Fastest Growing Advisors Bullish on Thought Leadership

As discussed in my last post, social media is fine for advisors. But, research from The Financial Awareness Foundation’s (TFAF’s) Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ confirms that financial advisors find significantly more value in thought leadership tactics that showcase their ability to speak, present, write and charm the press.

The findings are even more striking when looking at the projected financial performance of responding advisors. Firms that expected to finish 2018 with double-digit growth were 1.5 times more likely than less optimistic firms to consider Public Speaking, Publishing Articles and Media Coverage “very” or “extremely” useful (see chart above). 

Unlike firms expecting modest or flat growth in 2018, firms projecting double-digit growth this year were also more likely to find high value in blogging, authoring books and e-books, publishing on LinkedIn, holding client events and producing videos.

TFAF’s annual survey of financial advisor concerns and challenges, conducted in association with HB Publishing & Marketing Company, LLC. asked respondents to rate nearly two-dozen thought leadership tactics. Those in the table above were the ones most frequently cited by advisors as being “very” or “extremely” valuable. In my next post we’ll see how webinars, Facebook, Tweeting, Instagram and other social channels fared—particularly among advisors who were expecting double digit growth in 2018.

Conclusion

We may live in an instant gratification society, but when it comes to resonating with clients, prospects and influencers, research shows you’ll have to hit the neural gym and do some mental heavy lifting. There are no shortcuts, but it doesn’t have to be drudgery. We’re happy to talk to you any time if you’d like some suggested workouts for maximizing your thought leadership gains when you have limited time. You might even find those exercises fun.

There’s much more to this survey.  Check out some of the other highlights here.