When was the last time you thought of your website as a potential and ongoing source for new leads, client referrals, and fresh business for your advisory practice?
Would you like your website to generate leads at all hours, whether you are awake or not?
Are you a digital advisor or offline and asleep?
For RIAs, financial advisors, and other forward thinking planners, perhaps there’s no better time than now to review your site as part of strategic planning, inbound marketing, and content marketing initiatives for 2016 and beyond.
Consider these questions if you're looking to make your online presence an additional revenue stream:
1. A Call to Action on Your Homepage
Does your homepage have a “ call to action ” lead magnet that provides a way for investors to download an informative eBook, white paper, or video – so that you in turn acquire their contact information? Does your site have a “hero” image that's relevant to your firm, your brand, and your prospective clients? (A hero image is typically a visually appealing large, full screen image that pops off the page.) Do your homepage have a single sentence (or two) that succinctly describes how you can help your target audience? Does your homepage let prospects easily find what they are looking for? 2. A Personal and Differentiated "About" Section
Does your “Who You Are” section accurately describe who you are, what you do, and why you do it? Is it substantially different and more personable than your competitor's "About" pages? If you are the firm’s founder, do you have a great and professional picture? If you have a team of professionals - investment managers, operation managers, CPAs, JDs and account managers on staff - are they too included in your panorama? Is your biography compelling, up-to-date, and Goldilocks length?
3. A Clearly Stated "Expertise" Area
If your practice focuses on millennials, baby boomers, doctors, military officers, and/or corporate executives, do you say so? Do you clearly state who your firm does not work with?
4. An Informative and Vibrant Blog
Do you have a blog ? If not, what are you waiting for? Does each blog post provide information, education, and/or advice on how to potentially help solve your prospective clients’ pain points? Does each blog post have a call to action that leads to a landing page that prospects can fill out in exchange for an eBook or other content? Do you have a newsletter subscription form after each post?
5. Killer Content
Do you have a downloadable library of eBooks, infographics, pitch books, or white papers on topics specific to your expertise and to your prospective investors issues? Do you have videos of your founder or other key personnel that show what you do and how? If you have appeared on TV, radio, podcast, or in print, are archives available on your site? Do you have “snackable” content, in the form of shorter articles and infographics? Are your next scheduled events – radio show, TV interview, and educational seminar – listed on your site? Related: 7½ Reasons to Hire a Fractional CMO
6. Active Social Media Distribution
Do you have a Twitter account to distribute your amazing content , and if so, do you have a “Follow Us” button on the home page, and after every blog post? If you also have a business footprint on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, perhaps YouTube as well - are these buttons on your home page and blog pages? 7. Accessible Pricing
Do you have a pricing schedule on your site? Is it straightforward and easy to find? Do you specify account minimums?
8. Compliance
Does your footer have all regulatory disclosure information? Do you a have privacy policy section in your footer page?
9. SEO
How about keywords? Have you identified the long and short words and phrases that your prospective clients use to find you in search, and have you carefully and appropriately placed them on each page? And what about backlinks – do you have more than a handful of other high-authority sites that link to your site?
