In the financial services industry, nothing is more important than creating trust with your clients. And thought leadership is the perfect way to get people to put their faith in your firm.
Thought leadership is illustrating that you are an expert in your field. It’s proving to your audience that you possess a passion for and a deep understanding of your industry.
And that expertise demonstrates to potential customers why you’re able to offer a better solution than your competitors.
If you’d like to leverage thought leadership to elevate your financial services firm, here are some of our favorite best practices.
Do You Want to Be a Thought Leader? Try These 5 Things!
Create Pillar Content
If you want your blog to hold your audience’s interest, it’s important to regularly push out valuable content. But some days, that’s easier said than done.
Enter pillar content.
Pillar content serves as the foundation for your blog. Each piece of pillar content is a main topic that provides a brief overview of subtopics. Those subtopics can then be expanded on in their own posts, which more often than not breed sub-subtopics.
Before you know it, one idea has sparked dozens of different blog posts. And you’ve proven that you know your industry backward, forward and upside down.
Look to the Future
A good leader doesn’t just understand where they are now; they look ahead to where they’ll be later. To be a leading authority, you need to keep one eye on the future.
What trends do you see emerging that you can capitalize on? Where do you think your industry will be a year (or five) from now? What are you doing today to mitigate problems that could happen tomorrow?
Showing your clients that you’re thinking and acting with the big picture in mind demonstrates your ability to innovate and anticipate their needs now and in the future.
Learn From Others
No one becomes a thought leader overnight. They get there by showing up; growing a following; providing unique, quality content; and even learning from others in their field.
Identify other thought leaders in your industry. Subscribe to their blogs, follow them on social media and attend their speaking engagements. Network directly with them if at all possible.
When you know what existing thought leaders are doing, the path to becoming one yourself gets clearer.
Find Your Niche
Do you specialize in finding lending solutions for customers who have filed for bankruptcy in the past two years? Creating financial management strategies for lottery winners? Providing affordable car insurance for people with troubled driving records?
Capitalize on it!
By finding (and defining) one specific niche to focus on, you’re more likely to position yourself as an expert because there’s far less competition.
Educate, Educate, Educate
One of the best ways to prove that you know something is to teach it to someone else. By educating your consumers, you’re not only providing them with a valuable service, but you’re also (subtly) talking yourself up.
Whether you’re hosting a live event, providing a learning portal or simply sharing original how-to videos or blog posts, education is one of the biggest keys to becoming a thought leader.
Are You Ready to Go to the Head of the Class?
Finance isn’t something that many people take lightly. They want to know that they’re doing business with the best of the best. Thought leadership positions your brand as a leading authority and instills a world of trust in your clients!
Could your financial services firm use a proven marketing agency on your side? Mischa Communications is only a click away. How can we help?