Nearly 60% of emerging affluent investors have a significantly more positive impression of advisors with a good website. This means that if advisors don’t have an effective online presence and cannot demonstrate an ability or desire to communicate with next generation clients and prospects through social media and other forms of digital interaction, they risk irrelevance.
Advisor Websites, a US based firm which helps advisors design websites, in its e-book, ‘How to win client’s trust online’ shows 23 ways through which you can inspire trust online. Here are a few of them:
Tell a great story
Since the dawn of age, humans have always loved stories. Tell your story on your website with the right combination of pictures and messaging to create a compelling explanation of who you are. There is nothing that instils trust and transparency more than a personal story.
Craft an inspiring, believable biography
Crafting your biography can be tough but, you can imagine how important it is. The ‘team’ page of many advisors’ sites is often the most visited page on the website. Your bio is a great opportunity to explain who you really are and why you have chosen a career in financial services. Don’t hesitate to ask for a second opinion from clients and team members on your biography.
Be explicit with your ‘ideal’ client
Explain who your best clients are, describe what they look like and why this type of person will benefit from working with you. Yes, defining a target audience or niche will disqualify some potential leads. But, the magic happens when the right person gets to your website - they instantly feel at home - they understand right away that they are in the right place.
Clean layout and design
Cluttered, unorganized websites are interpreted as being out dated, old and potentially harmful. A modern website design is simple, clean and puts users in control from any device. Also be mobile friendly, i.e. responsive. A responsive website helps ensure that searchers find the website they are looking for and, when they get there, find the information they searched for.
Avoid never-ending pop ups
Have you ever visited a website and felt like your computer was at risk for being hijacked or hacked by a virus? Multiple, unwanted ads and popups are annoying and create a negative experience for users. There is absolutely a case for using a single popup call-to-action on a website - just don’t overdo it.
Link social accounts
Connecting social accounts (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) to your website and vice versa has a double advantage. It raises your social authority in the eyes of search engines like Google (helping you get found more easily in organic search) and offers web visitors validation and the use of real photos (opposed to stock photos). Web users are eager to get a look at who is behind the company - not displaying a picture of you and your staff can be translated as having something to hide.
Reproduced verbatim from the e-book ‘How to win client’s trust online’.
Click here to read the complete e-book.
