There are more than 32 online distribution platforms available in the market today – yes, the tech storm has hit the advisory business too. The fact that robos can overcome barriers of space (region) and time, and that they are more cost efficient to investors, have made them so popular.
With so many platforms vying for the investor’s attention, it will help to know about some of the strategies these platforms use to market themselves.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
One of the primary ways of promoting their robo advisory website is through SEOs. Robos provide interesting content on how investors can start investing, best performing funds, and the like. Such content show up whenever a person does a google search. The content also pops up in other related websites bringing in clients.
“We get more than 2 lakh views every month; of these, at least 70% of the visitors stay on for more than two minutes. This tool helps in bringing in many clients. Since we are a virtual entity, the barriers of region do not apply to robos. This gives us access to a wider range of audience,” says Virendra Ranawat of www.mysiponline.com.
Social media marketing
Sharad Singh of Invezta explains the two aspects of social media marketing. One of the primary ways to build your brand and establishing your credibility is through content marketing, he says. “Regularly posting interesting and thought provoking articles, on the significance of mutual funds investments and how robos can help small-ticket investors get quality advice for a reasonable cost, on social media has helped us increase visibility,” he says.
Another aspect of social media marketing, according to Sharad, is pure advertising. “This can be done with the help of google ads or Facebook posts promoting robo advisory platforms. As long as you do not promote specific MF products, these ads can get a lot of traffic to your website,” Sharad says.
IAPs in companies
Conducting IAPs in companies where employees spend a majority of their time in front of computers is another opportunity for tech savvy advisors.
“We conduct IAPs in various corporates, especially in IT intensive firms. We tell them how mutual funds have been performing, the benefits of investing in MF, etc. We do not hard-sell our platform, but when they hear that ours is an online platform, most attendees usually go back and check out our website. Many of them eventually start investing with us,” says Virendra Ranawat.
Reaching out through mainstream media
While this is not very common, many robos also increase their visibility by getting their content put up in mainstream media. This might be in the form of published articles or interviews. According to Sharad Singh, while monetary constraints hold back advisors from going headlong into mainstream marketing, this will always be one of the sure-shot ways of increasing a robo platform’s visibility.
