3 Ways to Use PowerPoint to Enhance Your Advisor Marketing Strategy

Seminars have traditionally played a starring role in many financial advisors’ marketing strategies, providing valuable education to clients and opportunities to meet new prospects. In most cases, content is presented in PowerPoint, so the software is often associated with live education. But before you pigeonhole your PowerPoint, consider leveraging it in other capacities to get more out of your content.

Here are 3 ways to use a PowerPoint:

1.     As a live seminar

Yes, the traditional way—no surprise here. The key is to pick a popular topic, one that will resonate with your clients or target prospects. LPL advisors can find pre-approved seminar presentations on Marketing On Demand that are free to download and include speaker notes and supporting materials.

Of course, you can also create your own presentations and submit to compliance, source them from wholesalers, or purchase seminar materials from vendors who specialize in this type of content for our industry.

2.     As a webinar

Some financial advisors have experienced a recent decrease in seminar attendance and effectiveness, particularly when using them for prospecting. This could be due to a number of factors, including busy lifestyles and increased traffic preventing people from wanting to take time out of their schedules to travel to an in-person event.

Webinars are easy for people to attend from wherever is convenient for them — home, office, or coffee shop — just about anywhere with internet access.

Registrations can be collected online ahead of time, and attendance reporting is available afterwards. There are many webinar solutions available, and most are fairly inexpensive. Some examples include GoToMeeting, JoinMe, or Zoom. A simple Google search for “webinar software” will reveal more options to explore.

Have a strategy for following up with your audience. Reach out to attendees with a “thank you” and offer to connect on-on-one. Send a “sorry we missed you” message to those who registered but did not attend, and offer to touch base on the topic at another time.

3.     As website content

One more reason for the decline in seminar attendance is because information is readily available online and accessible 24/7. So, why not be the trusted source who provides that information?

Use your webinar software to record yourself reading through the presentation, just as you would a live webinar, but without an audience. Be sure to have the recording approved by compliance, and then host it on your website. With several recordings, you can build a library.

Lead Gen Tip: Offer recordings as gated content, asking visitors to enter their name and email address before they can watch.  Anyone who visits your site and is interested in viewing a 30-minute presentation and willing to provide their name and email address is most likely a warm lead that you’ll want to follow up with quickly. So, have a process in place for monitoring leads and reaching out.
 

There are pros and cons to each format. In-person seminars are more personal but can be expensive. Webinars are less expensive, but they might not create the same engagement with your audience. So, consider leveraging more than one format for the same PowerPoint presentation, offering multiple ways to access the information however works best for your clients and prospects.

When doing so, you can use one to promote the other. For example, if someone declines your live seminar invitation, let them know about an upcoming webinar opportunity. Or email webinar registrants who didn’t attend, letting them know there’s a recording on your website. Your audience will appreciate the convenience of choice, and you’ll get more out of your PowerPoint.

Get more insights and financial advisor marketing strategies from LPL marketing specialists.

If you're already an LPL Financial advisor, access more marketing tools and trainings on the Resource Center.

You should consult your compliance department for information about the rules and use of social media and the review of any and all advisor marketing materials.

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Sarah provides custom marketing and social media consultations for LPL Financial advisors and investment programs. In this role, she consults with and supports clients in effectively marketing their business in today's increasingly competitive environment. View full bio.