by Tony Vidler 
Digital marketing MUST be on every advisers radar by now, but which digital tactics are best for your practice remains a burning question for many it seems.
The answer to that depends on what you are trying to achieve from digital marketing of course, and as always, one should begin with the end in mind. The primary objective should determine the optimal tactics.
Humour me for a moment and imagine if we didn’t have Google, or any search engine for that matter. Imagine how difficult it would be to find anything particular on the internet if we had no search engine at all, and every search began with us just starting at some random point and then trawling through a mass of pages until we found something that might be useful. It would be like looking for a particular quote in a particular book in the worlds largest library after the vandals had been in and defaced all the covers and thrown the books into one big pile. It would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack.
Many advisers who struggle to figure out how and where to use digital marketing techniques, or tactics, in their business are experiencing exactly this feeling. They are searching randomly for a solution in a massive pile of disorganised possibilities and struggling to make sense of any of it. It is the same for advisers trying to work out which digital marketing tactics they should use. Instead of beginning with clear objectives, too many begin by trying to figure out the tactics. That is, they begin by looking at the realm of choices and then try to decide which one is the sexiest, or the easiest, or the most fun, or whatever lights their own fires, instead of figuring out who they are trying to reach and then what gets the prospects attention.
If we were searching for that elusive quote in that shambles of a library we’d begin by figuring out which book we were actually after and then start narrowing down the options by working our way into the pile.
It is the same with trying to work out what digital marketing tactics will work for any particular advice business. We must begin by focussing on the two main questions:
Are you trying to attract brand new prospects, or engage with existing customers?
Are you trying to create sales, or generate new fee income? Or is it about creating awareness of your brand and services?
These are the extremes of the possibilities…and you might be trying to achieve something which is a mix of brand-building and lead generation, so somewhere in between the extremes is an option. The real point of course is that there is a variety of digital marketing options that might be useful tactics, but the one (or number of options) which present the best likely return depend largely on what you you are trying to achieve. Some work better for lead generation, and others work better for brand awareness. Some are excellent engagement platforms for existing loyal customers, and some are excellent resources for those looking for an adviser.
Begin with the end in mind and it will become much easier to figure out which tactics are most likely to present good ROI.
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