Let me walk you through my journey of financial advising in digital branding. There I was.

Excited, bewildered and ready to change the landscape of the personal financial services industry. I was young, determined and ready to let the world know that I had taken on one of the biggest risks in my life for something that I believed in.

I mean, really. Who does that?

This is finance! The only way that most people think you get the respect that you deserve is to go big time, right? You work at a firm for a few years to learn the tricks of the trade: how to prospect for clients, open accounts, make ‘sound’ investment recommendations and argue with other know-it-alls about what the market will do next.

If you were talented enough, you would find yourself in Manhattan (which I did) working for a large institution and in the wheel of the hamster yet again.

I couldn’t help but think that there had to be more.

And for most people who have the audacity to follow their hearts, there is. When we founded our firm we made sure that we considered the experiences of what we didn’t want to be, the wolves of Wall Street, and focused on our brand identity.

We focused on the services, the fees and the integrity of the business to the point of exhaustion. We made sure that through our processes and standard operation procedures, our clients would always come first.

After all of the planning, the foundation was finally built and it was time to launch.

We’re here now! The floodgates should burst open with hundreds of people who wanted unbiased Advice With Them In Mind, a relationship with their advisors and fees in their favor -at least that was what we believed.

And it turned out that we were right. We just marketed wrong.

For the entrepreneur, the tough part isn’t getting your idea from your head into the world. The tough part is growing your idea and your brand from seed to tree. People are the lifeblood of any business, both internally and externally. Without happy employees and happy customers, your fate is inevitable.

The, ‘shake hands and kiss babies’ technique just didn’t cut it anymore. People wanted a personal relationship, a brand that they could trust and a true advisor. While we were happy with what we built, we wanted more clients to experience it because it was all for them.

The tide only turned once we took a random walk through digital marketing to bring our brand to the tablets, cell phones and mailboxes of our clients.

Below are 5 things that this random walk has taught me about financial advising in digital branding:

1. Your Personality Matters

What makes you unique isn’t the good or service that you provide. Chances are if your target clients look hard enough, they’ll find the same product or service somewhere else and perhaps for cheaper.

What makes you unique is you! People want to know who you are, know your thoughts and feel your energy.

2. Content is King and Queen

I wish that I could reach every human being that needed our help, but the reality is that I can’t. What I can do is write content that allows people to experience the information and advice that we have to offer without them once shaking hands with us.

By becoming a thought leader and issuing unique content for your audience, you can direct them to the awesome business or idea that you have built.

3. Go Social

We are in the age of social media. If you are not broadcast your ideas and content across all fitting platforms, then you are unconsciously waving the white flag. Experiment with social media platforms and test which ones work best for your idea or business.

4. Make Your Brand Convenient

Utilizing email marketing and online meeting platforms can be a big help. The more access people have to your brand, the more likely they are to work with you and/or tune into your idea.

5. Create a Call to Action

It’s great when you get people to look, but it’s excellent when you get them to join. Creating a call to action such as opening an account or subscribing to a blog can grow your business exponentially in the long term. There should be a call to action associated with every interaction.

6. Track Your Metrics

In the world of digital branding, there are a plethora of options. We all know that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Use applications that help you track your reach, engagement, and click-throughs with potential clients and followers.

7. Get out of your comfort zone and stay there

Your comfort zone is the place where all dreams go to die. In order to create a strong brand, you must be willing to do the things that aren’t always comfortable to you.

Maybe it’s broadcasting live on periscope, or doing TV interviews.

Whatever it is, be willing to go the extra mile for your brand. You’ll thank yourself later.

You’ll thank yourself later.

No ones walk through figuring out the digital branding universe is exactly the same. There will be things that you excel at, that I may have not.

The key is to keep on walking, keep on working and that alone will make all of the difference.