The quality of your online content will increase as your anxiety about producing it decreases, says Richard Heft, communications director at Toronto-based Ext. Marketing Inc.
“Financial advisors didn’t get into this industry to become writers,” Heft says. “The communications part of their job may not be the most natural area of their business-building endeavours.”
One tool that can help ensure you’re always ready with original and informative content is an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar encourages you to plan your content far in advance so you will be more likely to maintain a routine of creating and posting fresh material.
Keep these four tips in mind as you plan your calendar:
1. Schedule your communications
How often are you going to contact your audience through newsletters, blogs, social-media postings and other channels?
Newsletters require the most content and design so, you may chose to publish these four times a year.
If you have a blog, you should be posting content at least once a week, says Andrew Broadhead, Ext. Marketing’s communications manager.
“Blogging is something people now expect,” Broadhead says. “It’s more of a frequent check-in.”
Your social-media updates don’t have to be scheduled as stringently. However, you should be updating in a manner that suits the individual sites.
> Twitter is the social-media outlet on which more frequent sharing is expected. You should be comfortable linking your professional content to this site as well as expressing the odd personal tidbit, such as a word about your favourite sports team or local restaurant.
> Facebook is next in line regarding frequency of updates. Like Twitter, Facebook generally combines the personal as well as the professional.
> LinkedIn can be updated less often because those posts should be business-related.
2. Determine your subject matter
Ask yourself these two questions:
> What do I know?
> What are my clients interested in?
The answers will inspire your content. Brainstorm a few categories so that your overall message remains consistent.
For example, if your client base consists of baby boomers, your categories may include intergenerational wealth transfer, retirement and charitable giving.
To keep your audience coming back for more, Heft suggests organizing your blogs into series.
3. Involve your team
When you’re writing weekly, or even more frequently, developing ideas can be a challenge. Team members can help you brainstorm topics, provide feedback and even write some of the content.
Says Broadhead: “It’s always surprising. The best writer isn’t who you think it’s going to be.”
Team members shouldn’t be “ghostwriting” content. Be sure to give credit to the writer. You are still responsible for approving anything that gets published, regardless of who wrote it.
Be sure your content is accurate, sounds professional and remains within compliance guidelines.
4. Be flexible
When major news breaks in the world of economics, geopolitics or financial regulation, Heft says, write about that topic and publish it quickly. Your response will show your clients that you are considering the way this development will affect them.
For example, if the stock market plummets dramatically overnight, don’t ignore that story in favour of your scheduled update on education planning.
Your clients need to know that you are on top of current events and are looking out for their best interests. This is how you can do some of your best work.