Major Financial Advice Group Award: Campaign and Media Guide

Campaign and Media Guide

Ideas for your campaign

New business from existing clients Order copies of the relevant MLC product brochures through Easy Order and mail to your clients. Phone clients a few days after the mailing, and encourage them to come in for a review before June, to maximise any possible tax advantages. Local area lead generation To generate some interest in your local area, plan and book an End of Financial Year seminar and advertise in your local paper. If you have never run a seminar before, there is information in the toolkit to help get you started. Read the MLC Guide to Client Events (see “more information”) and use the tips and hints to plan your seminar. Contact your local paper to discuss article promoting the strategies and your business, combined with a paid advertisement or advertorial. Ensure your business logo and your photo are used in the article. Plan for the article and advertisement to publish at least 2-4 weeks before your seminar and ensure that your team is briefed and ready to take any phone enquiries. Seminar for clients of referral partners Work with your partners to create an end of financial year seminar that is relevant to their client base. Use the template letter to invite their clients, and follow up a few days later

Guide to using the media

If you are interested in approaching your local media for an article, the following information may prove useful. Focus on what you can offer Determine the audience you are trying to reach and consider them at all times as you tailor your approach. Think about what it is they want and what you can offer them and be clear on what your proposition is. Remember you are talking to your potential clients through the media. Give them what they want Journalists use the 5Ws and 1H principle in developing their articles. That is: who, what, when, where, why and how. Make sure you provide all this information. The easier you make it for the journalist to understand and write about your story, the greater the chance they will react positively to your approach. Position yourself as an expert Develop a few bullet points that describe your role and expertise. Highlight your education and experience and its relevance to your story and consider what a stranger with no knowledge of your background would want or need to know to consider you an expert. Write your pitch Next, write your ‘pitch’ for the journalist, that is, how you will position your article to them. Your pitch should include “Who, Why, What, Where, When and How” and lead with the element of most interest to the journalist. Keep it short and simple remembering that the journalist may have no existing knowledge of the financial planning process. Contact the media  Contact details for your local media can usually be found in the publication itself, online or in the phone book. Ask for the editorial department.

MLC Campaign and Media Guide Page 1 of 2  A phone call is always better than email as it gives you the opportunity to elaborate, answer questions, and determine if they are interested in your story.  When speaking with the journalist get straight to the point  A follow up email pitch can be useful if you are not sure the journalist was convinced of your pitch. At the very least, they then have your contact details for future opportunities. Additional tips  Consider an advertisement to increase your presence and ensure your details are clearly represented.  Your photo can be a nice value-add. It should be a simple head and shoulder shot which conveys your professionalism. It should be a digital file (at least 300dpi) to be suitable for printing.  Finally, your value to the journalist is in your expertise and providing them with a credible and interesting story. Don’t push your own ‘services’ too hard, it is your positioning as an expert that will bring you the leads.

Create a campaign plan It may help to create a campaign plan before you implement any of the ideas listed here. A structured campaign plan may help you identify exactly what you want to achieve, how much money you are willing to spend, and how long it might take. MLC has prepared a Campaign Plan Template, which is available with this online toolkit.

For more information: Contact MLC Advice Marketing: [email protected]

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