Map Out Your Marketing Strategy

As a financial advisor, you likely have a vision of how you want your business to evolve over time. But it won’t just happen on its own—you need a “GPS” for your goals, guiding you step-by-step from where you are today to where you want to grow.

Creating a detailed marketing plan can help you stay on course and measure your progress along the way. The first step is developing your marketing strategy. This is the big picture of what you want to accomplish and should include key components such as:

Competitor analysis: Who are your primary competitors? What are they known for? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

• Target audience: Who do you want to reach? What are their top priorities, needs, and wants? 
• Messaging: What story do you want to tell with your brand? What are the emotions you hope to convey? 
• Unique value proposition: What problem can you solve for your target audience? What makes you different from your competitors? What are your strengths?

Your marketing strategy is the foundation of your marketing plan, so don’t rush through it—give yourself ample time to thoughtfully consider each component, consult with your staff or outside marketing specialists, and conduct research.

Marketing Plan: Your Trip Details

Once your marketing strategy is in place, you can begin outlining the necessary action steps. Your marketing plan is where you’ll dive deeper into tactics and timelines—it’ll help you navigate each pivotal juncture along your route. Whether you’re launching a multi-faceted marketing campaign to increase awareness of your brand or simply promoting a one-time event, organizing the necessary steps, setting a budget, and creating a timeline will help you stay focused and efficient.

Consider the following when developing your marketing plan:

• Branding: Make sure your firm’s branding appears on your website, social media channels, blog posts, emails, signage, and printed advertisements.
• Schedule and budget: While drafting your plan, note the estimated cost, assets, and time required to achieve your goals, considering expenses like paid promotions, marketing software, and outsourced costs.
• Responsibilities: Outline who is responsible for which part of the campaign or plan’s execution, including internal and external resources.
• Content strategy: Determine when and how often you want to share content with your target audience, what communication channels you’ll use to connect with them, and how you’ll follow up on inquiries or responses.

Assess Your Marketing Strategy: Are you on track or do you need to reroute?

Make sure your action steps can be tracked, tested, and measured regularly so you can make any needed adjustments. Analyzing your marketing performance can help inform future decisions, save time and resources, and highlight potential opportunities.

When it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of your social media efforts, there are a few ways to measure your impact:

• Engagement rate: Calculate your engagement rate by taking the interactions (i.e., likes, shares, or comments) across a social media campaign and dividing them by the number of users following the account or the number of impressions generated.
• Brand mentions: This represents the number of times your brand is mentioned across social media channels and online spaces within a given period. It tracks how much “buzz” your brand is generating and how often people include your brand in relevant discussions.
• Audience growth rate: To calculate your audience growth rate month over month, take the number of followers attained in the last 30-day period and divide that by your total follower count, then multiply the sum by 100.

If you’re curious to see how your marketing strategy stacks up, download the Marketing Plan Scorecard. This checklist will help you assess the fundamentals of your plan, including your value proposition, website, and social media engagement, so you can identify strengths and uncover any potential gaps to address.

Questions and Consultations

No matter how you want to grow your practice, LPL Financial can help. Our marketing solutions, tools, and content can help you define and distinguish your brand, deepen client relationships, and find investors who are the right fit for your service model.

If you’re already with LPL, take advantage of these available resources:

• Marketing on Demand – preapproved marketing materials
• Social media content powered by Gainfully – free library of articles and infographics
• Resource Center – marketing tips and best practices
• If you have questions or would like to schedule a one-on-one consultation, or if you’d like to subscribe and receive email alerts when new articles become available, contact LPL Marketing Consulting 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.

If you’re not currently affiliated with LPL but would like to learn more about how we can help you pursue your business and marketing goals, contact Business Development.

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

Morgan is passionate about helping others with their marketing strategies and loves all things marketing. View full bio.