Fans always have a story to tell. What do your fans have to say about you?

I am a fan of the Green Bay Packers. A big fan. And as any big fan, I have a reason why I cheer for this football team – sometimes with an over the top, unbreakable passion. My reason, or my story, is that I was raised in part by a grandmother that loved two things very much in this world. The first was her first born grandchild – who fortunately was me. The second was the Green Bay Packers. My first memory was sitting on her lap watching the Packers. She wanted me to be a good fan so she would school me on the rules, players, positions, and calls the referees were making. At half time of every game we watched together she would give me a “pop quiz” asking me to break down the offense and the defense from the first half of the game. And I thought all of that was normal. 

But there was no place I would rather be than with my grandmother and if she wanted me to know the game of football and learn to love the Green Bay Packers (who actually were notorious losers in those days) that’s exactly what I would do. And I did. And I still do.

The number one new business driver for financial professionals is referrals. And the number one way to generate referrals is not through asking, but as a result of UNSOLICITED referrals.
In a research series conducted by Red Zone Marketing of over 2,000 financial advisors we found that a majority acquire new business through unsolicited referrals. And for top advisors (over 1 million in gross), it is the number one strategy for boosting their exponential growth in new business year over year.
So we dug deep and continued our research into what successful advisors were doing differently, and uncovered the secrets to unsolicited referral success. Part 1

I recently did a quick request in ChatGPT to see what would result. The request I entered was “create a blog on marketing for financial advisors.” In less than 5 seconds it produced a content rich blog post (see below) for financial advisors. It is an excellent list of best practices that coincides with what we implement at Red Zone Marketing and the research we have done on what is working for advisors.

But what is missing? 

Well, if in 5 seconds AI can tell you what to do, it must be already well known and easy to accomplish. True and not true. What is missing is the “how.” How do you specifically implement the good marketing ideas AI suggests in YOUR practice? Frankly, it’s easy to create a list of best practices and much harder to implement them.

Search engine optimization (SEO) has dramatically transformed the digital landscape. For financial advisors, SEO isn’t just about driving traffic to your website—it’s about positioning your brand as an authority in the field. With 28% of internet users clicking the first link that appears on the search engine results page (SERP), there’s a clear advantage to securing a top spot.

In this overview, we delve into the intricacies of SEO and demystify how it can amplify your financial advisor marketing campaigns.

 
How SEO Works

 
At its core, SEO seeks to provide searchers with the most relevant content for their queries. To do this, it operates on two primary fronts:

 
Technical SEO: This is the backbone of your website’s optimization. Technical SEO ensures that search engine spiders can smoothly crawl and index your site. Key components include:

Site accessibility, ensuring no roadblocks hinder the crawling process.

Clear navigation to aid both users and search engine bots.

Optimal loading speed, reducing bounce rates due to delayed site responses.

Ensuring all links—both internal and external—are functional.

 
On-Page SEO: This is where the content of your website comes into play. Search engines evaluate:

The relevance of your content to specific search queries.

Keyword integration and density.

The quality of both internal and external links.

The appropriateness of anchor text.

Content length and depth, as both long-form and short-form content have their unique advantages.

 
Why Consider Your SEO?

Client testimonials have long been powerful tools for businesses, providing genuine feedback and validating services. While the financial sector has been restricted in using this tactic, the times are changing.

Understanding the Historical Landscape

Historically, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) placed strict limitations on registered investment advisor (RIA) marketing methods. Born out of consumer protection concerns, these laws dating back to the 1970s forbade the use of client testimonials in advertising. The digital era, however, brought about a paradigm shift, as consumer habits evolved—95% of consumers now rely on online reviews before engaging with a service.

Acknowledging this change, in May 2021, the SEC revisited its stance, permitting financial advisors to integrate testimonials into their marketing strategies.

Unpacking the SEC’s New Guidelines

With this newfound freedom comes responsibility. The SEC outlines specific criteria for the utilization of testimonials:

Source of Testimonials: Advisors can garner testimonials directly from clients or third-party rating platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, or Facebook. However, it’s essential to note that testimonial providers automatically gain the “promotor” status.

Disclosures and Transparency: Key guidelines include:

Publicly declaring the nature of the relationship between the financial advisor and the testimonial provider.

Openly acknowledging any paid testimonials.

Ensuring testimonial disclosures are easily accessible and employ layman’s terms.

Highlighting potential conflicts of interest.

Clearly indicating if the testimonial originates from a current or past client.

Adherence to these stipulations is non-negotiable to avoid potential penalization.