Help advisors help you

When a financial advisor or other intermediary shares your materials, they’re putting their reputation behind your brand. That’s a big responsibility. And it’s why asset managers and other financial firms need to think carefully about how they support intermediaries who market on their behalf.

Advisors and platforms want high-quality, compliant content that feels authentic and useful to their clients. They also want materials that are easy to find, easy to adapt and easy to explain. Firms that make that possible earn a powerful form of advocacy — one built on trust and shared value.

Let’s look at how your firm can strengthen that partnership.

Make content effortless

Most advisors don’t have their own marketing support teams. They’re busy professionals who work on commission (in most instances) and would rather spend their time meeting clients than editing PDFs. If your materials aren’t simple to share and customize, they’ll move on to something else.

A few ways to help:

• Offer content in formats that travel well. A white paper is useful, but a summary slide or short video makes it practical.

• Provide compliance-friendly social posts. The easier your content is to get through compliance and post, the more likely they’ll do it.

• Store everything in one accessible location. Don’t make advisors search across multiple systems or web pages.

Good content is only as powerful as its usability. The more friction you remove, the more reach your message will have.

Balance flexibility and control

Advisors want to share your content in their own voice. But you also need to maintain brand consistency and compliance. The best approach allows for both.

Develop clear tiers of customization. For example, let advisors add their logo or a short introduction to certain materials while keeping the body copy locked. For social content, create a few headline variations that align with your firm’s tone but still sound natural in an advisor’s feed.

Transparency is key. If advisors know exactly what can and can’t be changed, they’ll be more confident using your materials and more likely to stay within guidelines.

Connect emotionally

Intermediary marketing isn’t only about data and performance. Advisors are talking to real people about their future and their financial security. Your content should help them do that.

If your materials explain complex investment ideas in plain language, they become tools for conversation. A chart that shows how consistent investing beats market timing can help an advisor calm nervous clients. A one-page explainer on income strategies can help someone visualize life after retirement.

When your content makes the advisor’s job easier, it naturally deepens their loyalty to your firm.

Share the “why”

Advisors often receive materials that look good but lack insight into the thinking behind them. Without that, it’s hard for them to speak with conviction.

Brief talking points or a quick note from a portfolio manager can make a difference. A few sentences explaining why a strategy matters now — or what problem it helps solve — can help advisors bring your message to life.

Even better, share short internal videos where portfolio managers explain their views in plain language. Advisors can reference or even share those clips directly.

Make compliance an ally

Compliance is often seen as the bottleneck in intermediary marketing. And sometimes it is. That’s why it’s critical to involve compliance early in the content development process and work with them as collaborators.

Invite reviewers to see how your content is being used in the field. When they understand that an advisor is sharing your material within guardrails, they’re more likely to approve flexible formats in the future. Over time, you’ll build a smoother review process and faster turnaround.

Use advisors’ feedback

Marketing through intermediaries should be a two-way relationship. Advisors have first-hand insight into what resonates with investors. Ask for that feedback — and use it.

Run short surveys or host brief feedback calls after major campaigns. Track which materials get the most downloads or shares and which ones are ignored. Patterns will emerge.

You’ll learn which topics drive engagement and where advisors need more support. That insight helps you refine your next round of content and shows intermediaries that their perspective matters.

Measure what matters

Intermediary content engagement can be hard to quantify, but it’s not impossible. Look beyond simple download counts. Track open rates, social shares and page dwell times from advisor-access portals.

When possible, connect those metrics to downstream results — like advisor-led webinars or fund flows. The closer you can tie your content performance to advisor activity, the stronger your business case for future marketing investment.

Keep it human

Technology helps streamline distribution, but it’s not a substitute for human connection. A short check-in email, a personalized note about a recent campaign or a quick thank-you can mean more than an automated reminder ever will. When advisors feel supported by real people who understand their world, they’ll go further to represent your brand with care.

Take a long view

Helping intermediaries market your firm isn’t a single project — it’s an ongoing discipline. It requires empathy, structure and consistent communication. The firms that do it well treat intermediaries as partners, not channels.

When you make it easy for advisors to share your story, they’ll make sure more investors hear it.