How can advisors cut through in the digital marketing jungle?

Maintaining a strong brand and growing a wealth management or financial planning practice requires effective marketing, but how can advisors win in today’s highly competitive environment?

A comprehensive study drawing on 250 million data points from marketing campaigns sent by 10,000 advisors is being published on February 5, but InvestmentNews has had a sneak preview and can share some insights.

The "State of Digital 2024" report has been created by Snappy Kraken, a marketing technology firm focused on financial advisors, and CEO Robert Sofia says it will help advisors drive growth through digital marketing.

“This year's findings highlight the success of advisors who prioritize SEO, building a quality email list, and using video content to regularly engage their audience,” he said. “Their commitment to consistently nurturing connections, providing value and building trust is driving outsized results.”

Four key takeaways from the report:

• Email is the top performing marketing channel, powering 55% of traffic to advisors’ websites and landing pages, but it has to come with quality – of the email list and of subject lines to encourage opens – and quantity, with consistent regular send-outs of at least once a week.

• SEO is integral to driving traffic to advisors’ websites. Those who invest in this found a 94% uptick in unique new visitors to their sites and a 93% increase in users who initiated sessions which shows increased engagement and interaction with the site on a monthly basis. Updating Google My Business also boosts results along with adding a ‘text me’ widget to encourage email opt-ins.

• Video in email campaigns may result in a 117% increase in email open rates and a 120% increase in click rates for links in emails. The report suggests incorporating video into digital marketing campaigns is necessary for advisors to maintain engagement and relevance.

• Texting is best for immediate response. Using SMS can get a 97% faster response compared to email with short and straightforward text messages gaining the best results.

The research compared the effectiveness of all users of Snappy Kraken’s tools with the top 20% - those who generate the highest email open rates, click rates, conversion rates and leads. These best in class advisors have email lists averaging 5,100 clients and prospects versus around 800 for the wider group. They leverage this audience with at least four campaigns a month.

“The results of the top advisors using our platform showcase the power of sustained strategic marketing efforts,” added Angel Gonzalez, chief marketing officer at Snappy Kraken. “What’s more, these benchmarks can serve as a roadmap for others to follow. By analyzing what works best, every advisor on our platform can refine their strategies to achieve greater results. The power of data-driven insights can elevate marketing practices across the board."