Designing the Future RIA – January 2025

In the words of Albert Einstein, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” With the lessons of last year still fresh, we’re poised to tackle the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

As we look forward, we recognize that navigating the world of marketing requires both flexibility and foresight. The start of a new year is the perfect time to dive into trends and insights that will shape how we approach growth, connection, and outreach. And while January may bring new resolutions, it’s the informed decisions that will truly drive long-term success.

Looking Ahead – Marketing Headwinds in 2025

As we step into 2025, we’re facing a year filled with both opportunities and challenges. With the digital landscape constantly evolving, it’s essential to stay ahead of trends while adjusting to new regulations and shifting consumer behaviors. This is especially true in the world of financial services marketing, where changes in policy and technology can have a distinct impact on your outreach strategies.

Our team’s focus as we begin the new year is to provide you with actionable insights that can help you not just weather these headwinds but leverage them to your advantage. In case you missed it, you can read about our process and the first two topics we covered (organic social media, SEO + client reviews) in our yearend newsletter.

Navigating Google’s New Consumer Finance Policies

Both Google and Facebook introduced consumer finance policies in 2024 that directly impact how financial services providers can advertise. These updates can seem restrictive, but with the right strategies in place, you can continue to leverage these platforms effectively.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Google Ads and Consumer Finance: Google’s updated policies for consumer finance ads have introduced stricter guidelines regarding the types of products and services that can be promoted. Notably, Google is limiting targeting for certain financial products, such as loans, credit cards, and insurance services, based on sensitive criteria like age, gender, parental/marital status, and ZIP code. This shift means that advertisers can no longer use granular demographic data to target consumers for these financial products. Despite instituting the policy to ward off discrimination when it comes to financial services’ access, Google has included a vague descriptor also limiting “certain financial planning and management services.”Anyone who has run a Google search ad campaign since February 2024 has likely experienced an outright “throttling” of their reach and results. Although Google hasn’t said what they’re limiting exactly, It’s clear their automated screening red-flags keywords and phrases dealing with debt, budgeting, and many financial planning-related life events. This has created a whack-a-mole situation where advertisers need to 1) create long, negative keyword lists to filter out of searches and, 2) constantly monitor performance metrics relating to search impressions and clicks.We’ve seen the firsthand impact of these policies in wide-ranging industry benchmark data:
  • Conversions decreased by 32.40% for Finance & Insurance industry (source)
  • Cost per click has decreased by 25.19% (correlated with lower competition and lower budgets)

While the policy has led to more required active management of Google Ads, Google search campaigns retain their excellent value for getting in front of qualified prospects. The broad benchmark that includes insurance and bank products ranges from $3/click and up, but we often see a range from $2.50 – $12/click across various keyword groups.

To adapt to the consumer finance policy, it’s essential to use workarounds for the demographic data. While using the age and gender filters was rarely adopted (given that Google only has age and gender data for a small subset of users browsing while logged into their Google Accounts), advertisers must rethink zip codes as a targeting tactic. You can use target cities and counties along with a distance radius to cover the same geography.

From what we’ve seen across campaign data and from talking to our networks, it seems like focusing on retirement terms and general geographic descriptors like “financial advisor/financial planner near ___” continue to be a good strategy. It’s important to note that if your keyword phrase does not have enough monthly searches, your ad is not going to be served, anyway. Advisors would be surprised at how low the search volume is around topics you talk to clients about all the time (particularly investment philosophy, charitable giving, withdrawal strategies).

Similarly, Facebook’s updated policies have placed more emphasis on transparency and accuracy in financial ads. To comply, you’ll need to clearly disclose any terms or conditions associated with financial products or services. Additionally, Facebook is limiting the targeting of certain financial ads based on user demographics. This means you’ll need to refine your ad targeting strategies, ensuring you reach the right people while adhering to the new guidelines.

Both Google and Facebook have made it clear that continued non-compliance can result in ad account suspensions, so it’s critical to stay on top of the changing rules. Keeping your marketing messages transparent, educational, and compliant will help ensure your ability to advertise on these platforms while continuing to connect with your ideal audience.

Brand Awareness is Not Prospect Consideration

As we covered in our last newsletter, organic social media reach has greatly dwindled. We emphasized small “boost” and mini-ad budgets to effectively reach potential leads on social media platforms. We also recommended gathering client reviews and optimizing Google Business Profiles as Google search moves toward a “zero-click” model.  We’ve just recapped how it’s become harder to even advertise around your services on search.

Regardless of the distribution channel you use to generate new leads, it’s important that you have a compelling offer – whether a complimentary consultation or second opinion, a free eBook, or a webinar. While most digital efforts are still primarily generating brand awareness, we know that leads can need 10+ touches with your brand and marketing before they reach out as a prospect. However, these touches include channels that you don’t control, like researching competitors’ websites, reviewing best advisor lists by Forbes or Barron’s, and asking friends and coworkers offline for recommendations.

So, how do you outsmart the competition?

