Referrals Are Dying: What Advisors Need to Do to Keep Up

The way clients find financial advisors is changing—fast. Nearly 80% of younger clients no longer rely on referrals to choose an advisor, according to a Ficomm study.

It’s not just the young ones. Even those over 55 are increasingly making their decisions online. Only 29% of people within 5 years of retirement expect to pick their advisor through a referral.

So, how are people choosing advisors today? The answer is simple: content. Clients want to see your expertise, hear your perspective, and know that you can explain complex ideas in ways they understand. If you don’t have a strong digital presence, you’re being overlooked for someone who does.

Here’s how you can adapt and thrive in this new landscape.

Why Content is Critical to Attracting Clients

Clients judge advisors not just by their qualifications but by the value they bring online. According to Hubspot, half of buyers view 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a professional service provider. In a trust-based industry like finance, content is even more important.

Without consistent content, you’re invisible to potential clients. They’re searching online, finding other advisors who regularly post educational content, and choosing them over you.

The Challenge: How to Build a Digital Presence

When it comes to creating a digital presence, you have two main options:

1. Create a lot of content and hope people come to you: This often means writing long-form blogs for your website that demonstrate your deep expertise while hopefully improving your visibility on search engines.

2. Meet people where they are and show them value: This involves maintaining a consistent social media presence and sharing bite-sized, engaging content that demonstrates your expertise and builds trust directly in your prospective clients’ feeds.

Both approaches have merit, but success must be measured relative to time and effort.

Busy Advisors Must Get the Most Out of Their Time

The Uncertainty of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
While having more industry-relevant words on your website has the potential to improve your visibility in searches, the results are far from guaranteed. Getting noticed on search engines depends heavily on how well you optimize your content, connectivity to other parts of the web, and how competitive your keywords are. Even then, it can take months (or longer) to see meaningful results, if ever. Finance is a competitive field.

The Time Burden of Blogging
Writing long, custom blog posts can take hours of research and drafting. If your SEO strategy isn’t driving traffic, those hours are wasted on unread content. If SEO is driving traffic, there’s a diminishing return on the time spent writing new articles. Focus on perennial content.

The Better Way: Meet People Where They Are

If your SEO efforts aren’t delivering results, you’re left paying for ads to drive traffic to your site. This approach is not only expensive but also time-consuming, requiring constant monitoring and optimization. For many advisors, this isn’t a sustainable solution.

The best way to differentiate yourself is by showing up where your clients and prospects already spend their time—on social media. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook let you connect with your network directly, showcasing your expertise through short, digestible posts that add value.

Social media removes the most difficult part of attracting traffic: timing. Hiring a new advisor or making a major financial decision aren’t everyday concerns. Your ads only convert leads who are decision-ready.

By focusing on consistent, value-driven social content, you meet people where they are and make it easy for them to engage with your expertise. Give them a way to follow or subscribe to your insights, and you’ll have their attention until they’re ready to act.

Where to Focus Your Time for the Best Results

To make content work for you without taking over your life, you need to focus on strategies that offer the best return on your time. The return on time should be measured not only in new clients and inflows but also in the trust and engagement you’re able to build with clients and prospects.

Here’s where to start:

1. Prioritize Social Media That Connects

Platforms based on personal network connections, like LinkedIn and Facebook, can help you reach your target audience more easily. Think of them as the digital equivalent of bumping into someone at a networking event—it’s your chance to remind people that you’re an advisor they can trust.

• LinkedIn is for Advisors: It’s designed for professional, educational content, making it ideal for experts delivering advice. Plus, it allows for easy conversion with in-post links and features like a custom newsletter signup button.

2. Embrace Short-Form Content

Forget about writing long blog posts that may never get read. Instead, focus on short, digestible social media posts that deliver immediate value. These posts demonstrate your expertise and build trust without asking readers to click away or invest too much time. Consistent small bites build trust and engagement more easily.

3. Create a Simple Newsletter Funnel

A newsletter offers a lighter call to action than asking for a meeting or consultation. With consistently relevant updates—like news that affects your clients’ homes, savings, and careers—you can attract signups and nurture leads. By the time they need an advisor, you’ll already be their trusted resource.

How to Make It All Happen Without Burning Out

Building a strong digital presence sounds great, but let’s be honest: creating consistent, high-quality content takes time and energy most advisors don’t have. That’s where tools like Share Scoops Pro Content Suite come in.

We provide customizable social media and newsletter-ready financial news and education content that helps you stay visible without spending hours creating posts from scratch.

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Ready to adapt to the new way clients are choosing advisors? It starts with showing up consistently where your clients are looking: online.