and develop a strategy around them. While wealth managers cannot fully predict world events, there are some topics that become more relevant at different times of the year. January to April is often dominated by tax season while the end of the year is more about tax-loss harvesting and gifting. In between, there may be other appropriate times to discuss topics ranging from educational planning to maintaining a second home. Build your content calendar such that the information can be useful to your audience. There is little point in reading about how to save on your taxes on April 16th, for instance.

Once you start developing a content calendar of ideas, the next step is putting those ideas into action. Setting up a regular cadence for communicating with your audience is of utmost importance - whether it be weekly or monthly. Just set expectations with your audience and stick with them. The surest way to lose an audience is through an unexpected ‘content vacation.’

It is easy to understand how it happens. The first newsletter does well, and there are a lot of ideas cooking for the second one. Things are going well, and then all of a sudden, other work demands take over, so one newsletter is missed, and then another one, and then it feels like it has been so long that it may not be worth picking it up again. To avoid this pitfall, when designing your content calendar, be aware of the ebbs and flows of your business. If the end of the year is a busy time, try to plan content that is more evergreen and can be drafted in advance when time is not so tight. It may also be possible to recruit another wealth-oriented professional, such as an estate planning attorney, to draft a piece as a guest writer for times when you may be busy. This is a great way to offer your audience a different perspective while also deepening some of your professional connections.

Fortunately, once a content strategy has been in place for a while, it becomes easier to run and build upon. You will find that many of the pieces you have written before can be repurposed for other platforms. A newsletter on rules on annual gifting could be repurposed as a shareable infographic or video for social media platforms. At the same time, earlier pieces on evergreen issues, such as tax efficiency, may just need a few updates to be relevant for today. And with a smooth process in place, you may be able to take a vacation, but your content will continue to run seamlessly.

Interested in reading the full report? You can read this edition of the WealthTech 2024 Annual Report online here.