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Many advisors haphazardly update their websites. They pay rapt attention to research supporting their investment philosophy, but ignore (or aren’t aware of) research that would guide them in undertaking this important project.
Here are the five mistakes I commonly see:
1. Hiring a design firm
Website design firms may be great at design, but they rarely know anything about investing, psychology or neuroscience.
Why is that important?
Good design doesn’t trump content. Why would you rely on a designer who doesn’t know the difference between a stock and a bond to draft content?
Start your website project by hiring someone to draft content who understands your investment philosophy. With content in hand, you’re in a much better position to consider your design options. If you can find content and design expertise in one firm, you’ll save yourself a ton of headaches.
2. Too much content
I typically eliminate 70% or more of the content on the websites I redesign. Too much content overwhelms the viewer and makes navigation difficult. Think of your website as the street-facing window of a retail shop. They don’t cram their entire inventory into the window. They include just enough to entice you to enter the store.
That’s what the content on your website should do.
3. Too little content
Too little content on your webpage may be worse than too much. Just about everyone who is referred to you will check out your webpage before deciding whether to call you. According to a report from Pershing, more than 40% of all investors (and 73% of younger investors) turn to Google to research advisors. Some of those prospects then go to your website.
What’s their expectation?
The same report concludes, “You need a unique, compelling value proposition that more than justifies your clients’ investment in you.”
Your website is where you deliver that unique, compelling value proposition. You can’t do that with too little content.
4. Ignoring the power of emotions
I recently asked my wife how she would decide what advisor to use after I die. She said, “First, I would have to like them. Then I would have to agree with the way they would invest my money.”
She’s not alone. According to prominent author and psychologist Robert Cialdini, “It's not just that people want to deal with someone they like. It's that they want to deal with someone who likes them, and who is like them. People trust that those who like them won't steer them wrong.”
We make decisions emotionally and then rationalize that we did so rationally.
When our ability to feel emotions is impaired, we’re unable to make decisions. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio put it this way, “I got interested in the emotions after studying patients who had lost the ability to emote and feel under certain circumstances. Many of those patients also had major impairments in their ability to make decisions.”
His seminal book, Descartes’ Error, has fascinating case histories supporting his view.
Data, research, blogs and most videos come across as cold and impersonal. That’s the opposite of making an emotional connection.
Ask your website team this question: How will my website make an emotional connection? If you get a blank look, find another team.
5. Misunderstanding videos
I just did this video for a client. My goal was to make an emotional connection.
Note what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t discuss the credentials of the advisors or any technical investing subjects.
It conveys this message: The unique value proposition of this firm is its principals. If you want them, this is the only place you’ll find them.
Marketing Services For Evidence-Based Advisors...and a New Book!
We offer consulting services on how to convert more prospects into clients through Solin Consulting, a division of Solin Strategic, LLC.
We offer a full range of digital marketing services exclusively to evidence-based advisors through Evidence Based Advisor Marketing, LLC . You can see examples of our work here.
I'm working on a new self-help book for the general public. It's called:
Ask
Be Liked. Be Better
Ask will be published in mid-2020. For more information, click here.
Schedule a call with Dan here
A major mistake I often see is advisors attempting to save money by shooting videos themselves. While the technology permits you to do this, the end product is often lacking. Another author once told me, “Everyone thinks they can write a book. Just because they have Word, doesn’t mean they’re an author.”
I carefully source high-end cinematographers. They are available in most cities worldwide. They often have $50,000-$100,000 of equipment.
I don’t script our videos or use tele-prompters. Instead, I compose a series of questions I ask for the first time when the video is shot. I shoot for half a day and then edit down to two 90-second videos. That is the length most people will watch.
Because I understand content, I personally direct the edits.
My firm’s average price for two, 90-second videos is $5,500.
For more information about marketing and branding opportunities with Dan’s upcoming book, Ask: Be Liked. Be Better, click here.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
