3 New Features for Financial Advisors to Create an Efficient Marketing Plan

The New Year always brings a sense of organization and is a great time to assess areas of marketing to continue or introduce to your financial practice. Leveraging new features like LPL Financial’s 2023 Marketing Content Calendar and the updated SEC Marketing Rule, both located in LPL’s Resource Center, will help you stay top of mind with clients and prospects throughout the year.

Whether you want to deliver content on a monthly or quarterly basis, creating a plan is the first place to start. Focusing on these three areas will help you develop an efficient marketing plan for the year.

1. LPL’s Marketing Tools and Resources

2023 Marketing Content Calendar: Each year, our team puts together a calendar filled with over 400 ideas to help advisors develop compelling marketing content. These timely touchpoints are listed by quarter, month, and topic, allowing you to quickly and easily plug them into your marketing strategy. You can find the 2023 Marketing Content Calendar and accompanying template in the Resource Center, available to LPL financial advisors and professionals, to map out the touchpoints you’re planning to use in your marketing, including social media, blog content, video, and more.

Pro Tip: Follow these five steps to creating a client persona to define the individuals you want to work with. Then, develop a marketing plan with our Marketing Plan Worksheet from the ClientWorks Resource Center. It will guide you through creating a Marketing Plan specific to your practice in a step-by-step process to help you craft a thoughtful and effective marketing plan.

Utilize Marketing-on-Demand for customizable, preapproved marketing material available to you at any time through ClientWorks Resource Center. Plus, our Social Media Content Library hosts a robust suite of content ready to be shared, or scheduled, to your approved social media channels including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Set yourself up for success by creating a schedule for your posts in the Campaigns Tab of the library, and add content to a Queue to establish a routine for consistent releases throughout the year.

2. LPL Institutional Resources

While our institutions, including banks and credit unions, have access to all of the above resources, we also offer the following tools for your marketing strategy.

10-Minute Branch Meetings: Our Institution Relations team has put together new 10-minute branch trainings to help you educate branch partners about investment guidance and opportunity cues in today’s environment. These meetings are designed to be delivered virtually (i.e. via WebEx or Zoom) or in person.

Institution Referral Programs: Tips on the power of referrals, spotting referrals, and more are available within our resources as well. Search “Institution Advisor Resources” on the ClientWorks Resource Center to locate these helpful tips and guides.

There’s also a page for our Financial Institutions Leaders with resources and tips. See 5 Ways LPL Marketing Helps Your Program Grow on the “Leader Connect” page of the ClientWorks Resource Center.

When it comes to promoting your investment program, having access to pre-approved content, helpful tools, and expert marketing consultants makes all the difference. Reach out to the Marketing Consulting team for guidance on all the pre-approved content available.

3. SEC Marketing Rule and Testimonials

The SEC Marketing Rule and LPL’s corresponding policy now allow you to use testimonials in your marketing materials, creating opportunities for you to reach prospects in a new way.

You can use testimonials in your prospective client flyers, websites, and social media. See our previous blog on Top 3 Ways for Advisors to Use Testimonials for guidance.

Compliance note: The rule defines a testimonial as a statement by a client about their experience with an advisor. To learn how to use testimonials compliantly, go to LPL’s Compliance SEC Marketing Rule page on the ClientWorks Resource Center available to LPL financial advisors and professionals.

The testimonial language should reflect the client’s experience in working with your firm and not the performance of their investments. Remember to submit the content to the Advisor Compliance Tool before use. If it’s not approved, the MRR team will suggest revisions to consider. Once your client reviews and approves the revised language, resubmit it to the Advisor Compliance Team for approval. For guidance, contact the Compliance Service Team at 800-877-7210, option 9, option 2, then say “Compliance”.

If you’re looking for recommendations on incorporating testimonials into your marketing plans or tailoring your strategies to a target audience, we’d love to help! Reach out to the Marketing Consulting team to schedule a one-on-one consultation.

Questions and Consultations

To learn more about these resources, reach out to our Marketing Consulting team at 800-877-7210, option 9, option 5, option 1 or email Marketing Consulting.

If you’re interested in a digital marketing strategy that is executed on your behalf, please visit LPL Business Solutions Discover Marketing to complete the form, and a member of their team will be in touch with you directly.

Consult your compliance department for information about the rules and use of social media and the review of all advisor marketing materials.

Suzy partners with financial professionals to help develop their marketing strategies to effectively grow their practice. Suzy specializes in social media marketing. View full bio.