three real ways to enhance your marketing communication · 2018-04-04 · 1 three real ways to...

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Three Real Ways to Enhance Your Marketing Communication

Alan Gross, President, GSM

Alan Gross, President, CSM

Alan Gross is president of GSM Marketing, a marketing partner to TPAs,

recordkeepers, and other service providers in the retirement space since 2009. GSM

helps clients establish stronger brand identity, tell better stories and answer “Why Us”

on everything from their websites to expert content delivered through video,

whitepapers, webinars, and events.

Prior to starting GSM, Alan worked for 16 years with SunGard’s Relius and Omni

solutions for recordkeeping, administration, and government reporting. He led software

training groups and later, marketing teams for these leading brands. Before joining

SunGard, Alan held licenses as a securities and options principal for a stock brokerage

firm. More at www.gsm.marketing

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3 Real Ways to Enhance Your

Marketing Communication

Alan Gross, President, GSM

Thanks for the opportunity to spend

time together

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OUR PERSPECTIVE Watching and learning

20+ Years observing this industry work

6 Years helping clients establish their

brand, answer “why us”, and build

relationships

GSM www.gsm.marketing

Our path today

• Why Marketing Communication Matters

• 3 Cost-effective and actionable ways to

engage

• How to start (if you haven’t already)

• Making sure everyone knows about it

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Why Marketing Communication Matters

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BEING A “GO-TO” PARTNER

…is to be regarded as a valued expert.

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ASSERT YOUR LEADERSHIP

An effective way to assert this is to share

insights and education with your partners

and clients. Be the expert source!

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS

• The right message

• To the right audience

• At the right time

• Delivered the right way

Relevance

Alignment

Timeliness

Preference

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ORIGINAL VS. INDUSTRY CONTENT

Sometimes being original matters.

Sometimes being the expert source

matters.

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BE ORIGINAL (5 examples)

1. What drives you.

2. What you are passionate about.

3. How you work.

4. Why you do this.

5. How you help others reach their goals.

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COVERING INDUSTRY (3 examples)

1. Sharing important news.

2. Sharing regulatory info.

3. Educational stories.

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BE ACTIVE

It’s important to evolve

from a passive presence

to one that actively

supports business

growth.

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HOW OFTEN?

Frequency and volume

should reflect your own

reality as well as the

needs of your audience

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THE HARD PART

Time

Inspiration

The Words

Skill/Comfort

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WHY DO IT

• Be a true resource

• Support your partners

• Support relationship

growth

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WHY DO IT – ANSWER “WHY US?”

Your communication

– Explains why you are the expert partner

to many

– Demonstrates how you help clients

reach their goals

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3 Cost-effective and actionable

ways to engage

Idea #1: Blog (it’s easier than you think)

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A BLOG

• A blog started as a writer’s aid to post and categorize / tag articles.

• Now it’s anything you want it to be.

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THE TRADITIONAL BLOG STILL WORKS

• Short posts (150 – 200 words) – Informal observations and opinions

– Brief educational pieces

• Long form articles – Thought leadership / expert voice discussions

– White papers and case studies

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EXAMPLES TO WRITE ABOUT

• 3 Things every business owner should know about

planning for their financial future

• 5 Things investors often get wrong

• The one thing I wish you knew about what I do

• Why we’re here

Use your experience!

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LUCKY FOR YOU EVERYBODY’S BUSY!

“Get in > Get to the point > Get out”

is a good motto.

This is our mantra as we write, edit

and publish everyday!

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INFOGRAPHICS: Making several points

Image sources: AARP / www.columnfivemedia.com/work-items/infographic-invest-dont-gamble

visual.ly/match-your-investments-needs, The Economic Times, Wealth

INFOGRAPHICS: Making a single point

• The opportunity is to

add your commentary

and insight based on

your knowledge and

experience. This lends

itself to a great content

stream.

Image source: www.merrilledge.com/article/how-social-security-fits-into-your-retirement-plan

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Idea # 2: Video (it might be easier than you think)

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VIDEO BLOG

Image source: GSM Marketing Plan Sponsor Video Series

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VIDEO: MORE THAN WORDS

• A picture's worth a

thousand words –

video is exponentially

more interesting

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TEXT or VIDEO?

Some viewers prefer to read. Some prefer to watch.

Takeaway: Do both. Use the video transcript as a post.

Forbes Insights (December 2010) reported that 59% of senior executives prefer to watch video instead of reading

text when both are available on the same page.

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STEPS TO TAKE

Consider format: One person vs. two people sharing.

Studio vs. Webcam

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STEPS TO TAKE

Consider topics as categories or series.

Sharing news

Evergreen topics

Compliance matters.

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Idea # 3: Survey (it’s good to ask questions)

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SURVEY YOUR AUDIENCE

• Ask questions to validate your

assumptions.

• Ask questions to learn more about

needs, priorities and preferences.

• Demonstrate interest in your

relationships

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KEEP IT SHORT

• A one question poll can yield useful

information and seed more content

• A short survey is more likely to be

completed than a long one

• Consider doing periodic surveys to

take the pulse of your clients

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SURVEY YOUR AUDIENCE

• Share the executive summary

of the results

• Explain what matters and why

• Another blog post, video, email

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Idea # 4: Webinar (it’s good to present)

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HOST A WEBINAR

• It’s an opportunity to share your

knowledge and expertise

• Audience size doesn’t matter – you’ll be

able to make the content available on-

demand for many more

• It can complement live performances

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HOST A WEBINAR

• The web is convenient and inexpensive

compared to hotel ballrooms

• Many people (both clients and prospects)

are more comfortable learning privately

than in a public space

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WEBINAR RECOMMENDATIONS

• Keep it short!

• Keep it tightly focused

• Record for on-demand replay

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How to start (if you haven’t already)

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CONTENT MATTERS

• Think about information your clients, prospects and partners would value

• Think about topics that resonate with you

ACTION: Write an initial short list of 10 topics.

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WHAT’S YOUR FREQUENCY?

• Commit to a frequency you can meet.

• Consistency is more important than

frequency. Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

calendars work. Decide what you can do.

• Don’t start and stop. You’ll lose your

audience.

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ONCE YOU START

• You’re establishing a conversation and an

expectation.

• Don’t start and stop. You’ll lose your

audience.

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Making sure everyone knows about it

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PROMOTING YOUR VOICE

• Your website

• Email, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook

• These are all opt-in’s

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PROMOTING YOUR VOICE: WEBSITE

• It may seem obvious, but update your

homepage with latest content!

It’s not about any of us… it’s about all of us.

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GSM: Your marketing team

• Professional website design

• Expert content development

• Marketing automation programs with:

– content development, email and social promotion to drive

engagement and support relationship building (lead gen)

3 Real Ways to Enhance Your

Marketing Communication

Alan Gross, President, GSM