Here's Why Financial Advisors Need to Amp Up Their Digital Marketing

The pandemic has shifted advisor searches from word of mouth to search engines.

Eighty-four percent of Americans in a survey released Thursday by eMoney Advisor said personalized content was very important to them when working with a financial advisor.

Related: Janney Reports Big Jump in Advisors’ Use of Social Media, Texts

Sixty-three percent of survey participants said insightful and educational content that was personalized would make an advisor’s marketing stand out among its competitors.

Pollfish fielded the survey in mid-September among 2,000 American adults.

The desire for personalized marketing comes at a time when advisors are largely unable to meet with clients in person because of the pandemic lockdown, according to eMoney.

In-person activities and events that have traditionally produced word-of-mouth referrals have fallen off dramatically, changing the way consumers search for an advisor. They are relying less on referrals from family and friends and are turning to search engines instead.

Forty-two percent of respondents said they started the process of finding an advisor with an online search.

eMoney noted that since the usual next step after searching online is visiting a website, it is incumbent on advisors to put up a professional-looking website.

Ninety-eight percent of respondents said a financial advisor’s website was important to them, while a third said that it was extremely important.

Social media is also growing in importance. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they were more likely to choose an advisor who is active on social media.

“At eMoney, we have long believed that marketing and planning go hand-in-hand,” Senior Product Marketing Manager Valerie Rivera said in a statement. These past nine months have accelerated the need to embrace digital marketing and communications.”

— Related on ThinkAdvisor: