Becoming a financial advisor resource for local media comes with a whole range of benefits. For one, it acts as free advertising for you and your company but there’s a deeper aspect of it than that. Local news is very important to the American people, whether they get it from TV or the internet.
This means that you get to build a reputation as an authoritative and educated source, which gives your reputation a big boost. It isn’t only telling people about who you are, it’s showing them why they should come to you for financial advice. Being a source for local media can help you become successful.
So how do you get noticed by local media and become a trusted financial advisor for their finance stories? In this guide, we’re going to teach you how to become a regular feature in local news and build your profile.
Ready to learn more and grow your business’ reputation? Then read on!
Be Sincere and Authoritative
If you want to be seen as an authoritative source, then you need to cultivate an image of yourself as authoritative, sincere, and knowledgeable. Part of this comes with simply doing your job and gaining a reputation in your area but you should also cultivate a strong online presence if you are to stand out.
There are over 1.7 billion websites online right now. To make yours stand out, you need to have a comprehensive strategy. Focus on creating unique and interesting blog or video content and marketing it on social media.
Be consistent in your style and what you cover in your content. You should also make sure that you use statistics to back up your arguments and link to information that supports you. Show them why you’re right, don’t just tell them that you are.
You should also make sure that you don’t overstep your knowledge. Stick to creating content about what you know: if you’re not used to writing about international economic news, it’s not the time to experiment while you’re trying to cultivate your reputation.
You should be authentic, sincere, and back up your claims with data. Look at other news sources and local financial advisors and look at the news from a different angle. See what isn’t being said and say it.
Share Your Content
You need to share your content if you’re going to get eyes on it. Post it on social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. Generate as many shares and as much engagement as you can, and build an audience who like your content and recognize your expertise.
It’s very possible that a journalist may come across your content as part of their research.
Reaching Out to the Media
However interesting your content is, the media may never beat a path to your door. You need to reach out to them if you want to increase your chances of being featured.
Take a look at the staff listings of your local newspaper, news website, or TV news program. See who covers financial news and send them an email.
In the email, you should state your credentials, your qualifications, and provide a link to your work, so they can see whether it stands up to scrutiny. Tell them how you can help them, showing how your experience could provide them with new and interesting takes on issues that affect their readers/viewers.
You can also mention any useful connections that you have that they might find useful, as reporters are always looking for useful people who can help them. Show them why you’re useful.
If you’re a member of any local professional bodies, you could also post your email address on their contacts page, which can help reporters find you. If you already have a well-known company, you could also create a press pack for your website, complete with contact details, etc.
Create a List of Local News Outlets and Keep Track of Your Attempts At Contact
Bombarding the same journalist with emails over and over again is not going to endear them to you. Instead, pick your moments and give the journalist time to respond to your email or voicemail message.
The best way to do this is to create something akin to an old-fashioned Rolodex. Create a list of the local media outlets near you and then go through their staff listings, creating entries in your contact list for the reporters, the associate editors, and the editors-in-chief.
When you’ve got all of this information, keep track of when you’ve contacted them and what the response, if any, was. This way, you can be sure that you’re not emailing too often and, if a journalist doesn’t contact you after several emails, you can move onto another reporter and try them instead.
Consider Advertising On Social Media
Earlier we mentioned the value of sharing your content on social media to ensure that you get eyes on it. Yet there’s another aspect of social media you need to take advantage of too and that’s social media marketing.
When you create ads on social media platforms, you get the option of targeting specific areas and even specific careers. This means that you can give your ads a laser focus, targeting journalists in your area only. This also helps to keep costs down, as you won’t need to budget for a campaign that hundreds of thousands or millions of people could see and interact with.
If you want to appear in a journalist’s timeline and haven’t had much luck with creating shareable content, consider taking this step too. It might make all the difference.
Prepare for Your Interview
When you get a bite and you’re going to be interviewed by a journalist, you need to make sure that you really know your stuff. If you appear on live TV and obviously don’t understand the issue at hand or appear flustered, it’s not going to reflect well on you or your company.
Nerves before a TV appearance are normal. Nerves in an interview with a print journalist are normal. Yet if you prepare well, you’ll be able to manage these nerves.
Make sure that you prepare well before the interview. Think of it as like revising for an exam: you want to make sure that you have a deep understanding of the topic and can express yourself well. It’s also worth taking a look at the journalist’s previous work so you know what will and won’t be appealing or interesting for them: you want to prove that you are useful to them and this is your big chance.
During the interview, you need to communicate clearly and give solid, interested, and sincere answers. Take advantage of this opportunity to show the public exactly what you know.
Meeting the Journalist
A brief word on conduct: you should ensure that you meet with the journalist at the time they specify. You should work to their schedule and not to yours, wherever possible.
This is because it’s important to show that you are reliable and can meet when they need to meet you. There are many other financial advisors out there who would like to have the opportunity of an interview who will be able to make that time if you don’t. Be flexible and considerate, and try your best to be cooperative.
Why Becoming a Financial Advisor Resource for Local Media Matters
This may all sound like a lot of work and you may be wondering why this matters when there are other forms of financial advisor marketing out there. There are a few reasons that becoming a resource for local media matters: let’s take a closer look.
Free Advertising
First off, there’s the most obvious boon that comes with being a resource for local media. Your name and the name of your company will be published or broadcast to thousands of people, if not more. The chances are, there will be someone watching who needs financial advice and they may well reach out to you as a result.
Helps Solidify Your Reputation
Being featured in the news is a big deal. It shows that you are authoritative and knowledgeable and builds confidence in those who might want to use your services. They may come to you rather than a competitor who hasn’t been featured because they’ve heard you talk and liked your interview.
Potential for National Exposure
As well as the regional exposure that comes with appearing in local media, there’s the potential that your interview could be picked up and rebroadcast on national media. If you appear several times and become a well-respected source, national news media may reach out to you to secure an interview.
Gain Recognition and Improve Your Marketing
Becoming a financial advisor resource for local media is a fantastic way to improve your marketing and build brand recognition but it isn’t the only way. If you’d like to learn more about how to market yourself as a financial advisor, take a look around our site.
If you’ve got any questions or would like a free business evaluation, get in touch!
