By John Stone

Next week, I will be presenting with Charles Schwab on national webinar for Registered Investment Advisors. The focus is on shaping digital strategies in support of the RIA Stands For You campaign.

Many of our financial advisor clients are late adopters of social media and digital marketing. Why? The advisory business is deeply 1:1, highly personal and guided by confidentiality and extensive regulation. Launching into a social media and digital marketing strategy is fraught with potential pitfalls and a mis-step can undermine the hard fought reputation that is the life blood of the advisor and the primary source of new business through referrals.

So how should an advisor tackle the digital marketing minefield?

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The Twitter Buzz was so great for #SchwabIMPACT and #RIAS4U during Schwab’s annual IMPACT conference this year, it reached Twitter’s trending list!!  The Keynot by EVP Bernard J. Clark, unveiling enhancements to “RIA Stands for You” campaign propelled the buzz.

Below are a selection of tweets as well as some highlights of a related webcast next week.

In next week’s webcast John Stone will be discussing five strategies for using the #RIAS4U campaign:
  • Website Hub – Use RIAS4U to enhance your website content and value
  • RIAS4U Branding – Gain from program’s “halo effect” by using the brand and content
  • 1:1 Targeting – Use new tools to filter and focus on 1:1 engagement using RIAS4U
  • Social Media – Expand your reach and influence with social media engagement
  • Campaigns – Combine RIAS4U elements into your custom campaigns.

 

RIA Stands for You: Tips to Get Started! – https://bit.ly/TVfXmU

Are RIA Firms Using CRM Effectively? – https://bit.ly/ToZZUj

Bernie Clark at Schwab Impact: RIAs’ Competitors ‘Want What You Have’ – https://bit.ly/RFcCrL

Check out our #RiAS4Y blog post and download our Revenue Performance Healthcheck – https://bit.ly/ZBnueC

Check out all of the news on the Schwab Talk blog – https://bit.ly/TnKCaa

Don’t forget to support your local small businesses on Small Business Saturday, November 24, 2012.  The annual event, founded by American Express, encourages shopping at local, independent small businesses on the day after Black Friday.

According to the inaugural Small Business Saturday Insights Survey, released November 8th by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and American Express, 46 percent of independent merchants plan to incorporate Small Business Saturday as part of their holiday strategy, and the majority (67 percent) of them say they will offer discounts on November 24th.

In order to get customers to “shop small,” the majority (67 percent) plan to offer special discounts on Small Business Saturday. In addition, 46 percent will offer coupons for future discounts; 25 percent will offer free gift wrapping; 23 percent will give away prizes or host contests; and 20 percent will give away free gifts with a purchase.

What do you say we get out there and support our local small businesses this weekend?

 

 

#RIAS4U

If you are attending this week’s at Schwab’s Impact, be sure to learn more about the RiA Stands For You Program.

Use Digital to Do What You Do Best!

The proliferation of web access anytime, on demand, using personal computers and smart mobile devices, is introducing new opportunities for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) to do what they do best – deepen and enhance relationships.

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By: John Nielsen

 

Although it is a tedious undertaking, it is important to integrate your Act-On Software account with your Salesforce account.  Having a seamless flow of information between databases prevents dated information from reaching your sales team; that is if you set it up correctly.

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Schwab is investing millions of dollars in the RIA Stands for You online campaign.  It is an opportunity for clients of Schwab Advisor Services to put the marketing muscle of Schwab to work for their own firms.

By focusing the campaign online, Schwab is validating the power and growing importance of digital and social media channels and marketing programs to attract new clients and referrals. The beauty of the web: it is measurable and trackable.

One of the major challenges of attracting the attention of prospects online is fresh content.  And Schwab is providing a great deal of this (educational documents, logo, videos and more), for RIAs to customize and integrate to enhance their own online marketing efforts.  Plus there is a dedicated website and a social media presence.

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