Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Consistency is one of the biggest keys to financial advisor content marketing success. Unfortunately, most financial professionals fail to maintain a regular content publishing schedule. It’s common to set out with the best intentions only to find yourself neglecting or abandoning your efforts along the way.
This is why it’s important to establish a schedule and stick to it.
In part seven, How to Optimize Your Financial Advisor Website Content, of The Ultimate Financial Advisor’s Guide to Content Marketing I covered details about the steps you can take to boost the likelihood your content will rank higher in search engines.
Now it is time to dive into why you need a content marketing schedule and how to create one.
Why do you need a content marketing schedule?
When establishing your credibility and building trust, it’s important to show up consistently and regularly with helpful, relevant and compelling content. The idea is for your audience to be able to rely on getting your tips and insights on a regular basis so they know where to turn when it’s time to hire a financial advisor.
However, if you blog for a few months, skip a few, send out a sporadic newsletter and only pop up on social media occasionally, it makes you seem undependable or too busy, and there’s a good chance prospects will forget about you.
The same is true for search engines. Google favors websites that get regular updates with high-quality, fresh content. Because the job of the algorithms is to create the best user experience, search engines aim to serve up results from the most relevant and up-to-date websites—not stale sites that haven’t been touched in months.
I mention all of this to help you understand the importance of creating and sticking to a content marketing schedule. However, publishing content regularly doesn’t have to be a burden. Creating a schedule removes uncertainty about how to promote your financial services. You and your team will know what to do and when to do it, making your marketing efforts run dependably.
Develop a financial content marketing calendar
Start by developing an editorial calendar. Think of this as a tool for planning and executing your marketing strategy over a set period of time, such as quarterly or annually. It can include information such as what topics you will be covering, draft due-dates and publishing dates, as well as who is responsible for each task.
An editorial calendar establishes order and sets expectations among your followers. They will return and anticipate new content based on your publishing schedule.
Tips for mapping out your content schedule in advance:
-
Start with your existing content. Determine how and when it can be repurposed to share again. You can always update old blog posts or e-books, break them down into micro-content such as tweets or quote graphics you can share over time. You can compile existing articles into longer form content such as an e-book you can launch on a set date.
-
Identify gaps in your content. What are some frequently asked questions or important topics you haven’t covered yet? Figure out when you want to share that subject matter and plug it into your calendar.
-
Consider the timeliness of topics. Think about the relevance of holidays and seasons when planning when you will release content. Seasonal content for financial advisors might include topics related to New Year’s resolutions, tax-paying tips, spring cleaning, summer vacations, back-to-school shopping, or holiday savings.
-
Take your schedule into account. Will you be hosting a seminar or speaking at a conference? Do you have a book coming out? Are you participating in any upcoming community events? All of this and more can be incorporated into your content schedule.
There’s always room to be flexible and you don’t have to feel boxed in by your editorial calendar. If an important topic comes up in the news that you want to cover, you can always come back to the pre-scheduled topic at a later date. Feel free to mix up your social media feeds with spontaneous posts about your day to add a personal touch. For more on the timeliness of certain content, see part two of The Ultimate Financial Advisor’s Guide to Content Marketing.
Create a weekly editorial routine
Once you’ve mapped out the content you plan to share, plug it into an actual calendar or spreadsheet that you can view at a glance. Next, break down the tasks that need to be accomplished into a checklist and assign each task to a team member with a due date and time.
For example, routine tasks might include any of the following:
- Research a topic.
- Write the outline.
- Write the draft.
- Select keyword phrases.
- Write social sharing copy.
- Select a featured image.
- Create graphics for social media.
- Submit the draft for review.
- Review draft.
- Request revisions.
- Revise the draft.
- Proofread draft.
- Add blog post draft to the website.
- Complete SEO checklist.
- Publish post.
- Format and test newsletter.
- Submit newsletter for review.
- Review newsletter.
- Schedule newsletter.
- Share blog post on social media.
Although this list can seem daunting, you can batch tasks and spread the work out as needed. Knowing exactly what needs to be done and setting deadlines for each step will provide peace of mind knowing your content schedule is on track.
Perform mindful maintenance
Your financial advisor website content is not set in stone. It requires continuous maintenance to stay fresh and search engine friendly. This should be baked into your schedule as part of your ongoing routine.
Update existing content
Your existing content will continue to drive traffic to your website if you keep it updated. Find the time to touch up old articles and seed them with details that are up to date and relevant. You don’t always have to come up with new topics. You can always rewrite what you have from a different angle or perspective drawing from your existing articles.
Give your content a check up
Inspect your blog and social media postings for broken links. A broken link tarnishes the impression of your site and brand, as well as users’ perceptions of your expertise.
Monitor your performance
Google Analytics is a great tool to keep track of how your blog is performing and where the traffic is coming from. It can be easy for these metrics to be forgotten, so set up monthly or even weekly reports from Google Analytics to be delivered directly to your inbox.
Tools for creating a content marketing schedule
You can find a variety of tools available to organize and streamline your editorial calendar and schedule. When working with a team, you will need to use tools that allow for collaboration and tracking progress. Some favorite tools for organizing and managing content publishing schedules include:
Conclusion
Your financial advisor website content will not be successful if it is not updated regularly. By creating a content calendar and sticking to a schedule, you will establish yourself as a reliable and trusted source for both your ideal clients and the search engines. Setting a schedule removes the guesswork when it comes to when and how to promote your financial services. You and your team will know exactly what to do at a glance.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is a creative marketer and results-oriented business consultant with over a decade of experience collaborating with independent advisers. At Crystal Marketing Solutions, she delivers exceptional insights for financial professionals enabling them to create a consistent marketing presence so they can focus on the things that matter most to them.
Download a free copy of the Financial Advisor Content Marketing & Optimization Guide here.
Sometimes content marketing can seem like an overwhelming task to undertake on your own. This is exactly what we do for our clients! We help create and select the right content, optimize it so it is reaching the right people, and handle the scheduling to ensure it is as far-reaching as possible.
Read more articles by Crystal Butler
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
