How to Focus on the Marketing Metrics That Matter
Share this
Your financial planning firm is up and running. You’ve got clients; you’re generating revenue. You know what technology you enjoy using, and you’re developing systems and processes to better run your business and serve your clients.
In short, you’re past just starting up, and the foundation of your financial planning practice is established. Now, you’re turning to higher-level tasks beyond simply starting and running your business.
This year, you want to focus on growing your firm and attracting new clients. It’s time to market yourself and what you do.
Tracking numbers, data, and metrics is a huge part of marketing. You need to know what efforts are working, and which aren’t a good use of time. Paying attention to marketing metrics can help you better understand what avenues actually generate clients.
But what metrics do you measure? And how do you weed through all the data to find the metrics that matter?
What Are Metrics You Can Measure?
First, let’s understand what we’re referring to when we talk about marketing metrics. These can be numbers like:
- Your social media followers
- How many likes your Facebook pages and posts get
- The number of people on your email list
- How many people share your content with others
- The type of responses you receive on tweets, social media updates, emails, and blog posts
These numbers can help tell you whether or not you’re on track with where you should be, and they can also inform you on what direction might be best to take your marketing efforts.
While this can be useful information to know, it’s very easy to get caught up in the numbers -- and even more so to get caught up in the wrong numbers. Marketing metrics are important, but they are not the end-all, be-all.
And there is a difference between valuable data and stuff that just distracts you from what really matters.
The Problem with Marketing Metrics
Here’s the problem with marketing metrics: looking only at numbers makes it way too easy for you to compare yourself with other people! This is detrimental to your confidence as a financial advisor (whose number one job is not marketing, but serving clients). And it’s pointless.
As with anything you can compare yourself on, you have no idea what's going on behind the scenes of anyone else's business or brand. And numbers can tell many different stories, depending on how you look at the data.
The real problems with marketing metrics start when you get caught up with vanity metrics. These are metrics that don't tell you anything about the health and growth of your business. This kind of data can include things like Twitter followers, website traffic, and email list subscribers.
Vanity metrics don't show you the full picture, are easily manipulated, and aren't related to engagement. Any number that has nothing to do with engagement and conversion is one that, at the end of the day, probably doesn’t matter too much.
What Matters with Metrics?
How many replies do you get when you email your list? How much do you actually talk with your social followers? How much of your web traffic gets converted into your sales funnel?
Raw numbers don't usually matter. Engagement and conversion do. Metrics that measure these factors deserve your focus and attention.
You can have 10,000 Twitter followers and that looks great -- but if only a handful of those 10,000 share what you say, or click through to the links you share, or engage with you, that big number isn’t worth all that much.
The same can be said for numbers like website traffic. If you get 1,000 visitors per day but only 1 or 2 signs up for your email list, that traffic isn’t doing you or your business much good.
If, on the other hand, you receive just 100 visitors to your site each day, but 10 of those people are opting in to your email list, you have a more engaged audience and your metrics show you’re doing something right -- even though you’re getting far less traffic than thousands of views per day.
You want to look for the data that informs you about how people behave and engage with you online. On social media, that might mean things like retweets, @mentions, shares, and other signs of actual human activity and conversation.
On your website, look at your referral traffic, bounce rate, clicks, and the behavior of your audience. With your email, consider both your open rate and your click rate.
Metrics do matter when you know what to look for, and that's data that shows actual engagement and conversion. So don’t get caught up in vanity metrics, or numbers that just look good but don’t actually tell you anything about how people behave or interact with you.
