Strategies to Improve Your Marketing for Estate Planning Services

With the Great Wealth Transfer set to move $124 trillion in assets through 2048, ¹ demand for estate planning services is likely to increase as investors and families seek advice on how to protect assets. If you offer estate planning services or plan to develop a new service offering in that area, a proper marketing plan is essential. Targeted marketing efforts like content creation, social media engagement and paid digital advertising can help you attract new leads and potentially generate new assets from existing clients.

Are you looking to expand the marketing of your financial advisor practice? Try SmartAsset AMP, a holistic client prospecting and marketing automation platform.

Estate Planning Marketing Tactics for Advisors

Marketing estate planning services requires an understanding of the pain points prospective clients face. If you’ve done your homework on your niche and developed one or more buyer personas, you’ve already set the foundation for a solid marketing plan. Here are some of the most effective strategies for marketing yourself as an estate planning expert.

1. Refine Your Message

Before you begin marketing estate planning services, consider what message you want to send to prospective clients. Again, this goes back to understanding who your ideal clients are and what problems they need you to help them solve, as it relates to their estate planning needs.

The estate planning needs of an ultra-high-net-worth individual may be very different from those of an investor who has under $500,000 in total assets. Accordingly, the way you frame your marketing messages should reflect where your target audience is currently and where they want to go with their estate plan.

Start with common touchpoints. For example, peace of mind and reassurance are things any client might be looking for, regardless of their net worth. Build your messaging around those concepts, incorporating wording that speaks to the exact pain points your clients face. Use examples that are relatable and weave in storyselling if you have a relevant experience to share.

2. Build a Search-Friendly Website

The digital age has ushered in a new era for professional services, and for estate planning firms, search engine optimization (SEO) is not just a buzzword but a foundational component of their marketing strategy. SEO encompasses a spectrum of techniques aimed at boosting a website’s visibility on search engines like Google.

To understand why SEO is especially pertinent in the legal field, consider how prospective clients seek estate planning advice. Some may ask friends and family for referrals, but others may look to the internet for help. They open up their preferred browser and type in terms like “estate planning expert near me” or “estate planning advisor + {zip code}”.

In SEO terms, these are local searches, and you want your website to be the first result that turns up. Why? Because 98% of clicks to websites involve the top 10 search results, with the number one result getting the most clicks overall. ² More clicks means more traffic to your site and more opportunities to convert prospects to clients.

Here are four common ways to optimize your website for SEO and potentially boost your firm’s reach.

3. Develop Your Google Business Profile

Creating a Google Business Profile is a straightforward way to increase visibility and attract local clients searching for estate planning services. A complete and accurate profile ensures potential clients can easily find your business and learn about your offerings. Include essential details such as your business name, address, phone number, website link and hours of operation.

Optimize your profile by selecting relevant categories like “Estate Planning Attorney” or “Financial Planning Services.” Add high-quality photos of your office, team, or events to make your profile more appealing. Use the description section to highlight your expertise in estate planning, focusing on services like will drafting, trust creation and tax minimization strategies.

Customer reviews enhance your credibility while also helping to elevate your position in local search rankings. Respond promptly to reviews, both positive and negative, to show you value feedback.

Regularly update your profile with posts about upcoming seminars and workshops you’re hosting, new blog articles you’ve posted or changes in services. By keeping your profile active and engaging, you can increase trust and encourage more potential clients to reach out. A strong Google Business Profile complements other marketing efforts, helping establish your presence in the local market.

4. Automate Your Marketing

Financial advisors who incorporate estate planning into their services can benefit from automated marketing tools that help them stay in contact with potential clients. If you’re a financial advisor who offers estate planning in addition to portfolio management, consider automating your marketing and lead generation efforts with SmartAsset AMP.

This subscription provides fiduciary advisors with referrals to prospective clients, CRM integration, as well as live phone connections facilitated by a SmartAsset representative.

AMP also equips advisors with marketing tools designed to help them keep in touch with prospects who may need a longer sales process. For example, advisors can build custom nurture campaigns with emails and text messages that are automatically sent to leads. Meanwhile, the platform can also track every contact an advisor makes with prospects, updating their call list in real time.

5. Consider an Investment in Paid Search

Paid search can be one of the most effective digital marketing strategies. This form of advertising involves the placement of ads within the results of search engines, allowing advertisers to pay a fee only when their ad is clicked by a user.

The mechanics of paid search advertising are grounded in the pay-per-click (PPC) model, which hinges on the strategic bidding of keywords pertinent to an advertiser’s business. For example, estate planning firms may bid on terms such as “estate executor,” “trust administration” or “elder law attorney.”

