PR 101: Why it matters for financial advisers

With the age of social media and influencer marketing, the general understanding of what public relations (PR) is has shifted; I’m here to set the record straight.

PR can be influencers opening a parcel or attending extravagant events and posting about it on social media. And while that method is really effective for some, it doesn’t really translate and isn’t a viable option for the financial services space. That doesn’t mean you’re out of options; there are plenty of other ways you can and should use PR to your advantage as an adviser.

Before going any further, let’s understand what PR actually is…

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations defines PR as “the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support, and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”.

At its core, good PR communicates who you are and what you stand for to everyone and anyone who could have an interest in your business. It’s also about keeping stakeholders happy and responding to their opinions, whether they’re existing or prospective clients, employees, your investors or shareholders, or even your local community. In turn, that generates goodwill for your business.

Although they want to have a good reputation and build support, many advisers haven’t considered the value or importance of PR in their marketing strategy; due to the definition, we think they should. Here’s what PR does for you as a financial services professional:

Increases awareness of you and your business

Presenting yourself more regularly and in various ways helps people to know you exist – groundbreaking, I know, but reaching new audiences is certainly an enormous benefit.

Gives you control of the narrative

You can guide people’s perception of you by telling them and demonstrating who you are before they decide for themselves. Expressing your core values in your communications strategy, and often, will manifest their existence and become what people associate with your brand.

Increases your perceived credibility

Building strong relationships with journalists, industry peers, and thought leaders increases your credibility and trust in your information.

Helps to prevent and react to crises

You’ll advise your clients on protection policies to secure themselves and their families for the future; risk management is protection for your business.

As they say, “The best form of defence is offence”. In other words, act before the point at which you absolutely have to.

Using PR, you can make the most of the exposure to overcome misconceptions and avoid crises further down the line, whether they are specific to your business or profession-wide.

Prompt response to matters concerning your stakeholders paints you as an informative and reliable expert who will keep those affected up to date and in a timely manner.

Build positive relationships with those you want to impress

PR can be used to respond to issues in real time. People listen to the news and want to know what’s going on and how it will affect them. Reactive communications keep your audience informed and help them to understand their options. Knowledge is power, and your reporting provides reassurance that you can help them navigate the challenges, which prevents impulse decision-making.

For example, back in April, when Trump imposed tariffs on countries across the globe, we encouraged many of the financial advice businesses we work with to publish accurate information to avoid panic and impulse decision-making from their clients.

This hopefully led to better financial outcomes for their clients in the long term, and also positioned them as an authority amid the negative headlines.

5 PR activities financial advisers should consider

Each of these activities serves to build a more rounded brand personality that people can relate to and have as a conversational point to engage with you.

Publicity

Publicity is a cornerstone of PR. It’s communicating newsworthy information in the media without paying for the time or space directly. Because it’s not paid advertisement, and it’s published by a third party, potential clients might deem it to be more credible than traditional advertising techniques.

Your awards are newsworthy! Achieving VouchedFor top-rated adviser or firm status provides great publicity, thanks to the annual guide being published in two national newspapers, reaching more than 2 million people. Parts of the guide are also published regionally to highlight local top-rated advisers.

Sponsorship

Sponsoring local activities or events that align with your business, even if not directly linked, allows you to express your values outside of financial advice and subtly show your business to a more varied audience. Sponsorship can be digital – think online seminars or financial audiobooks – or in person, such as at charity events or a local sports club.

Networking

Networking is a well-known technique to build a community and collaborating with other professionals – watch our webinar with Lea Turner for a deep dive on communities.

Financial advisers might partner with other like-minded professionals, such as planners and advisers supporting a different niche, or those in other professions, such as solicitors. Networking provides support from those who can relate to your experiences and provide fresh perspectives. Leveraging your relationships with your network can increase your reach through cross-referrals, build credibility, and give you supporting knowledge that helps you provide more holistic advice to your clients.

Public speaking

Public speaking is a great way to get your message out there and discuss what’s important to you. It’s an opportunity to elaborate and touch on more topics than you can in a written article before it becomes overwhelming or too long for your audience.

You can take advantage of speaking opportunities to answer questions, articulate your points, and have valuable two-way conversations on podcasts, as a guest speaker at an event, or even at your own special events.

Special events

Special events are distinct from regular activities and are designed to achieve specific communication or engagement objectives that strengthen trust and relationships. Attending or creating special events allows you to simultaneously entertain and inform.

For example, forming a partnership with charities conveys your values and advertises your services, driving mutual benefit. You can also host your own events – read my earlier blog about why events are game-changing to learn more.

Before going any further, let’s understand what PR actually is…