Mutual fund companies used to be able to get flow primarily by being on the select list at a few wire houses and broker dealers. Marketing was an afterthought. That thinking may be changing, especially when it comes to online advertising. With marketing budgets flat for most firms, online advertising is on track to grow by 25% in 2013. Some progressive firms are using a “digital first” philosophy, according to a report by RIABiz.
What will suffer at the expense of online advertising? Probably print advertising, which cannot be tracked, and perhaps some direct sales efforts. Mobile, interactive and video are expected to grow, as are specialty publications that can target the right audience for the advertiser.
There’s a lesson here for plan advisors looking to reach prospects via advertising: Along with using online, mobile, video and interactive messaging, focus on content marketing. Instead of interrupting people from reading what they’re interested in, give them the content that they’re interested in.