When internet users search for these terms, the firms’ ads may appear prominently alongside organic search results. However, costs are only incurred when the ad is clicked, signifying a user’s interest. It’s important to understand the intricacies of keyword bidding and cost-per-click (CPC) strategies, as well as the ad auction system. This system is the process by which search engines determine the placement of ads, with several factors including bid amount and ad quality contributing to the final decision.

6. Share Your Knowledge

Offering free consultations or educational workshops can be a magnet for prospective clients and a robust foundation for building trust.

Why is personal trust so central in estate planning? It involves sensitive decisions about one’s legacy and assets, subjects that are inherently personal and require a high degree of confidence in the advisor. By offering potential clients the opportunity to experience the quality of service without financial commitment, firms can effectively demonstrate their commitment to client well-being and foster a sense of reliability.

When structuring free consultations, you may focus on striking a balance between showcasing expertise and respecting professional boundaries. Best practices suggest limiting these sessions to 30-60 minutes and focusing on a general overview of services rather than delving into the nuances of an individual’s personal financial situation. Three potential benefits of this free check-up approach can include:

• Establishing the professional’s knowledge and value
• Preventing the overextension of free labor
• Setting forth clear parameters for the prospective client

7. Leverage Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool for estate planning professionals looking to expand their reach and reinforce their brand. Estate planning firms seeking to maximize their social media impact must consider a structured approach to their online presence.

For example, LinkedIn can be a prime channel for sharing in-depth knowledge and becoming a thought leader in the estate planning industry. Meanwhile, estate planners can engage with their community on Facebook by promoting local events and educational sessions. Interactive features like Facebook Live can be used to answer questions and provide real-time interaction, potentially increasing client engagement.

Visual platforms like Instagram and educational channels such as YouTube can break down complex estate planning topics into more digestible content, making them more accessible to the layperson.

8. Encourage Client Testimonials

Recognizing the sensitivity and importance of managing one’s final affairs, potential clients are often in search of something or someone they can rely on. This is where client testimonials come into play, providing that reassurance by sharing relatable experiences from those who have previously navigated the complex path of estate planning.

On the digital front, a firm’s website should showcase testimonials, especially on service pages and high-traffic landing pages where information-seekers converge. Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can amplify these stories, targeting demographics who are contemplating their estate planning needs. However, it’s vital to present a breadth of client stories, which demonstrates the firm’s versatility in handling a wide spectrum of estate planning scenarios.

While the importance of authenticity cannot be overstated, it’s equally important to frame these testimonials within the bounds of professionalism and legality. This is where the SEC’s marketing rule comes into play. This rule outlines what is and is not acceptable when using client testimonials and/or third-party reviews for marketing purposes.

9. Create a Strong Referral Program

A well-designed referral program can significantly enhance your estate planning client base by leveraging word-of-mouth recommendations. Encourage satisfied clients to refer their friends, family or colleagues by offering meaningful incentives, like discounts on services, gift cards or other rewards. Make the program easy to understand and accessible, providing clear instructions on how clients can participate.

Track the success of your program using a simple system to monitor referred clients and reward participants promptly. A well-maintained referral program not only brings in new business but also strengthens relationships with existing clients by showing appreciation for their loyalty and support.

10. Consider Paid Leads

Lead generation services can provide you with a ready-made list of leads, including prospects who are interested in estate planning services. Using a lead gen service as an estate planning marketing tool has its pros and cons.

On the pro side, these services can offer a shortcut to connecting with future clients. SmartAsset AMP, for instance, fully vets every lead before it’s passed on to an advisor, ensuring you get quality information from an already-interested buyer.

Quality can also present a major con if you’re paying for leads that are outdated or incomplete. If you’re thinking of following this path to market your estate planning services, choose a platform that has a proven track record of delivering accurate, up-to-date leads. Schedule a free demo of SmartAsset AMP to learn more.

Bottom Line

Whether it’s optimizing a website for SEO, engaging potential clients with educational content or leveraging the precision of digital tools like Google Business Profile, estate planning firms can use a variety of digital strategies to attract and retain clients. While results may vary and are influenced by how these tools are employed, the potential for enhanced client acquisition and firm growth is evident, urging estate planning professionals to carefully consider and integrate these practices into their marketing plans.

Tips for Expanding Your Advisory Business

• Email campaigns can play an important role in the marketing strategy of a firm that’s looking to grow. Be sure your marketing emails offer an incentive for the recipient to “opt-in” and potentially work with you. That can mean sending free educational materials like an estate planning checklist or providing some kind of incentive designed to pique the lead’s curiosity.
• Marketing is just one of the many sides of the business that financial advisors have to manage, but there are tools to make to simplify and improve this process. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.

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