Diving into Digital Marketing A Practical Guide to Deepening Connections with Clients and Prospects 1 OVERVIEW The Current State of Digital Marketing A Road Map to Integrated Marketing TACTICS Connecting through Websites Making Connections with Social Media Digital Content to Drive Deeper Connections Click each section to find out more Expanding Connections with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Using Online Advertising to Amplify Connections How Email Campaigns Reinforce Connections NEXT STEPS Dive in: A Checklist for Digital Marketing Resources to Help Get Started 2 The Current State of Digital Marketing Insight from research into the status of digital marketing in the wealth management industry today, and why Fidelity believes that digital marketing is an effective vehicle for growth. 3 Ten Things You Need to Know about Digital Marketing in Wealth Management Digital marketing offers an exceptional opportunity to reach % of firms that engage in each approach3 1 your clients. There are 5.1 billion unique mobile users around the world1 and 3.72 billion Collateral 84% active social media users.2 Those are staggering numbers that indicate a (e.g., brochures, flyers/one pagers, pitch books) remarkable opportunity for wealth management firms to not only experiment with digital marketing, but also adopt a disciplined approach to connecting Events 82% more deeply with clients and generating leads that will help drive a strong (e.g., client appreciation, educational, webinars) future for their business. Social media 77% (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) Digital marketing allows you to be available to your clients 2 when traditional means are not possible. Content marketing 64% (e.g., thought leadership white papers/articles, videos, podcasts, ebooks) During the COVID-19 crisis, digital marketing became even more essential. Firms used social media, websites and email to rapidly communicate urgent Online advertising 52% information and reassure clients during a difficult time. It also became more (e.g., paid digital ads, retargeting) important to keep digital content up-to-date. Traditional advertising 52% (e.g., signage, print ads, radio, TV, sponsorships) 3 Digital marketing is active in the wealth management industry. According to recent Fidelity research, 90% of advisors employ at least one of PR 49% the digital marketing techniques. This exceeds traditional advertising at 52% (e.g., radio/TV appearances, news releases, by-lines) and PR at 49%.3 The Current State of Digital Marketing 4 Ten Things You Need to Know about Digital Marketing in Wealth Management Advisors are meeting investors where they are: online. 4 Advisor Use of Social Media Platforms Over 3/4 of advisors are active on social media. LinkedIn is leading the pack: 28% 88% of advisors on social media use LinkedIn, and 58% of them believe it is LinkedIn effective at generating qualified leads.3 88% 25% Facebook 71% Younger generations are especially receptive. 13% 5 Twitter Over half of Gen XYZ* investors said they had a significantly more positive 49% impression of advisors who have a good website.4 At the same time, 2/3 of 8% advisors engaging in digital marketing believe that social media is an effective Instagram lead-generation tactic with millennial investors.3 (In fact, Fidelity conducts 26% analysis to help firms understand how their website will appeal to millennials.) 9% YouTube 25% But don’t forget the Baby Boomers.** Over half of advisors engaging in digital marketing believe that email campaigns and online events are effective tools 4% SnapChat for lead-generation with baby boomers.3 14% 2% Tumblr 10% 2% Pinterest 10% Paid advertising Overall use * “Gen XYZ” = investors born between 1965 and 1998 (Gen Z birth years do extend to 2012, however only those 21 or older were allowed to participate in the survey) ** “Baby boomers” = investors born between 1946 and 1964 The Current State of Digital Marketing 5 Ten Things You Need to Know about Digital Marketing in Wealth Management Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is helping to optimize % of respondents engaging in digital marketing 6 content, but not everyone knows what it is. who use each marketing technology3 While 35% of advisors employ SEO strategies, 30% of these advisors are not sure what specific strategy their firm is employing. The most Content marketing 12% common SEO strategy used is leveraging high-value keywords in platform(s) (e.g., Vestorly, Financial Media Exchange) website copy.3 Marketing automation and 12% campaign management platform(s) (e.g., Hubspot, Marketo) Regulatory concerns are sometimes viewed as a barrier. 