If you are a financial firm publishing content (or looking to start), then one question you may have thought of is: “How do I make sure it speaks to current clients whilst drawing in new ones?”

Here at CreativeAdviser, the way we often approach this question for financial firms is to write a set of bespoke articles each month (e.g. four). These can then be published on the client’s website – helping with their SEO (search engine optimisation) – and then linked into their monthly newsletter, which goes out to clients.

This approach has two clear benefits. Firstly, it is a great way to engage current clients – offering them value and thought leadership in the form of content which answers their pressing questions. Secondly, it can power the website’s presence in Google Search, bringing in higher volumes of organic traffic over time. Some of these new visitors, moreover, are likely to turn into leads as they read the content, are convinced that they need financial planning/advice from the business and make an enquiry.

This system works very well in principle, especially for smaller firms (e.g. locally-based IFAs) which do not have the time or resources to write, say, four articles per month for SEO purposes and then another four to target their clients in a newsletter. The system allows you to kill two birds with one stone, re-purposing the same content so that it works harder for you.

 

The conundrum of re-purposed financial content

The key question at this point, however, is how to choose the right topics, layout and language for the content you are producing each month. After all, financial planners and advisers do not “speak” in the same way to their prospects as they do to their clients.

For the latter, for instance, there is a strong relationship already in place and the main goal of the content is to keep them engaged and loyal. For the former, however, you do not know each other – and you are trying to convince them to “come aboard”.

These are tricky questions, but here at CreativeAdviser we believe there are some good ways to address them. In the rest of this article, we offer a set of initial ideas to show how this is possible.

 

Whatever the content, optimise it for on-site SEO

If you’re writing an article which you want to send to clients via your newsletter, and also bring in new organic traffic on your website, then it will not hard the former to optimise the content for SEO. However, it will likely hurt the content’s chances of ranking on Google without on-site optimisation. So it’s a good idea to do it!

Here is an initial checklist to go through after you’ve finished the article and saved it as a draft on WordPress:

  1. Include external links to other authoritative, relevant websites which back up your claims (especially if statistics are involved).
  2. Include internal links to other pages and content on your website. Just make sure it adds value to the reader. For instance, if your article is about private pensions, perhaps you could link to another one you have written about the state pension.
  3. Include images and equip them with alt tags.
  4. Use appropriate H1 and H2 tags for your title and sub-titles.
  5. Give your article a strong meta title and meta description.

 

Use tools & client feedback to select topics

Which topics should you choose for the four (or more) articles you write each month? Will there be a big difference between what is best for your SEO, on the one hand, and what is best for clients, on the other? In our experience, these two can typically sit comfortably together with some careful planning.

One useful starting point is to reflect on the conversations you’ve recently had with clients. What topics have come up, and what concerns have they raised? Could any of this form the focus and basis of your next set of content?

Another factor to bear in mind is the durability of the topics you’re considering for that month. For instance, suppose you’ve noticed that lots of people seem to be searching: “Which UK funds should I invest in January 2021?” This might be of interest to some of your clients, but consider that the article will soon be outdated – leaving little SEO benefit. After all, hardly anyone will be searching this after February! As such, this kind of topic might work for a financial news website with a lot of organic traffic already coming through its doors – not a small financial planning firm looking to build its Google presence.

Online tools such as Google Trends and Keyword Planner can be useful to find search terms used by your target audience which a). have decent monthly search volume and 2). are likely to remain relevant for some time. You can also consider paid tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs, but these can come at a hefty price tag if you are not a financial marketing agency.

 

Use inclusive language in your content

Since you have a closer relationship with current clients compared to prospects visiting your website, it is tempting to write each article as if directed soley at the former. However, this risks alienating the latter and, besides, there are ways to personalise your newsletter for clients which makes this unnecessary.

At CreativeAdviser, one of the best ways we’ve found to achieve this is to include a personalised introduction in your newsletter to clients. This allows you, as their adviser/planner, to speak to them in a “closer” fashion and to explain how the content is directly relevant to them.

One thing you’ll need to be careful of in your content is avoiding “sales-based language”. Not only is this irrelevant to your current clients, but it can put off your prospects too. The latter are looking for value, not a sales pitch. If you can offer them compelling answers and information in relation to what they are looking for, they will be more receptive to a call to action at the end of the post.

Interested in discussing your own marketing and digital content strategy with a specialist in your sector? Get in touch today to arrange a free, no-commitment consultation with our team!

 

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