Most financial advisers know that marketing matters. But the challenge isn’t understanding the importance of marketing – it’s finding the time and building the consistency to do it. 

Marketing quite often gets pushed down on the list of priorities, especially with all the client meetings, reports, and compliance tasks which take priority. This often means that months go by without a social media post or a request for a client review. 

The good news is that effective marketing doesn’t need to involve a huge campaign or hours and hours of work every single week. Like any good habit, marketing becomes easier to maintain once it’s part of your regular work routine. 

So, let’s go over five simple ways you can make marketing a consistent part of your firm’s routine. 

Schedule some dedicated marketing time

The easiest way to make any habit stick is to treat it like any other essential business task. 

Many advisers will block out time for client meetings, annual reviews, and responding to emails. Marketing deserves this exact same approach. 

So, whether you set aside 30 minutes each Friday afternoon or maybe an hour every Monday morning, having dedicated time can ensure that marketing doesn’t just become something that you’ll “do tomorrow”. 

If you worry that you’ll procrastinate once you’ve blocked out the time, my favourite method is to spend:

• 10 minutes at the start of the week (typically Monday) to brainstorm 
• 15-20 minutes creating your marketing material mid-week (Wednesday)
• 10-15 minutes executing your marketing at the end of the week (Friday).

For example, let’s say you want to create a post for LinkedIn. You could spend…

•  10 minutes on Monday thinking about a question a client has asked recently
• 15-20 minutes on Wednesday writing up the post relating to the question
• 10 minutes on Friday publishing the post and responding to any comments that come through afterwards. Suddenly marketing becomes more realistic and less of a “chore”. 

Integrate review requests into your client journey

Client reviews are perhaps one of the most valuable pieces of marketing you can have. They build trust, act as a form of social proof, and help prospective clients feel more confident about choosing you when they’re window shopping for advisers. 

Yet many advisers can’t remember the last time they asked for a review. 

Instead, create a process that makes requesting reviews part of your normal client journey. For example, you might ask for feedback after you’ve helped a client achieve something big or after you’ve had a really successful review meeting. 

The key with reviews is consistency. When requesting reviews becomes the usual step rather than an occasional one, you’ll build a steady stream of valuable feedback over time, which you can use for other marketing material. 

Create content around frequently asked client questions

One reason why marketing feels so difficult is the pressure to constantly come up with new ideas. 

But in reality, your clients are already giving you plenty of content inspiration. 

Think about questions you answer regularly, whether that’s about pensions, Inheritance Tax, retirement planning, or market volatility. All these topics can easily be turned into social posts, blogs, videos, newsletter content, or guides. 

Keep a running list of those common client questions so that you can recycle the ideas and never have to start from scratch. This leads me to my next point… 

Repurpose content instead of starting from scratch

Creating new content all the time can be really overwhelming, especially if you don’t have time. 

Fortunately, one piece of content can often be used in multiple ways. 

A long blog can become multiple social media posts, such as a series! A client email could inspire a short video. A webinar could provide content for newsletters, articles, or even short video clips. 

Repurposing content can help you get far more value from the work you have already done, making marketing feel much more manageable.

Track your marketing and not just your results

So many advisers focus mainly on outcomes such as the number of enquiries or new clients. And while these metrics matter, they can sometimes make marketing feel more frustrating because the results aren’t always instant. 

So naturally, when you don’t see the numbers coming through quickly enough, it’s easy to give up on marketing. 

Instead, track the things that you can control. For example, the number of:

• Review requests you’ve sent 
• Social media posts you’ve published 
• Blogs you’ve written 
• Networking events you have attended (or are planning to attend).

When you focus on the consistent actions over the immediate outcomes, marketing becomes easier to maintain as a long-term habit. 

And finally

The most successful strategies aren’t the most complicated or jam-packed ones, but the strategies that are consistent. 

By creating simple processes and building marketing into your current workflow, you will be far more likely to stick with it in the long term. And when marketing becomes a habit rather than an occasional job, the results will flow naturally. 

Now if staying consistent with your marketing feels easier said than done, we’d love to help. Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8695 300.