This article first appeared in Advisor Perspectives on November 18th, 2020, and can be found here. 

There are clear-cut behaviors that will maximize your firm’s lead-generation capabilities. To uncover those behaviors, and how they differentiate advisory firms getting a few leads from those getting dozens a year, my firm conducted a comprehensive study of 215 financial advisors.

Our platform, Twenty Over Ten, is specifically designed to enhance digital presence and marketing, achieving stronger lead generation. And, according to 61% of financial advisors, generating leads is their biggest challenge.

Here are the key characteristics that distinguish highly successful digital-marketing practices:

1. A calendar link on every page

You should use a scheduling tool on every single page of your website. The logic is simple: To convert more leads into clients, you need to make it easy for them to connect with you. Nothing’s simpler than a few clicks on your website.

WolfBridge Wealth has a floating “schedule a call” button on every page. This button doesn’t have to be obtrusive; it should blend in seamlessly with your website. The important thing is that visitors always have the option to schedule time with you, regardless of the page they enter your website from.

Tools such as Calendly, Acuity and ScheduleOnce can be used to set up schedulers on your website.

2. An SEO-friendly website/blog

To generate leads, you need to drive more organic search traffic to your website and blog.

There’s no shortage of factors that contribute to a website with strong SEO, encompassing both your site structure and copy. You want a strong website structure that’s navigable, mobile-friendly and easy for Google to crawl. Moreover, your copy must include hyper-specific keywords catered to your target audience; see this example from C.L. Sheldon & Company. The wording is extremely specific to its target audience.

The latter also goes for SEO in your blog posts. In those, you can employ internal linking strategies and alternative text and keyword-packed headers (learn more about these blogging SEO strategies here).

3. New content added to your website at least twice a month

Keep your website fresh and updated. Regularly producing original content pertinent to your audience is integral to lead generation as this data from our survey shows:

Of the advisors surveyed, those who never posted content to their website had the least leads, the least qualified leads and the least conversions.

To make your website as productive as possible, share new content at least twice a month, ideally once a week. Original content can come in the form of a blog, quick video, or podcast – almost anything. Make sure your content is engaging to your target audience, answering the specific questions they would have.

4. Website copy in an audience-specific problem-solution format

Write your website copy to target a specific niche audience with unique financial concerns. Any advisor can claim they offer “financial freedom” or “comprehensive financial planning.” Think: What audience do you serve? What questions do they have? What keeps them up at night?

I encourage advisors to write in what’s called a “problem/solution format.” Explicitly state who you work with, what specific problems your audience has and the solutions you offer to those problems. Focus your efforts on the most visited pages of your website: your home, about and contact pages.

Consider this example from Green Mountain Planning. In a few words, this firm effectively communicates that it serve retirees and pre-retirees in Golden, CO; the firm helps them with retirement and retirement-income preparation by reducing taxes, investing smarter and helping them to retire early.

5. Video content

Video content is extremely effective. People love videos: YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, trailing only Google. Lead-generating firms are likely to incorporate video on their websites and have a YouTube channel. Video content conveys your personality and makes a more personal connection with prospects.

Include a short introduction video on your homepage, like Plectrum Advisers, but also use video content anywhere you see fit, such as your blog or team page. Starting up a YouTube channel is always a great idea, and offers a wealth of original video content for you to repurpose. Of course, be sure to always promote any video content you make on social media.

6. An “as featured in” section

Including a section like this on your website is a great and simple way to showcase your expertise and build credibility and trust. Compile the logos of all the platforms where you’ve been featured.

Quarry Hill Advisors, for instance, includes awards it has received and platforms where it was featured. This is a great way to utilize visuals to quickly convey a message to your website visitors that your firm is legitimate and trustworthy.

There will never be a perfect lead-generation recipe. Nonetheless, there are certain measures advisors can take to best position themselves for lead generation and conversion. Use these strategies and examine your results. There are always potential clients; you have to find the right way to tap into them.