The Benefits of Using Financial Education, and How to Implement It

Financial education enhances your value proposition because it demonstrates that you are interested in helping clients understand and manage their finances, solve problems and work toward their goals. 

Educating clients can set you apart from competitors by demonstrating that you care about their financial education and well-being.

6. Attracts new clients.

Offering financial education through seminars, webinars, blogs or newsletters provides an opportunity to showcase your expertise and reputation as a thought leader in the industry. 

Financial education is the best platform to attract new clients looking for reliable and knowledgeable financial professionals. Share financial education on social media and your website blog so they can find you when doing organic searches.

4 Tips to Implement Financial Education

Now that we have established the benefits of using financial education to grow an advisory practice, we must consider how to implement it effectively. 

1. Source content from multiple providers.

Check with your clearing firm, website provider, broker-dealer or RIA, advisor marketing solution provider, or other content provider sources to find content that will likely resonate with your client base or those prospects you want to attract. 

Consider writing content or hiring a ghostwriter if you’re seeking specific content for a distinct demographic, such as physicians, executives or entrepreneurs.

2. Use various delivery formats.

Different clients prefer different learning modes. Some prefer attending seminars, while others prefer reading blogs, newsletters, social media, or watching videos.

By offering financial education in multiple delivery formats, you can cater to diverse client needs. 

3. Make the content engaging.

Financial concepts can be complex and intimidating. To make learning enjoyable, simplify financial concepts as much as possible, using real-life examples to demonstrate how to solve these problems. 

Market summaries may be interesting to a few clients, but likely not all of them — after all, they work with you to follow market events on their behalf.

4. Ask for feedback.

Ask your clients for regular feedback about your financial education efforts. Feedback can help you understand what is working and what isn’t so you can continuously improve your financial education offerings.

Teresa Leno, a former financial advisor, is founder and CEO of Fresh Finance, a content and communications solution designed for the wealth, banking and insurance industries.