Jorge's Thoughts: Innovate Your Marketing with Direct Mail

Of all the marketing vehicles, direct mail marketing gives you the most opportunities to specifically target your ideal prospect, to be innovative and to be more personal. 

From new technology in printing to the delivery of fresh ideas in messaging to the ability of addressing your prospects in a creative and personalized manner, direct mail allows you to drive response and drive engagement with your most ideal audience in a way that can powerfully impact your business.  

Here's how:  

1. Personalization:  Personalized mail stands out and gets attention. For your target audience to receive a direct mail piece from you shows that you have taken the time to deliver a customized message based on their potential needs. 

Additionally, 73% of American consumers said they prefer direct mail and 62% said they enjoy checking their mailbox. Give your target audience not only something to look forward to but also something that is personalized and will help you develop an initial impression.  

2. Packaging:  Direct mail response rates are higher than all digital media. Before your prospects respond to your direct mail, they first have to open it. You've got a small window of time to make that happen: 5-7 seconds. Make sure you stand out in the mailbox with creative packaging. 

Maximize response by using the latest print and imaging innovations to create the best looking and highest impact invitation in the mailbox. Take advantage of live stamping, handwritten fonts, full color graphics, odd size envelopes and other techniques that will help you avoid that dreaded look of junk mail. 

Pro tip: Postcards are for coupons and local general advertisers. All important and personal mail comes in envelopes; just ask Hallmark! 


3. Digital components:  Digital vehicles on their own may not generate enough response to keep you interested. You are targeting that guarded 50+ age group who still like traditional media, so you will need to reach with a mix of personalized direct mail, TV , radio, social media and internet ads. That approach will cover more ground, expand your message and give you more reach - what we call “critical mass” in the marketing world. It’s a combination of all or some of these that gives you maximized exposure, more opportunities to generate a higher response and stand above your competitors.

I've created a series of podcasts on this and other marketing tips to help you reach your target audiences. If you have suggestions for topics you'd like for me to cover via this type of content (or any type of content), tweet me at @JorgeVillarRME! 

By: Jorge Villar, President and Founder 

#howdoyouinnovate

3 Tips to Develop Connections through Digital Marketing

Earlier this week, our founder and president Jorge Villar shared his thoughts on the value in adding digital marketing to your prospecting strategy, specifically in the boomer market. He noted that it is just as important for advisors to understand how boomers respond to today's digital marketing as it is to understand their various - and diverse - financial concerns. 

As you begin to connect with your target audience more effectively through digital means, here are some tips to follow up with Jorge's:

Use data. 

The growing volume and range of information that come with data will help you make critical decisions about how to improve client engagement with social and web content, how to increase website and landing page visits, how to convert more sales and how you measure up with your competition. (Hint: Monitoring your competitors on social media can provide you with data on how their content resonates with clients and prospects.) 



Know your audience.  

Clearly identify the audience you want to serve. The needs, problems, challenges and goals as well as how that audience uses digital avenues will shape your messaging. Having just one marketing message and hoping everyone hears it doesn’t work, but diversifying your messaging and how it is delivered according your audience will allow you more opportunity to earn a greater ROI.



Personalize your marketing. 

Communication across all digital avenues should be personalized and relevant to your target audience. You are competing for people’s time; yours is one of hundreds of messages that are being delivered every single day all day long via social media, websites, emails, landing pages, display ads, etc. Clients are likely to pay attention only to those that create impact and establish a personal connection.









              Which digital avenue has had the greatest impact on your brand?

Tell us below or tweet us:

@RME360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Jorge's Thoughts: Add Digital Marketing to Your Prospecting Efforts

77 million. 

That's how many baby boomers reside in the United States today, a powerful generation that makes up a significant part of financial advisors' target audiences. 

While it is easy to lump boomers into one large category, it is crucial for today's advisors to realize that boomers have diverse concerns and needs and respond differently to various types of marketing. Just as crucial? For advisors to understand how boomers respond to today's digital marketing strategies.

1. Select the appropriate social media channels. 

Not every social channel will be an effective avenue to market your brand to boomers. Consider the needs and concerns of the boomer audience that you want to target as well as how the sector(s) of your targeted audience use social channels. For instance, 70% of online boomers actively use their Facebook accounts, but only 39% of them actively use their Google+ accounts. 

2. Use visual content. 

There is no doubt that visual content grabs attention, but what does that mean for your digital marketing? By creating and distributing pictures and videos, your content will more than likely earn more interactions and drive more engagement, which can earn you more leads and more referrals. For instance, visual content on Pinterest generates more referral traffic for businesses than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined, and consumers who watch videos about a product are 85% more likely to make a purchase. 

3. Provide an omnichannel experience. 

Social media channels and other digital marketing avenues can be effective ways to begin conversations with future clients, but an omnichannel experience can help you seal the deal. 41% of those aged 55 and over who are online prefer to talk to someone on the phone before making a purchase. Include your phone number - as well as other contact information such as as email address and social media links - on your digital marketing materials. Each point of contact should be able to provide prompt and clear answers about your target audience's needs and concerns. 

Adding digital marketing to your prospecting efforts should be a critical part of your overall marketing strategy. I've created a series of podcasts on this and other marketing tips to help you reach your target audiences. If you have suggestions for topics you'd like for me to cover via this type of content (or any type of content), tweet me at @JorgeVillarRME! 

By: Jorge Villar, President and Founder 

#finservdigital 

Happy Senior Citizens Day: Why Seniors Attend Social Dinner Events

As we salute seniors today for Senior Citizens Day, let's take a look at how financial advisors can help them enjoy their worry-free golden years with 

financial freedom. 

