Seven seconds—that’s how long you have to impress or fail with a first-time website visitor. They either like what they see and continue to scroll down, or they click out their browser.
Here’s an important question to consider in attracting (and retaining) visitors: Is your website a billboard or conversation?
Billboard
A billboard website discusses what you do, who you are, and is generally static content. There are few call-to-action items. From our experience, billboard-style websites haven’t been updated or revisited in a few years. They are simply static internet signs and, like physical billboards, most people drive right by.
Digital conversations
Then there are the digital conversation websites.
Your website is the first place that curious prospects visit when researching you. They want to learn about your retirement plan experience, they want to read your thought-leadership blog articles, and they want to know how you can help them improve their company’s retirement plan.
So, why not dazzle them?
To increase your company’s website traffic, here are some ideas:
- Register your business with search engines. This is important in order to be “found” on the Internet. Most search engines have a geo-targeting component, so if a CFO is looking for a “retirement plan advisor” or a “401k fiduciary advisor” in their area, the search engine will return your firm, contact information, and of course, it makes it easier for the CFO to find you.
- Email campaigns. Send regular emails. Include calls-to-action that point back to your website to download cool content (white paper, infographic, video). Ask the site visitor to complete a contact form (first name, last name, and email address), which is a double win for you. You just increased your site traffic and learned which contacts are consuming your retirement plan content.
- Publish a blog or vlog. Regularly contributing to a blog or vlog helps to drive more contacts to your website too. For example, if the CFO is searching “What is a Fiduciary File?” and you have a post about that then your website, your site will organically rise to the top of the search engine. That could lead the CFO to read your blog article – or watch your video log (vlog) to learn more. If your website has strong Call to Action language, the CFO might contact your firm to learn more about how they could hire you to organize their 401(k)’s fiduciary file and help them with their plan.
- Promote your firm through social media. Each time your firm creates content (e.g. blog, vlog, infographic, webinar, and/or seminar) post about it on social media. Then, ask the reader to visit your website with a call-to-action “to learn more, click here.” Each time the reader experiences your content, you provide steps that draws the person back to your website. This will help to increase website traffic.
- Setup a Retargeting Campaign. See article our article on the subject, “What is Retargeting?“
- Host a webinar presentation. Find a presentation that you like and then host a webinar. Email the invitation to your contact list, and share why your contacts should sign up. Then, include an easy sign-up button for them to register. This affirms your local reputation as a 401k thought-leader who is providing expert education to the plan sponsor community, as well as encouraging more site visits to your website to learn more about your firm. This helps to increase your firm’s authority reputation and increase your influence. The more times you share content that has to do with the 401(k) the easier it is for your contacts to connect you – the professional retirement plan advisor – with hiring you to advise their company’s 401(k) plan.
What’s the purpose of your website?
To develop your website from a billboard to a conversation, you will need to regularly update your website with current, timely, and relevant plan sponsor content. Yes, it takes work. However, it has a lasting benefit.
For clients, when they visit your website, they see information about your retirement plan advisory services and they continue to feel confident that they are with the right advisor.
For curious prospects, if they visit your site and read great articles with compelling calls to actions, they might contact you to learn more about your firm in order to you for their plan.
For centers of influence, they feel more confident in referring business to you. They like that you look good—and therefore they look good.
In order to get new and re-occurring traffic to your website, it needs to be fresh. Your content should be a conversation that engages, entertains, and educates your visitors. Then, your marketing efforts start to multiply so more and more plan sponsors learn about your retirement plan experience. They start to digitally seek you out and then they begin the digital conversation with your website.
All in all, a quality website is an investment in your business that can lead to new retirement plan clients.
About 401(k) Marketing
401(k) Marketing is a niche branding and marketing agency for the retirement plan industry. Our clients are the best professional retirement plan advisors, TPAs, recordkeepers, DCIOs, broker/dealers and RIAs in the business. They care deeply about saving America’s retirement future. We work with them to develop a marketing strategy and then to professionalize marketing collateral including websites, brochures, presentations and other plan sponsor-facing materials.
For on-going client awareness and pipeline development, we create turnkey marketing programs designed to educate plan sponsors, centers of influence, and the professional community with thought-leadership articles, social media, webinars, infographics, videos, and other modern marketing campaigns.
Ultimately, we professionalize, spotlight, and highlight our clients as the expert retirement plan teams. 401(k) Marketing is based in San Diego, CA. Check us out at www.401k-marketing.com.
Rebecca Hourihan is Chief Marketing Officer with San Diego-based 401(k) Marketing, a modern marketing agency for the retirement plan industry. The company supports clients through custom engagements, content marketing campaigns, sales material innovations, thought-leadership consulting, interactive workshops and speaking events. Its mission is to empower the retirement plan industry with high-quality marketing, ultimately inspiring Americans to become financially prepared for their future. Rebecca also hosts The 401(k) Marketing Podcast.
