The Digital Darwinism of Financial Advisors: Evolve or Be Forgotten

The financial advisory business isn’t what it used to be. In an era where digital-first millennials are set to control over $30 trillion in assets, the days of relying on referrals and dinner seminars are numbered. If your website looks like it was last updated when dial-up internet was a thing, you might as well be invisible. The modern investor isn’t flipping through the Yellow Pages—they’re Googling, scrolling, and, increasingly, asking ChatGPT who to trust with their money.

Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG Suite, knows this shift better than anyone¹. Her mission? Dragging financial advisors—sometimes kicking and screaming—into the 21st century. “82 percent of prospects visit financial advisor websites and social media to learn more about them,” she says. “A compelling digital presence is not just important, it’s critical—it’s table stakes.” And yet, so many advisors still treat marketing as an afterthought, a checkbox, or worse, something they can outsource without a second thought.

The Evolution of Discovery: Google Is Not Your Only Problem

It’s no secret that Google has long dictated how businesses are found online. But what happens when younger investors don’t even start their search there? Russell points out a revealing slip-up by a Google executive at a TechCrunch event: “Almost 40% of people under 30 are opening TikTok or Instagram before they go to Google or Bing.” This is a seismic shift. If your entire online strategy revolves around SEO, you’re already behind.

And then there’s AI. “Now, people are going directly to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI-driven search engines,” Russell explains. “Two-thirds of Google searches already end without a click because people get the answer right there. AI tools will make that even more extreme.” Translation? If you’re not actively shaping your digital footprint across multiple channels, you’re disappearing faster than a meme stock rally.

The LinkedIn Goldmine: Stop Waiting for People to Find You

LinkedIn is the least controversial and most advisor-friendly social platform, yet most advisors treat it like a business card instead of the goldmine it is. “I spent two years sending connection requests every single Friday,” says Russell. “I would go through my email inbox and my calendar, and I would connect with every single person I interacted with that week.” The result? A network of 42,000+ followers and a steady stream of inbound opportunities.

Yet most advisors sit back and wait for connections to come to them. Bad strategy. The key? Be proactive. “If you’re targeting physicians, go to LinkedIn, search for a hospital system, filter by job title, and then narrow it down to people who have posted recently,” Russell advises. Then? Engage. Comment. Interact. “Comments are the currency of social media,” she says. “You don’t have to pitch—just be visible and valuable.”

The Website Wake-Up Call: Your 1% Conversion Rate Is Laughable

Most advisor websites aren’t just bad—they’re actively turning clients away. “If I land on your website and I can’t tell in five seconds who you are, what you do, and who you do it for, you’ve already failed,” Russell warns. The biggest mistake? Trying to appeal to everyone. “If you want to attract, you also have to repel.”

Instead of a generic “we work with individuals, families, and businesses” (translation: ‘anyone with a pulse’), your website should be laser-focused on your ideal client. The more specific you get, the better your chances of showing up in AI-driven search results. And, for the love of all things digital, stop making prospects jump through hoops to contact you. “Don’t make them fill out a 20-field form. Just give them a simple link to book a call.”

Email and Texting: The Underrated Growth Engines

What’s the #1 reason clients leave their advisors? Lack of communication. And yet, many advisors still don’t have a consistent email strategy. “Even a simple weekly newsletter with three headlines and a quick take can be incredibly powerful,” Russell says. “The key is consistency.”

And texting? A game-changer. “Advisors who use compliant texting tools like MyRepChat see response times drop from days to minutes,” she notes. “Nobody lives in their inbox anymore, but everyone checks their texts.” If you’re not incorporating SMS into your communication strategy, you’re missing an easy win.

Events That Actually Work: Stop Trying to Close, Start Opening Relationships

Advisors love events—but too often, they measure success by immediate ROI instead of long-term relationship-building. Russell suggests two approaches that work:

1. Hyper-Specific Virtual Events – “Invite an estate attorney to talk about the top five things families fight over. Or bring in a CPA to discuss common tax mistakes business owners make. Make it valuable, and make it niche.”
2. Low-Stakes, High-Engagement In-Person Events – “One firm does an annual ‘holiday card photo day’ where they hire a professional photographer. Clients bring their kids or grandkids, take photos, and have fun. No pressure, no hard sell—just brand reinforcement.”

If your event strategy revolves around ‘closing,’ you’re doing it wrong. “The best events don’t feel transactional,” Russell emphasizes. “They make people want to engage with you again.”

Video: Your Digital Handshake

Video is no longer optional. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. “People want to see your face, hear your voice, and get a sense of who you are before they ever book a call,” Russell says. “And no, it doesn’t have to be high production.”

Short-form video reigns supreme on social media, while YouTube remains an underutilized goldmine for advisors willing to go deeper. And don’t overthink it. “Some of the best videos are just shot on a smartphone,” Russell points out. “The hardest part is getting started.”

The Bottom Line: Adapt or Fade into Obscurity

The advisory world is shifting faster than most firms can keep up with. AI, social search, digital-first client expectations—these aren’t future trends, they’re today’s reality. And yet, many advisors are still clinging to outdated marketing strategies, hoping that their referral pipeline will somehow sustain them forever.

Here’s the hard truth: it won’t.

As Russell puts it, “If you wait until you think you’re ready, you started too late.”

The choice is simple: evolve or be forgotten.

Footnote:
"The 2025 Marketing Guide for Financial Advisors with Samantha Russell." AdvisorAnalyst, 21 Feb. 2025, https://advisoranalyst.com/2025/01/28/2025-marketing-guide-for-financial-advisors-with-samantha-russell.html.