Share this
- Advisor Posts (423)
- Fee-only advisor (369)
- Advice (305)
- Blog (300)
- Independent Financial Advisor (194)
- Fee-for-service Financial Planning (133)
- Business Development (125)
- Running a Firm (109)
- Marketing (94)
- What Would Arlene Say (WWAS) (81)
- Firm Ownership (77)
- Practice Management (77)
- Training (76)
- Executive Coaching (70)
- Business (69)
- Business Coach (68)
- Building a Firm (64)
- Compliance (64)
- Financial Planning Firm (63)
- Growing Your Firm (61)
- Financial Advisors (59)
- XYPN LIVE (54)
- RIA Marketing (50)
- RIA Compliance (48)
- From XYPN Members (47)
- Starting a Firm (47)
- Technology (45)
- Fee-only Financial Planning (40)
- Advisors (38)
- Entrepreneurship (38)
- Marketing Your Firm (38)
- Prospecting (36)
- Conference (35)
- XY Tax Solutions (XYTS) (34)
- Investment Management (32)
- Tax Planning (32)
- Interviews and Case Studies (31)
- Marketing Strategy (30)
- Growing Business (29)
- Launching a firm (29)
- XYPN Invest (28)
- Tax Preparation (26)
- Business Owner (25)
- Business Strategy (25)
- Managing a Firm (24)
- Team Building (23)
- Marketing Funnel (22)
- Diversity (21)
- Annual Conference (20)
- Getting Clients (20)
- Sales (20)
- Small Business Owner (20)
- Social Media (20)
- Financial Planning Conference (19)
- Chief Compliance Officer (COO) (18)
- From XYPN Invest (18)
- Marketing Resources (18)
- Business Model (17)
- Client Relationships (17)
- Content Marketing (17)
- Financial Planners (17)
- Hiring (16)
- Independent Financial Planner (16)
- Niche Marketing (16)
- Setting Goals (16)
- Tax Savings (16)
- Website Development (16)
- XYPN News (16)
- Business Vision (15)
- Sales Process (15)
- XYPN (15)
- Business Growth (14)
- Email Marketing (14)
- Financial Advice (14)
- Networking (14)
- Media (13)
- Press Mentions (13)
- RIA (13)
- Tax (13)
- Advertising (12)
- Goals (12)
- Assets Under Management (AUM) (11)
- First Year (11)
- Investing (11)
- Next Generation Financial Planning (11)
- Niche (11)
- RIA Owner (11)
- Sales Pipeline (11)
- Current Events (10)
- Filing Taxes (10)
- Financial Coaching (10)
- Fintech (10)
- Taxes (10)
- XYPN Membership (10)
- Year-End Tax Planning (10)
- Advisor Success (9)
- Client Management (9)
- Inbound Marketing (9)
- RIA Registration (9)
- SEC (9)
- Communication (8)
- How to be a Financial Advisor (8)
- Lessons (8)
- Study Group (8)
- Time Management (8)
- Branding (7)
- Digital Content (7)
- Financial Planning (7)
- Financial Planning Fees (7)
- Financial Planning Process (7)
- Growth (7)
- Mental Health (7)
- Pricing Models (7)
- Virtual Advisor (7)
- Business Plan (6)
- From Our Advisors (6)
- Mentorship (6)
- Motivation (6)
- Risk and Investing (6)
- Tax Season (6)
- Abundance Mentality (5)
- Advisor Website (5)
- Automation (5)
- Behavioral Finance (5)
- Client Experience (5)
- Client Service Model (5)
- Clients (5)
- Connection (5)
- Filing Status (5)
- Inclusion (5)
- Investment Planner (5)
- Marketing Plan (5)
- Michael Kitces (5)
- Money Management (5)
- Outsourced Tax Services (5)
- Processes (5)
- Racism (5)
- Real Financial Planning (5)
- Retirement (5)
- S Corpration (5)
- Support System (5)
- TAMP (5)
- Tax Return (5)
- Transitioning Advisor (5)
- Wealth (5)
- AdvisorTech Expo (4)
- Bear Market (4)
- Broker-Dealers (4)
- CFP Certification (4)
- College Planning (4)
- Continuing Education (4)
- Independent RIA (4)
- Lead nurturing (4)
- Market Volatility (4)
- Marketing Coaching (4)
- Online Marketing (4)
- Outsourcing (4)
- Professional Development (4)
- Scaling Firms (4)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) (4)
- Selling a Firm (4)
- Small Business (4)
- Succession Plans (4)
- Tax Forms (4)
- Transitioning Clients (4)
- Virtual Meetings & Events (4)
- XYPN Radio (4)
- Year-End (4)
- Annual Review Process (3)
- Benchmarking Study (3)
- Budgeting (3)
- Client Avatars (3)
- Community (3)
- Company Culture (3)
- ESG Investing (3)
- Emotional Decisions (3)
- Engagement (3)
- Fiduciary (3)
- Financial Life Planning (3)
- Getting Leads (3)
- Google Analytics (3)
- How to be a Successful Entrepreneur (3)
- IRA (3)
- Industry Trends (3)
- Initial Sales Call (3)
- Life planning (3)
- Lifestyle practice (3)
- Market Downturn (3)
- Membership (3)
- Monthly Retainer Model (3)
- Paid Marketing (3)
- Partnership (3)
- Pricing (3)
- RIA Audit (3)
- Recordkeeping (3)
- Risk Assessment (3)
- Scaling Up (3)
- State Registration (3)
- Staying Relevant (3)
- Tax Extension (3)
- Tax Firm (3)
- Tech Stack (3)
- Unhappy Clients (3)
- Value Proposition (3)
- Wellness (3)