In a world of hyper-targeted digital advertising, it may seem like direct mail is an outdated method. However, in 2025, direct mail can be a highly effective tool for reaching the right prospects in a personal and memorable way. According to recent studies, direct mail can reach 1.2x more people than Facebook, garner 30x the responses of cold emails, and cost 80% less than Google Ads. Direct mail is often opened and read, unlike most digital “impressions,” and can have more positive engagement metrics:

• 70% of recipients say direct mail feels more personal than online correspondence
• Direct mail receives a high open rate—about 90%
• Response rates increase by 135% when you personalize your message (first name, life stage)
• 39% make an initial purchase from a company after receiving a direct mail piece from them

Sounds pretty good, right? Direct mail campaigns can work to broaden your geographic reach and brand awareness, but they also correspond to better lead generation outcomes. Direct mail doesn’t have to replace anything; it can work as a complement to existing efforts as you reuse and repurpose landing pages and forms, existing graphic design collateral, and more traditional ad budgets (e.g., local business journal ads or sponsoring an event program).

Here are two strategies to ensure your direct mail campaigns stand out this year:

• Leverage Data to Personalize Mailers: The key to effective direct mail is relevance. Use data from your CRM to segment your audience and send targeted, personalized messaging. Whether it’s a birthday card or a customized financial planning guide, a personalized approach can cut through the noise of digital marketing. Many big RIAs are turning to tools like aidentified, wealthfeed, and FINNY to cultivate potential contact lists based on geography and life events. These tools have (some would say scary) access to public data regarding marriages, divorces, new jobs and promotions, becoming parents, receiving an inheritance, and so on. This is a huge step up from the generic mailers around Social Security or Medicare some are sent when they turn 65+.
• Integrate with Digital Campaigns: Direct mail doesn’t have to exist in a vacuum. Pair your physical mailers with digital strategies. For instance, include QR codes or URLs linking to exclusive online content or offers. You can move the recipient from brand awareness to consideration by sending them to a “free consultation” or “get a second opinion” landing page, but you can also build longer-term prospects by linking them to a free copy of an eBook or a webinar related to their life stage or event. This creates a memorable experience for recipients and increases the likelihood of conversions into prospects and clients. By combining physical and digital efforts, you create a multi-channel approach that reaches your audience where they are. Significantly, you can accelerate the potential responses and timeline from being aware of your brand to being interested in hiring you.

We hope these insights help you think strategically about your marketing efforts this year! Read on for more conversation starters regarding practice management, client experience, and digital marketing.

Featured links:

What Keeps Financial Professionals Awake at Night? by Derek Lawson:

• Building a career in wealth management can make for some long nights. Whether it’s the uncertainty new advisors feel about entering the field or the ongoing practice management concerns of seasoned professionals, the root of many sleepless nights is often fear—fear of making mistakes, fear of failure, or fear of not being enough. But the truth is, managing these fears, understanding their origins, and having the right strategies in place can make all the difference in both personal and professional growth.

AI Will Wipe Out 80% of Financial Planning Business, Advisor Predicts by Jane Wollman Rusoff:

• Will AI and big data redefine the future of wealth management? One advisor thinks so—and his predictions might just shake up the industry. Thomas Goodson, founder of AmeriFlex Group, envisions a radically different wealth management landscape in the next decade, where AI-powered data aggregators like Fidelity and Amazon could push out advisors who fail to cater to high-net-worth clients.

How’s Your 2025 Content Calendar Coming Along? by Gretchen Halpin:

• Feeling behind on your marketing calendar? Between client meetings, team management, and juggling referrals, it’s no surprise that marketing often takes a back seat. These practical tips can help create a content calendar that keeps things strategic, flexible, and focused on engaging your ideal clients throughout 2025.

 Quick Hits:

• Referrals don’t just happen—they’re cultivated. By helping your best clients understand your value and ideal audience, you can transform them into powerful advocates who send opportunities your way. Here are five characteristics of a good referral source from Dan Allison.
• As investors turn to online sources for investment guidance, financial advisors face an uphill battle: conveying the value their human touch can add to someone’s financial life.
• Success with digital-lead-generation tools isn’t about the tool itself—it’s about geography, grit, and a solid follow-up game.

Videos:

• How to Get Good at Small Talk, and Even Enjoy It
• Is the US running out of Social Security?
• The Great Wealth Transfer… Won’t Change Anything (probably)

Useful Tools and Guides:

• Being smart isn’t about cramming facts—it’s about the tools you use to solve problems. From the creativity of artists to the precision of engineers, here are 25 unique thinking tools that can inspire fresh approaches to life’s challenges.
• As a financial advisor, protecting client information is as crucial as managing their investments. Here are some valuable strategies to safeguard your clients’ digital security and protect your advisory practice.
• Design is more than just aesthetics—it’s about forging a connection. Just as top graphic designers are celebrated for crafting visuals that resonate and tell a compelling story, financial advisors can apply this same approach to building their brands. A thoughtfully designed visual identity not only reinforces an advisor’s expertise but also instills confidence in clients, serving as a powerful tool to stand out in a competitive market.

From a committed financial planner supporting FPA’s ’25 in 2025′ Financial Wellness Pledge:

“I believe in the power of financial planning to create hope and opportunity, which is why I’m pledging 25 hours of pro bono service in 2025. I want to make financial planning accessible to everyone, especially those who face barriers to it.”