Curator vs. Creator: The Smart Content Strategy for Financial Advisors

Having an online presence and connecting with clients digitally is essential for financial advisors. Content marketing plays a crucial role in building trust, establishing authority,and engaging with clients. However, one of the biggest challenges advisors face is deciding whether to create original content or curate existing content. Let's explore the issues with creating your own content and why content curation might be the smart, cost-effective solution for your business.

The Challenges of Creating Original Content

1. Time-Consuming: Crafting high-quality, original content takes considerable time. Financial advisors and their teams are already juggling client meetings, operations and other administrative tasks. Adding content creation to the mix can lead to burnout and detract from real connections and adding value with advice.
2. Resource-Intensive: Producing engaging and accurate content requires resources. This includes research, writing, editing and sometimes even hiring professionals like writers, designers or video editors. For many financial advisors, these resources can be hard to find. 
3. Consistency: Maintaining a consistent content schedule is vital for keeping your audience engaged. However, generating fresh and relevant content regularly can be challenging, leading to inconsistent posting and reduced audience engagement.

The Benefits of Content Curation

1. Time Efficiency: Curating content involves finding and sharing relevant articles, blogs, videos, infographics and other media created by others. This significantly reduces the time spent on content creation, allowing advisors to focus more on client interactions and business growth.
2. Cost-Effective: By leveraging existing content, financial advisors can save on costs associated with producing original material. There’s no need to hire writers, designers or video producers, making curation a budget-friendly option.
3. Authority Building: Sharing high-quality content from reputable sources can help financial advisors position themselves as knowledgeable and well-informed. By curating content that resonates with their audience, advisors can demonstrate their expertise and stay current with industry trends.
4. Branding Opportunity: Even when curating content, financial advisors can sometimes put their branding on it. Adding a personal touch, commentary or insights to curated content can help maintain a unique voice and reinforce brand identity. Tools and platforms that facilitate branded content curation make it easy to share valuable information while keeping the advisor's name and logo front and center.

Implementing a Content Curation Strategy

To implement a smart content curation strategy, start by identifying trustworthy and relevant sources of content, such as industry publications, blogs, influential thought leaders or HeyAdvisor’s content library. Ensure that the content you curate aligns with your brand values and audience interests. Adding your insights or brief commentary to the curated content helps personalize it even further. This practice adds value and helps establish your voice and perspective in the industry.

Consistency is key to maintaining engagement, so use content scheduling tools to plan and automate your posts. This ensures a steady flow of content without overwhelming your schedule. Encourage your audience to share their thoughts and comments on the curated content, as engagement helps build a community around your brand and fosters deeper connections with clients and prospects. Regularly review the performance of your curated content using analytics to understand what resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly

By focusing on curation, financial advisors can strike the perfect balance between providing insightful content and managing their busy schedules, ultimately leading to a more effective and sustainable marketing approach.