Dear Abby,
We're fifteen days away from our transition to independence and I'd love to get your guidance on how to best generate publicity when we move. To whom do you suggest sending press releases?
Also interested in your opinion on the advisability of approaching a journalist about profiling our move. There have been a lot of interesting articles in recent years about the trend toward independence and wirehouse advisors breaking away. Do you think it would be a wise idea? How would I go about reaching out? Would it be a compliance concern?
Thanks, in advance, for your feedback.
Susan
Pittsburgh, PA
Susan,
Thank you so much for reaching out and congrats on your pending move to independence. I am sure you have spent much time preparing for your move and I wish you the best of luck. You should absolutely take this time to generate some publicity and awareness for the launch of your new firm. That is, as long as you have your ducks in line. What I mean by that is before you generate awareness, you may want to run through this checklist of items to ensure you have all the appropriate pieces in place. After all, if you are going to drive reporters and media to look at you, you want to look your best!
- New website ready to go
- Social media sites up and running
- Basic capabilities brochure outlining who you are and what you do
- Possible videos of yourself and/or staff
Of course, you must get all of this approved through your compliance process before you can share it with the world. But, once you do, shout your arrival from the highest rooftop. Contact all local business and community journals and ask them who to send a press release to. If you are looking to have someone profile your move, you may want to invite them to join you through the process and gain a birds eye view of what really transpires. It is an interesting angle and one I think many financial services reporters might be interested in.
I applaud you for thinking about this process now. Many times advisors are so consumed with the pending move, that marketing and PR get put on the back burner. Good luck, and I will look for your story!!
Abby