Social dinner events provide seniors - a crucial part of your target audience - with a level of comfort to talk to you about their financial goals and concerns. 

Hear Jorge Villar, our founder and president, share his insight on why seniors respond to this important strategy in your marketing toolkit. 

For more on seminar marketing and much more, 

listen to Jorge's podcasts here. 

Want to hear about a specific marketing topic from Jorge? Tweet him! 

@JorgeVillarRME

Jorge's Thoughts: Content is Critical to Advisors' Marketing Strategies

"Content marketing entails understanding exactly what your clients need to know in order to supply them with the most useful resources without seemingly wanting to sell them something." 

-Attach Media

As advisors, creating and distributing content can not only help to inform your target audience about their financial concerns but it can also help you build a strong reputation as a trusted expert. And if your target audience includes boomers - which it most likely does - you're in luck; boomers spend more time consuming content that any other generation. 

So what types of content should you create? Think about what you find compelling, what prompts you to stop scrolling online and read further. 

Infographics: Brafton notes that this type of content is critical for the financial services industry to consider, as it focuses on "delivering valuable information to online audiences that love real-time information and interesting visuals." (See Attach Media's example above.) 

Videos: The Weidert Group notes that "the average person can retain 95% of video after 72 hours." 

Social media: CNBC notes that "an effective social media strategy can single-handedly create a following of thousands—and a flow of prospective clients—in just a short period of time." 

Podcasts: Business 2 Community notes that "while podcasts have been around for about a decade, there’s been a surge in listenership in the last couple years that’s getting a lot of attention from business owners, celebrities, advertisers, and consumers alike." 

I've created a series of podcasts on seminar marketing and how to reach your prospects. If you have suggestions for topics you'd like for me to cover via this type of content (or any type of content), tweet me at @JorgeVillarRME! 

By: Jorge Villar, President and Founder 

#finservcontent

Affluent Investors Use Social Media; You Should, Too!

Affluent investors are using social media to research financial decisions and to research how you can help them achieve their financial goals. 

Are your social media accounts up to par? If you're posting consistent content that addresses trending topics of interest to your target audience, you're on the right path. Check out this look at 3 crucial platforms to help you foster relationships with prospects and with clients!

LinkedIn:  

This platform is considered a gold star standard when it comes to professional networking. 

Identify companies you’d like to meet with and join LinkedIn groups to which their employees and decision makers belong. Develop a complete LinkedIn profile to make a powerful first digital impression, including a professional photograph and industry-focused keywords and skills. 



Twitter: 

Use this platform to quickly interact with your target audience and to contribute meaningful information to industry-focused dialogue. 

From offering updates on your company’s new products to using industry-relevant hashtags to engage in real-time dialogue, Twitter provides you with a digital opportunity to give your business a more human feel. 




Facebook: 

This platform provides you with a digital space to post videos and videos, yet another way to promote a more human feel to your business. 

You can also take advantage of posting offers as a way to distribute promotions and by promoting specific posts to a more targeted audience. By building an audience through posting such valuable information, you can easily facilitate digital introductions through multiple connections. 

Remember: 

• Monitor and respond to comments on your social media accounts. 
• Engage with others; don’t expect others to engage with you if you are not willing to do the same. 
• When followers comment, thank, answer and/or address them. 
• Don’t delete negative postings. Instead, address them immediately and deflect them with a response such as “I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Please call me so we can resolve this issue.” 

Which platform has had the greatest impact on your business? 

Tell us below or tweet us:

@RME360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

3 Tips for Creating Targeted Video Content

“You might make a video with 89 views. But one of those viewers could be a producer at CNN. Undervaluing just that one view is a huge mistake.”

-Gary Vaynerchuck, C

EO of Vaynermedia and host of Ask Gary Vee

We all want to produce video content that earns a million hits, right? But if your videos don't go viral, are they less valuable, entertaining or informative? Absolutely not! 

They're likely more targeted. 

Video content is undoubtedly the most powerful medium in your marketing toolbox. When done effectively, it prompts interaction, it puts a personality with a name, it adds a layer of dimension to your content marketing and it's likely more interesting and more compelling than written content. While the financial services industry is heavily regulated, there is most certainly flexibility in how advisors can - and should! - use video content to market to targeted audiences. 

Consider these stats: 

• 64% of marketers expect that video content will dominate their overall marketing strategy. 
• 78% said video is the most leveraged medium of content. 
• 57% of financial brands want to increase their marketing investment in video. 
• 57% of consumer internet traffic will be from video content by the end of 2015.

So what should you show in your videos? What should your focus be? What content should you present? Here are some ideas to help you get started: 

1. Create a vlog to tell a story. 

A vlog - or a video blog - is a cost-effective, effortless way to share who you are, to establish a personal connection and to build your reputation as a trusted local expert. Show your audience what matters to your brand, how you became an expert in your industry or how you've helped past clients. 

2. Use behind the scenes footage to show how your brand operates. 

You have a team who collaborates with you, puts in long hours with you and helps you provide excellent service to your target audience. Use video content to show that to your prospects and clients. Don't give away your secret sauce, but do give your audience a sneak peek into your culture and what makes it, your products and your services unique. Think of this content as the bonus footage on a DVD. 

3. Create a themed series to share knowledge. 

Share advice on topics that your target audience is concerned with. Present information in a concise, easy to follow and entertaining manner. Show your audience how your advice on these topics has helped clients by including testimonials from them or sharing their stories. 

For instance, our The Marketing Minute series focused on providing quick marketing tips to financial services professionals. Here's an example: 

What would you add to this list? Tell us below or tweet us!

@RME360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360