Content Marketing By Generation: A Guide For Financial Advisors

Now more than ever, people are turning online to find what they need. Some of them are going to be embracing digital for the first time. Here's how you should tailor your content to each generation:

Your clients and prospects are not a “one size fits all” by any means, so the way that you market to them shouldn’t be either. When creating content to attract potential clients, it’s important that you cater your content to best fit the niche that you serve.

The advisors that we work with cater to a wide variet of clients, including High Net Worth/Ultra Net Worth Individuals, Baby Boomers, Pre-Retirees and Retirees, Generation X and Millennials. These obviously are all very different niches, so when creating content to speak to each audience, it will be quite different. So, how should you tailor the content for each group accordingly?

Creating Content for Each Niche

The guide below shows the types of content that will help advisors to better speak to each niche they serve.

Millennials

By 2020, Millennials are predicted to comprise half of the American workforce, and by 2025, 75 percent of the global workforce. With that being said, it’s important to create content that really draws them in! When it comes to millennials, they are more tech-savvy and fast-moving, so it’s important to shape your website and content, as such. When it comes to content creation, it’s pertinent that you:

1. Make Sure your Website is Mobile-Friendly

Over 25% of millennials use a mobile phone as their primary source for content, so you need to ensure that your site and content are optimized to fit that. Smartphones have become the single most important source of information for millennials, so if your website loads slowly or isn’t optimized for mobile, then more than likely, they will find a competitor’s site that is.

2. Ensure your Content is Accurate

Millennials want to get the facts and ensure that they are accurate, especially in this data-driven world. They visit your site in order to find information, and if they can’t find what they are looking for, then they will find a competitor that does. Because of this, it’s important that you are constantly updating your content with useful and correct information.

3. Share your content on Social Media

90.4% of millennials are on social media, so it’s so important you are creating content that you then share on social platforms. Not only should you share your blog posts, but sharing third-party content is a great way to connect with other like-minded individuals, which in turn, makes them more likely to form a relationship and share your content in the future.

4. Use Graphics and Strong Images

59% of millennials said that their favorites sites use really strong graphics. When you are creating blog content, use graphics and images where it’s relatable. Additionally, when you share your content on your social platforms, use an eye-catching image to draw in your audience. Canva is a free tool that we use at Twenty Over Ten that can create beautiful graphics and images.

5. Don’t Send them Branded Emails

Generally speaking, this audience is not interested in receiving branded emails, however, 56% of them do want content in the form of video with an increase in this in the future.

Twenty Over Ten client, Riverbend Wealth Management, uses strong graphics and visuals in their video to really stand out and draw in the eye of their readers.

6. Do Create Unique and Compelling Videos

As mentioned above, 56% of millennials prefer to receive their content in the form of video and that number is only increasing.

Generation X

Many times, this generation has less disposable income than their parents due to growing up during a recession, and they are accustomed to hard work. For this, they are often more skeptical than the older and younger audiences, however, they are open to adopting more technology and learning how to use it. When creating your content messaging around them, find your way around this skepticism and create content that is authentic and consistent.

This age group is generally in or approaching their peak earning years and many times is saving for their children’s college education while also growing their nest egg. When working to target this group, create blog posts about these types of topics, such as 529s for their child’s education or saving for college would be something that can really draw them in and offer useful advice.

1. Create Digestible Information in Video Form

Around 50% of clients aged 35-54 like to receive information in video form with infographics and important information.

Twenty Over Ten client and Lead Pilot user, MLS Financial Planning incorporates infographics in video within their blog posts. It’s a great way to add more content and information in a quick and easily digestible way in addition to the already useful blog content.

2. Utilize Social Media

88.6% of Gen Xers use Facebook as their main social media platform. So, as an advisor make sure you are utilizing this! Share relevant content on your Facebook page with the type of blogs and information that will draw them in.

3. Send Email and Newsletters

As I will mention below, Gen X clients prefer to receive their information in emails and newsletters, so really catering your email marketing campaign to focus on this would be very beneficial to your business for both nurturing leads and continuing to provide relevant content and keeping your current clients “in the know.”

