A website is not enough

Building a website that reflects your values and promotes your services is a great first step to communicating with your clients. Next up: a content communication plan.

Communicating with your clients

It is, of course, very important to tailor your website in a way that speaks to your target audiences. Everything from the design and content to images and menus play a key role in showcasing your brand and the services you offer.

One way to ensure you are speaking to the maximum number of clients is to create distinct sections of the website that target specific groups. Making it easy for clients to feel like they are the target of your website helps build brand loyalty and build your client base.

Even more important, though, is how you speak directly to your audiences. A website should only be one part of your messaging with existing and potential clients. Going beyond the website involves creating a holistic content communication plan.

Regular contact

Are you communicating with your existing clients on a regular basis? If not, it is possible that other IFA firms might be contacting your clients more than you are!

In most cases, if you are only contacting your clients for an annual review, you are not being present enough in their lives. Good communication involves understanding when and how to contact your clients.

That’s where having a content communication plan based on regular content that is relevant and interesting is crucial. Sending timely and appropriate information through targeted emails and other content including video can add value for your clients and reaffirm your position as their trusted IFA.

What does a good content communication plan look like?

The type of content you should be sending will vary depending on your firm’s key areas of focus and your clients’ own interests. The ideal content communication plan does not exist because it will be different for every firm.

That said, with TOMD as your preferred marketing partner, you will have access to plentiful ready-to-use content on a wide range of financial topics. You can then supplement this with bespoke content tailored to your specific aims and focus.

Why you should segment your database

One of the most important considerations when devising your content communication plan is to ensure that the right information is going to the right clients.

Segmenting your database means dividing your client list into groups based on specific traits. This can include personal characteristics, financial situation and other factors like geographical location.

Doing so can ensure that clients only receive information that is relevant to them. Of course, clients can belong to more than one segment!

Sending clients an email that is entirely irrelevant to their circumstances can cause more harm than good. For a start, it can give the impression that you do not understand – or even cater to – their needs. This might lead clients to reconsider whether you are the best firm for them.

For example, through database segmentation, you can avoid sending your clients who are already retired emails about retirement planning.

Newsletters to keep your clients up to date

A great option to keep in touch with your clients is to compile a newsletter based on the content your clients want to see.

It doesn’t matter if you send this once a month or more sporadically throughout the year when it is needed: the important thing is to establish and maintain a regular presence in your clients’ inbox. Besides, the content will determine how often you send updates: some news you will need to tell your clients immediately and others can wait a few weeks or even months.

Generally, your communication will offer some updates that are relevant to your clients, along with snippets of articles that they can click through to read in full on the website. These articles could be on several different topics or targeted towards one specific topic (see more about campaigns below) and they can be short or long depending on the amount of relevant content you want to share.

Newsletters are a powerful tool because you will be able to track the stats to see which articles your clients have read. Knowing this will allow you to provide even more tailored content in future.

Building your content communication plan involves integrating the various strands of your communication strategy. For example, you can also use social media posts to advertise your newsletter and direct clients towards articles on your website.

Consider building a campaign

Campaigns allow you to go into more depth on a single topic.

This might be at a specific time in the year, linked to a key event in the calendar such as End of Tax Year planning, the Spring Budget or Autumn Statement. Or it could be about an area that is a particular strategic focus for you like mortgages, pensions or inheritance tax.

Either way, a campaign will typically last a couple of months and can involve a mix of ready-to-use and bespoke content. This can include videos, guides and social media posts in addition to written content to help you build a well-rounded and accessible campaign.

Other considerations for creating a campaign include adding an email signature and eye-catching graphics to help bring the campaign to life, as well as setting up a landing page to direct clients to the right place.

Think beyond the website

You have worked hard to secure your clients’ loyalty; a content communication plan can help ensure you don’t lose them. Of course, targeted campaigns can be extended to potential clients and introducers. But to keep your existing clients, simply having a website (however good it is!) is not enough: you need to actively drive people towards it.

At TOMD, we can provide all the content you need to communicate with your clients. We offer ready-to-use and bespoke content, as well as videos, guides and social media posts. We can track your campaign and help tailor your messaging for maximum effectiveness.

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What we do

Content Distribution