A few months back, I wrote an article for a financial trade publication on search engine optimization.
Before I had received my copy of the issue, I began receiving phone calls, e-mails and voice mails from people stating how much they enjoyed the article. One message came from a representative at a rival broker-dealer who said that he was going to give my firm a “good looking into.”
I even accepted an invitation to speak at a conference this fall.
While an advertisement in that same publication would draw attention, there is nothing like the credibility that comes from a well-written article.
Although the rep who contacted me may never join my firm, I do know that his perception of the brand was bolstered by my article. As a chief marketing officer, that is my goal: to shape the perception of my firm's brand, to generate leads and prospects that ultimately turn into clients and drive revenue.
Of all the marketing tactics you have at your disposal, media relations is a powerful, often overlooked, tool that you can use help achieve that goal.
Media relations is the aspect of marketing charged with generating positive coverage for your company and getting your message out to your target audience through the media — without paying for it via advertising or other forms of marketing.
The vehicles for media relations best suited to financial advisers are bylined articles and interviews in newspapers and magazines. If you have the patience, you can also write a book.
Outside the print realm, you could also consider radio programs (either having your own program or being interviewed on one), but I will focus on print media.
Being interviewed for an article or writing a column that gets published in a magazine or newspaper gives you a level of trust, expertise and credibility that is difficult to achieve through other types of marketing.
People read an ad in a magazine and expect an ad. People read an article in that same magazine and expect journalistic objectivity and integrity — and therefore give its content and its author more credence.
They believe that what is written on that page is gospel and moreover that the person who wrote it is an expert on the subject.
Wouldn't you love for people to regard you as the financial expert in your community on how to increase their assets — and have them become clients that generate revenue for your practice?
Back to the gentleman who contacted me about my search engine article. Remember, he is my target market, one of many folks whom I am trying to influence.
So now what happens the next time that he is thumbing through a magazine and comes across an ad for my firm?
Will he regard it a bit differently than if he hadn't read my article? Will that ad become a bit more believable than before he read my article?
The answer to both questions is yes. Now, all of a sudden, that ad is a bit less ad and a bit more gospel.
The same scenario applies to your e-mails, direct mail and other marketing tactics. A successful media relations program bolsters the rest of your marketing efforts.
Writing an article costs you nothing upfront, just some of your time.
Devote one hour a day to writing your piece. Just pretend you are back in college.
Write the outline of your topic one day, the introduction the next day, supporting paragraphs over the next three days and the conclusion on the sixth day. Clean it up on the seventh day, and you have a good article ready to go in about a week. If you know someone who is a good writer, ask them to copy-edit your draft for you.
The point is that you can write an article that an editor will find of value to his or her readership faster than you probably thought.
Need ideas? They are all around.
Just think like your clients. To what financial dilemmas do they need solutions? What questions do they ask you? What problems do they need resolved?
All these answers are potential topics for an article. If you think like your clients and write simple, value-added content that helps people in their financial lives, you will be an editor's dream contributor. People will also read your articles, and potential clients will contact you for your expertise.
Imagine that: prospects calling you to give you their money instead of you calling them and asking for it.
Robert Foney is the chief marketing officer for Investors Capital Corp., an independent broker-dealer. He may be reached at rfoney@investorscapital.com.
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