Baby Boomers/Retirees

Even though this group grew up without technology and the internet as we know it, they are definitely open to embracing it and learning more about it. In fact, 64% of people aged 50-64 have at least one social media platform with Medium, Facebook being the most popular platform for boomers.

This age group is generally close to retiring or they are already retired, so make sure you are catering your pieces that answer relevant questions to this life phase. If millennials want a quick read that is easy to scan, then baby boomers value in-depth news pieces and analysis with a lot of concrete information.

1. Create Strong Email and Newsletters

Much like the Gen X audience, baby boomers and retirees want to receive their content in the form of emails, so ensure you are catering to this.

Twenty Over Ten client, Hartford Retirement Planners cater to this age group and some of their blogs include topics, such as:

• 3 Ways Grandparents Can Help Pay for College
• 7 Retirement Hobbies That Make You Money
• New Fiduciary Role: What Happens When the Retirement Honeymoon is Over?

It’s important to keep this in mind when creating content for this age group. As an advisor, ask yourself what are the types of questions that are going to be keeping baby boomers up the most at night? When they go online to find their answers, creating these useful blog posts will really draw them in, showing that you are a thought leader for this particular niche. Also, use informative and relevant headlines that tell them exactly what they will be learning about in the blog rather than “clickbait” headlines.

High Net Worth/Ultra High Net Worth

You probably think of high net worth individuals as wealthy older people who have been working and saving their entire lives, or someone who inherited a very large estate or sum of money. However, in reality, 48 percent of high-net-worth individuals are under 40, according to the 2019 Capgemini World Wealth Report, so it is essential wealth managers understand how to market to these potential clients — who come from a more diverse range of countries and cultural backgrounds than ever before. One size cannot fit all.

However, this group represents less than 1 percent of the world’s population, so how do you create relatable content and marketing material for them? A recent report by professional services firm PwC found that 98% of HNWIs access the internet daily, with affluent consumers spending up to three hours of their personal time online every day. This is a large chunk of time, so if you can master your digital marketing efforts, your hard work will be worth it.

Generally speaking, this niche really takes on and adopts the up and coming products, and this includes digitally-delivered services and tech tools, so if you offer tools in your tech stack that will only make their lives easier than be sure to market those tools and master your digital marketing delivery.

1. Cater your Content

When it comes to creating content that draws in an HNW/UHWN client, ensure that it piques their interests. They are used to living a more lavish lifestyle, so if you are blogging, include content that will provide them with new and exciting ways to spend their money, with titles such as:

1. Top 10 Golf Courses for the Golfer in your Life
2. Wine Connoisseur? These 5 Vineyards Are Must Visits
3. Top 5 Cruise Lines Guaranteed to Feed your Wanderlust

Clients in this group have the money to take amazing vacations, so creating lifestyle content such as the titles above will draw in an audience if they are looking for something fun to do.

2. Engage in Social Media

99% of HWNIs are visiting social media platforms and spending close to 90 minutes per day on them, so that’s a huge sign that you need to be getting out there on social. Narrow down location, find out where they are and target a particular area while also ensuring that they are interested in the content that you are putting out there. What is this particular niche into? What are they buying? What services should we be advertising? Try and segment your audiences into personas and create content that identifies best with each group.

3. Send Email and Newsletters

68% of people that are 55 and older want to receive their content in the form of emails and newsletters.

4. Utilize Tailored Landing Pages

Key strategies that you adopt depend on the ultimate goal of portraying your brand to cater to your clients, however, creating customized landing pages for your niche. Landing pages are a great tool to increase lead generation because they allow you to create individualized messages for different, targeted niches.

You want your landing page to look coherent and comply with your brand, so keep it simple and clean with the use of Lead Pilot’s landing page.

Lead Pilot lets you easily display your BrokerCheck as well:

Adding a sidebar with your personal headshot, credentials, contact information, etc.

Add a Subscriber Form:

You can tailor your landing pages very easily, so this is a great way to be ultra-specific for your High Net Worth individuals.

What’s Your Niche?

Whatever audience you serve, it’s important that you provide them with clear content and answers that are going to make their financial planning journey a great one. Create content and marketing materials that will teach them something and help them create a strong path. Wherever they are in their journey, ensure that you are not only providing great advice when meeting with them but on your website, as well.