It has been my personal experience in both my own work and my work with financial advisors, that it is easy to feel isolated from what is going on outside of our own office or our own firm. The only points of connection many of us have with the “capital-I Industry” on a daily basis are through email and social media.
Social media is pretty stinking awesome for a myriad of things:
- Connecting us with meaningful COIs and prospects
- Sharing our thought leadership, brand, and voice with the world
- Learning
- Gaining inspiration from others*
- * But, there is a fine line between inspiration and distraction.
Let me explain:
For any professional that is both (a) responsible for drumming up his/her own business and (b) not doing as well as he or she would like, it is all too easy to become distracted by what everyone else is doing on the marketing front.Looks like Joe’s firm is making video content, Cheryl’s firm is hosting a workshop for pre-retirees, and Robert just guest published an article in Dental Economics.But, don’t let your emotions, panic, fear, or restlessness get the best of you. Take a deep breath and think for a moment.The whole concept is very similar to the same behavioral psychology that we teach investors about their reactions to market movement. Right? We teach them that it is normal to feel uneasy when the market hits a rough patch, but ultimately that jumping in and out of the market COSTS them money.Buy and Hold
The same is true when it comes to marketing. Jumping around wastes resources and very rarely returns the way long-term strategies can. In a sense, you want to take a “buy and hold” approach to marketing since marketing efforts compound over time. The more exposure and consistency you have with your audience, the better return you will see on your investment.If you’re constantly switching from one strategy to the next, prematurely re-branding, or looking for a “quick fix,” you may as well condemn yourself to a hamster wheel of frustration and disappointment.You’ve got to give your efforts a chance to prove their worth (or lack thereof).To be clear, I am in no way suggesting you don't try tweaking your strategies via metrics such as A/B testing on email campaigns or Google Analytics performance for website traffic. That's another article for another day. Today, we speak in terms of overall strategy.Common Mistakes
Now, you may be thinking: Olivia, why would I cling to a sinking ship? If my marketing hasn’t been working, why would I shy away from changing my strategy?Glad you asked. There is a line to be drawn and a white flag to be raised at some juncture. Eventually, you’ve got to have the wherewithal to recognize what you’re doing ISN’T working.But, I would venture to say that if you aren’t seeing the inbound traffic you’d like, you’re likely committing one of these mistakes:
1) LOCATION & TIMING: You aren’t in the right place at the right time. Like trying to catch fish in a desert. You have to show up in the places your target audience is actually spending time.2) ONE HIT WONDER: You are relying solely on a single channel to drum up business.3) TOUCH & GO: You market when it’s convenient for you, but aren’t consistent.4) IDENTITY CRISIS: You haven’t streamlined your brand to send a clear message about the services you provide or to whom you offer them. Potential clients have no idea what you do or who you do it for.5) SQUIRREL!: You have no clear marketing strategy. You don’t know why you’re doing the things you are doing, or what the results should be. You haven’t identified any target goals or delineated how you will reach them. You give 100% effort 10% of the time and grow quickly disappointed when you haven't booked a new call.As a financial advisor, no one expects you to know (or even try to know) how all of this works.I don’t know how to balance a portfolio. I don’t need to, because I can hire a financial advisor.The same is true for you in reverse.My intention here is to show you that marketing is a long-term, buy and hold type deal. You’ve got to make an educated plan and see it through. Trying the next best thing over and over again will not produce the results you need.If you have any questions or need help making a marketing plan for 2020, let’s connect. You can email me or schedule a call here.Or, if you’d prefer to DIY it for a while, subscribe to my email list for periodic tips and words of wisdom.