- Work Life Balance (3)
- Workplace Issues (3)
- Advice-Only Planning (2)
- Bookkeeping (2)
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA) (2)
- Changemaker (2)
- Charity (2)
- Coaching (2)
- Community Property (2)
- Conflict Management (2)
- Design (2)
- Differentiation (2)
- Employee Benefits (2)
- Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) (2)
- Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) (2)
- FINRA (2)
- Feminism (2)
- FinTech Winner (2)
- Finding Your Why (2)
- George Kinder (2)
- Graphic design (2)
- Growing Income (2)
- Health Care (2)
- Ideal Clients (2)
- Inflation (2)
- Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) (2)
- Key performance indicator (KPI) (2)
- Keynote (2)
- Learning (2)
- Local Meet-ups (2)
- Mastermind Group (2)
- Members (2)
- Monthly Subscription Model (2)
- Negative Rates (2)
- Organization (2)
- Outsourced Asset Management (2)
- Outsourced Bookkeeping (2)
- Personality Types (2)
- Portfolio Management (2)
- Productivity (2)
- Psychology (2)
- QuickBooks Online (QBO) (2)
- Recommended Reading (2)
- Registered Representative (2)
- Registration (2)
- Restricted Stock Units (RSU) (2)
- SEC Regulation (2)
- Scott Snider (2)
- Solo Advisor (2)
- Start Ups (2)
- Stock Options (2)
- Target Market (2)
- Tax Refund (2)
- Team Communication (2)
- Value of Financial Planning (2)
- Video Production (2)
- Virtual Assistant (2)
- Virtual Paraplanner (2)
- Yields (2)
- Accounting (1)
- Advisory Board (1)
- Analogies (1)
- Anti-harassment (1)
- Arlene Moss (1)
- Assistant (1)
- Behavior Gap (1)
- Bonds (1)
- Books and Records (1)
- Broker Protocol (1)
- Broker Recruiting (1)
- Bull Market (1)
- Buying a Firm (1)
- Career Changers (1)
- Careers (1)
- Carl Richards (1)
- Carolyn Dalle-Molle (1)
- Cassandra Worthy (1)
- Charitable Donations (1)
- Charitable Giving (1)
- Childcare (1)
- Common Financial Mistakes (1)
- Compassion (1)
- Consulting (1)
- Consumerism (1)
- Continuity Plan (1)
- Creatives (1)
- Credit (1)
- Cryptocurrency (1)
- Custodians (1)
- Custody Rule (1)
- Dan Sullivan (1)
- Data (1)
- Definitions (1)
- Designations (1)
- Direct Indexing (1)
- Disasters (1)
- Dr. Sean Stephenson (1)
- Earn More (1)
- Education (1)
- Elizabeth Dunn (1)
- Enrolled Agent (EA) (1)
- Entity Election (1)
- Entrepreneur Myth (1)
- Equity (1)
- Event Planning (1)
- Events (1)
- Family (1)
- Fee-Based Financial Planning (1)
- Fidelity (1)
- Finance (1)
- Financial Freedom (1)
- Financial Goals (1)
- Financial Life Management (1)
- Financial Planning Platform (1)
- Financial Preparedness (1)
- Financial Wellness (1)
- Form 8606 (1)
- Form 8915-E (1)
- Form ADV (1)
- Gen X (1)
- Gen Y (1)
- Gen Z (1)
- Google Search Ads (1)
- Graduates (1)
- Grief (1)
- Guide (1)
- How I Did It series (1)
- How to Budget (1)
- Human Resources (HR) (1)
- Impact Investing (1)
- Impostor Syndrome (1)
- International financial planning (1)
- Interns (1)
- Introverts (1)
- Investor Policy Statement (IPS) (1)
- Job burnout (1)
- Job description (1)
- Job posting (1)
- LLC (1)
- Lead conversion (1)
- Lending (1)
- Liquidating your business (1)
- Loans (1)
- Merging Practices (1)
- Michael Gerber (1)
- Miguel Gomez (1)
- Millennials (1)
- Mission (1)
- Moira Somers (1)
- Moving Forward (1)
- New Planner Recruiting (1)
- NextGen (1)
- NextGen Clients (1)
- Online Courses (1)
- Orion (1)
- Part Time (1)
- Paying Yourself (1)
- Paystub (1)
- Perfectionism (1)
- Professionals (1)
- Project Management (1)
- Projecting Returns (1)
- Purpose (1)
- Quarterly Estimated Payments (1)
- ROI (1)
- Recession (1)
- Recruiting (1)
- Referrals (1)
- Regulators (1)
- Reinvention (1)
- Relationships (1)
- Remote (1)
- Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) (1)
- Retreats (1)
- Risk Management (1)
- Roth Conversations (1)
- Roth IRA (1)
- Sabbatical (1)
- Saying No (1)
- Scaling (1)
- Schedule Management (1)
- Schwab (1)
- Sean Stephenson (1)
- Sequence Risk (1)
- Slow Season (1)
- Small Business Bookkeeping (1)
- Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) (1)
- Spending (1)
- Stop Saying Should (1)
- Strategy (1)
- Supervisory Procedures (1)
- Supporting Clients (1)
- Systems (1)
- Target Audience (1)
- Teamwork (1)
- Terms (1)
- Tim Maurer (1)
- To-Do List (1)
- Total Return Approach (1)
- Traditional IRA (1)
- Transitions (1)
- Virtual (1)
- Vulnerability (1)
- WRAP Programs (1)
- Women (1)
- XY Learning Center (XYLC) (1)
Subscribe by email
You May Also Like
These Related Stories

How Marketing Can Help You Build a Firm for the Future

Why Advisors Should Use Tiny Marketing Funnels
