It’s the holiday season, and financial advisors are readying their “here’s our ugly sweater” photos for social media. That said, what else should advisors be doing to make a meaningful impact in the lives of your clients and community?

So, while you should still post pictures of your Turkey Day celebrations and office tree decorating, here are a few more profound ideas to help elevate your holiday marketing strategy.

 

What Holiday Spending Shows Us About Ourselves

We recently heard someone call the upcoming season “the holiday gauntlet.” It’s a fitting phrase for the cultural whiplash we experience as we drift from:

• Thanksgiving’s gratitude
• Black Friday’s compulsive, competitive spending
• Small Business Saturday’s slightly more wholesome spending
• Cyber Monday’s attempt to bat clean up on our wallets
• Giving Tuesday – which is all but forgotten when our budgets get tighter

While it’s true that most households don’t have the spare time to look for a new advisor during the holidays, something important is happening. This stretch is often an unpleasant stress test for families regarding financial decisions.

Few other predictable events shine such a light on our relationship with spending and saving. That’s why if you’re a financial advisor, keep showing up during this time of year. Include a focus on a healthy relationship with money – spending, saving, and prioritizing based on your budget.

The more you can tie your value to financial peace, the more your value increases. Do this well, and when the dust settles, your voice will be more influential than ever.

 

A Time to Lead by Doing

Another unique idea for your holiday marketing focuses on what you do as a brand versus what you say. Let’s consider charitable giving as an example. Giving Tuesday, as well as the focus of year-end planning, provides excellent opportunities to highlight charitable giving.

One great example comes from one of our advisors, Wayne Wagner Jr., at Vizionary Wealth Management. Their brand places a high value on charitable giving, but they go beyond talking about it. For the second year now, they have organized a Giving Tuesday Giveaway event that invites their clients to submit their favorite charities for a raffle giveaway. Their first event had such an overwhelming response that they upped the giving and scale of this year’s event.

It’s a great example of how creativity can activate your clients and supporters to participate in your brand. Ideas like these help your brand make a more memorable impact.

 

Focus on What Matters

So, while this is a busy time of year, and many of your clients aren’t too focused on their financial plan, this season highlights money’s impact on our lives. Do your clients have peace and confidence in their financial footing? Or does this season cause stress and expose disagreements?

In your communication strategy, we encourage our advisors to focus on the heart of what matters to their clients. This might not be the time for in-depth discussions on highly technical topics, but it’s a ripe time for a more human conversation.

Be intentional with your voice as an advisor this holiday season and build a reputation as someone who helps bring stability and peace so your clients can focus on what matters most.