In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG Suite, and Matt Nollman, VP of Marketing at LifeYield. The two share their expertise on all things digital communication.

Six years ago, Samantha’s husband stumbled upon a problem with seemingly no solution. Every advisor at a firm had an identical web presence. So he created Twenty Over Ten, an easy-to-use website platform for financial advisors. Sam hopped on board to lead sales and marketing and when Twenty Over Ten sold to FMG Suite, Sam shifted to Chief Evangelist, or, as she likes to think of it, Chief Educator.

Matt began his career in tech startups before joining LifeYield and working to expand the company’s digital reach and online presence. Matt also aligned LifeYield’s marketing and sales with its strongest revenue stream and spearheaded LifeYield’s shift into enterprise. Both Samantha and Matt understand the importance of reaching people through effective communication and taking digital risks.

Samantha, Matt, and Jack discuss why advisors should become educators, why marketing can no longer be an afterthought, and the most impactful (and surprising) marketing strategy for firms, advisors, and beyond.

"Digital marketing no longer should be a line item that kind of gets whatever is leftover in your budget. If you want to grow and grow intentionally and find the clients that will be the best fit for your business, you need to put your money where your mouth is. We see a lot of financial advisory firms, the average is spending 1 to 2 percent of revenue per year on their marketing budget. But the growth firms, the firms that are actually adding new clients more than they’re losing them, they’re spending about 5 to 10 percent.” ~ Samantha Russell

Main takeaways

Hiring a great copywriter is one of the best ways to improve your business’s communication. In a world where everyone is always inundated with information, engaging people through text is invaluable.
When it comes to digital channels and strategies, your firm doesn’t need to be everywhere at once, especially if your marketing team is small and lean. Figure out a scalable way to communicate that works for your business. If you have multiple channels, make sure those channels work together to tell one cohesive story with complimentary messaging.
Digital referrals are invaluable. If you don’t have a strong web presence, you’re out of the race for a client’s attention before the race even begins.
Even if you can’t measure its success right away, explore new audiences and new channels. It may lead to insights and value that can’t be quantified.

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