Let's get this marketing thing going ... again!

If you’re not regularly posting about your services online by now you know you definitely should be.

At the very least you want to be aiming to position yourself as the go-to person locally for all things financial planning.

And yes, we know that sounds good, but how do you reinvigorate your already established online presence? 

Let’s start at the beginning

When you’re busy trying to keep all of the balls involved in running a business in the air, it’s easy to say, “let’s get focused on this marketing thing again" and then do nothing. It's not intentional, it's just you're busy attending to client meetings and compliance (oh my goodness, the compliance!) and things that aren't so urgent can get pushed to the side.

Or you might login to your company Facebook page, Twitter account or LinkedIn profile and again start sharing information from other sources that you believe is interesting to begin attracting follows, likes, etc. You might even write and post a couple of new blogs on your website.

Marketing accomplished. Tick that off your task list. Now you can get back to the ‘important’ work.

But has this effort paid off? Are there prospective clients from your target market banging down your door? Probably not.

So how do you get to them?

You need a plan!

Ideally to ensure you keep up with your marketing practices you should have a marketing plan.

But if that’s going to be the cause of more procrastination, start with a single campaign plan. It doesn’t have to be 20 pages long! In fact, the shorter the plan, the better chance you will have in implementing it.

Your marketing campaign plan needs to cover the following:

• Your goal/objective is to (generate leads; nurture existing leads; cross-sell services to existing clients; generate referrals; etc);
• Your message is to (introduce your services; introduce a new service; highlight your expertise in a particular area; etc);
• To reach target market (create a buyer persona for this particular offer);
• Using this marketing tool (content marketing; email campaign; paid advertising; radio; editorials; etc). The tool you choose will need to match your objective and message;
• By giving them (a free e-book; free initial consultation; referral gift; etc) (Why not utilise an e-book on a topic of interest to your target market from our financial library?);
• You will respond by (email; phone call);
• Over this campaign time-frame (month; quarter; six months);
• With a budget of (relate this to your lifetime client value).

Then get started! 

Having a written plan will guide you and give you a blueprint to refer back to.

And clearly defining your target market, message and objectives ensure your marketing efforts are never wasted!

Next month... How to build your profile and position yourself as the go-to financial expert in your local area. It's easier than you think!