7 Advertising and 20% More than half of advisors who engage in social media marketing view promotional service(s) (e.g., online advertising, paid search, social advertising) compliance issues as the major hindrance to using it effectively.3 It’s important to work closely with your firm’s compliance officer to help Marketing analytics 29% software/platform(s) manage regulatory issues. (e.g., Google Analytics) Social media marketing and 30% monitoring service(s) (e.g., Khoros, Hootsuite) 8 Advisors are investing in marketing technology. Almost 3/4 of advisors who engage in digital marketing have invested Email marketing platform(s) 44% in CRM solutions, and the highest satisfaction levels are recorded when (e.g., Constant Contact) advisors believe their technology solutions are well integrated.3 Meetings/webinar/ 50% event software (e.g., WebEx, GoToMeeting) Customer Relationship 74% Management (CRM) software (e.g., Salesforce) The Current State of Digital Marketing 6 Ten Things You Need to Know about Digital Marketing in Wealth Management Firms spend less on digital marketing than Top Five Priorities in Marketing Budgets:3 9 other industries. In-person events and collateral, not digital marketing, 1. Events are the top priorities of marketing budgets. The industry also spends less on marketing overall than 2. Communications other industries. According to Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2018−2019, overall marketing budgets were 3. Collateral 11.2% of revenue in 2018.5 By comparison, according to Fidelity research, RIA firms spend an average of 2% 4. Social media of revenue on marketing.6 Spend is expected to either 5. Digital marketing, excluding stay the same or increase: only 1% of RIA firms plan to decrease marketing spend.3 social media Success is still measured by the number of 10 leads generated. Despite many other benefits, the majority of advisors measure the success of marketing activity by new leads generated. Email campaigns, online events, and social media were ranked as the tactics most likely to generate leads.3 The Current State of Digital Marketing 7 We believe that digital marketing can be an effective and efficient strategy for growth. Digital marketing allows you to: Increase the efficiency of your marketing efforts: Enhance the client experience: Digital marketing is usually the cost-effective sibling to Digital marketing can help make your firm more traditional marketing. It can provide better return for your approachable by enabling target prospects to get to know marketing spend by yielding real-time feedback and better your brand and capabilities before the first meeting. It can metrics than other forms of marketing, making it easier to allow you to personalize and tailor messages to your So why are some firms understanding what is working. audience in formats they crave, increasing the likelihood still relatively hesitant to that they will engage and even share your message. It creates and enhances connections. commit greater resources Build your brand: Most people conduct online research before engaging with Generate leads: to digital marketing? a wealth advisor. Digital marketing can showcase your products and services while sharing thought leadership that Digital marketing can generate leads and engage prospects by sets you apart, and it educates and engages clients and allowing you to connect with people where they are at all times prospective clients. of the day. It presents specific targeting opportunities, including geographic, demographic, and behavioral, and it allows you to test and learn by experimenting with different formats, channels, and messaging. The Current State of Digital Marketing 8 Based on our research, as well as That’s why we’ve created this ebook. interviews with firm leaders and In it you will find informative and comprehensive guidance that explains and explores digital marketing, marketing executives in wealth and offers important resources that we hope will launch or enhance your journey: management, we’ve found that many firms are simply afraid to An introduction to digital marketing, including clear definitions and examples begin. Others often feel that they lack the skills or resources to market their firm effectively. A road map that includes six steps to operationalize an integrated marketing program Best practices for the most frequently used digital marketing tactics Stories, insights, and advice from wealth management firms that leverage digital marketing for success A checklist and additional resources that provide extra support The Current State of Digital Marketing 9 Endnotes: 1. The 2019 GSMA Global Policy Trends Reports: Dependencies and Risks: https://bit.ly/2DYV9LS. 2. DataReportal Digital 2019 Q4 Global Digital Snapshot Report. 3. The 2019 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Digital Marketing Study. 4. The 2019 Fidelity Investor Insights Study. 5. Gartner, Inc., CMO Spend Survey 2018–2019. 6. The 2018