For advisors competing in a crowded industry, achieving thought leadership is becoming essential for those who want to stand far above others in a crowded field. Why? Because thought leaders are viewed as people of influence with recognized expertise, credibility, and strong reputations – traits that have become table stakes for advisors hoping to attract the attention of high-net-worth clients.
Though it takes time to achieve thought leadership, the return on whatever investment of time and resources can be unparalleled. Fortunately, in this digitally wired world, you have tools that can accelerate the journey. If you have a couple of hours a month to devote to writing, blogging can be your most effective marketing activity.
Today, more businesses than ever are pointing to blogging as their most important inbound marketing initiative. And the vast majority of businesses report that their blogs have led to increased visibility, notoriety, and business development. Financial advisors are finding that blogging is an affordable way to establish themselves as a high-profile authority and a credible source of financial information in a highly competitive arena.
Why blogging works
It is the dynamic nature of blogs that makes them so appealing to your visitors and crucial for increasing engagement with your target market. By updating your blog regularly with useful and timely information, interesting aspects about your practice, and entertaining anecdotes, you provide a reason for your visitors to come back. Content creates repeat visitors, increases engagement, encourages word-of-mouth promotion, and improves a blog’s standing with the search engines.
Blogging helps your target market find you
If you have ever used a newsletter in your marketing efforts, you know that you need to build your list of recipients in addition to finding or creating the content. This is done slowly and incrementally over time by soliciting email addresses. When you create a blog and communicate online, people will find you and invite themselves to join in your conversation. Not only that, if the information is worth sharing, they’ll invite others to join, so your list growth will be self-propelled.
Blogs + Social Media to spread your influence
Posting content on your blog makes it exceedingly easy for people to share your posts with others. For example, when a client reads your post and then wants to share it with some friends, it’s only a matter of a couple of mouse clicks to have a link to your blog posted on their Facebook page. Your blog can be equipped with an automatic social media publisher that will instantly send your post link to all of your social media sites, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, once you publish it, which will start the sharing process among your social media profiles.
Blogging can amplify your differentiating message
It starts with developing a message that truly differentiates your practice from others. While prospective clients are interested in your background and experience, they really want to know what value they can receive from you that they can’t get from any other advisor. Your unique message should reflect who you want to have as a client, and it should be infused in any content you create.
Is blogging right for you?
Truth be told, blogging is not for everyone. To do it right can take a commitment of time and discipline. Developing thought leadership requires creating content that goes a step beyond what every other advisor is publishing. Thought leaders write content that challenges conventional wisdom and offers new ways of thinking about a concept or problem. Regardless of the content focus, you must always strive to be different.
Unless you are able to update your blog at least once a month, it may not have the kind of impact that would make it worth your while. Although much of the work in setting up and maintaining a blog can be outsourced or delegated to a staff person, it is another essential facet of your brand that needs to be managed. If it is important for you to increase your visibility in the industry and elevate your stature and credibility among your target market, then you should not overlook blogging as a way to grow your online influence.
Related: Thought Leadership May Be the Only Edge for Financial Advisors