Financial Advisor PR Strategy with Michelle Lawless (Media Minefield)

Summary:

In this episode of the Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook, host Mark Mersman sits down with Michelle Lawless, Vice President at Media Minefield, to talk about how public relations and earned media can become a powerful growth tool for financial advisors. Michelle shares her background in broadcast journalism, her transition into PR, and how she ended up working with Media Minefield at a time when the company was beginning to specialize in the financial space. Over the years, Media Minefield has consistently worked with 40 to 50 financial advisors across the country, helping them build credibility, expand brand awareness, and strengthen trust in their local markets. Michelle emphasizes the importance of trust in financial services, pointing out that being featured as a media expert not only elevates an advisor’s profile but also reassures potential clients that they are credible and knowledgeable.

She explains the distinction between advertising and PR by noting that advertising is when you tell people you are good, while PR is when someone else says you are good. That distinction matters because earned media—interviews on TV, articles in respected publications, and thought leadership pieces—builds credibility in a way that advertising simply cannot. Consumers are more likely to trust and connect with someone they see being interviewed by a journalist than someone running a paid spot. She highlights that Media Minefield supports advisors not only with earned media but also with thought leadership opportunities, such as writing articles for Kiplinger or contributing blog content that showcases their expertise. Social media also plays a big role in their strategy, especially LinkedIn, where advisors can engage with their audience and demonstrate thought leadership.

Mark and Michelle discuss the role of PR in the overall growth of an advisor’s practice. Michelle points out that PR helps an advisor establish themselves as a trusted expert in their community, which in turn leads to business opportunities. Unlike advertising, where the audience is aware they are being marketed to, PR positions the advisor as a source of knowledge and guidance, which resonates more strongly with consumers. She also emphasizes the importance of appearing in local media. Financial advisors are typically licensed to operate in certain states or regions, so building credibility within their local market is crucial. Earned media in these areas directly connects them with potential clients who are most likely to work with them.

The conversation also touches on misconceptions advisors may have about PR. Some advisors think they must only talk about highly specific retirement or investment topics, but Michelle explains that broader financial stories—such as interest rates or seasonal budgeting tips—can also be valuable because they still position the advisor as an expert. When the audience sees someone frequently providing useful insights, they build recognition and familiarity with that advisor, which ultimately leads to new business. She explains that consumers often remember the advisor they saw on TV or in an article, even if the segment wasn’t directly related to retirement.

Michelle clarifies the difference between earned media and paid media segments. Paid segments typically appear on lifestyle shows and are labeled as sponsored content, while interviews during news programming are earned and not paid for. She explains that Media Minefield’s role is to secure those earned opportunities, which carry more credibility with audiences. Mark raises the concern that some advisors may wonder whether they are “PR-worthy.” Michelle answers by saying that any advisor who is an expert in their field is worthy of PR; it simply comes down to whether they are willing to step into that spotlight. She acknowledges that doing media interviews can be intimidating, but nerves are normal and Media Minefield provides coaching to help advisors prepare. From practicing talking points to guidance on how to sit, what to wear, and where to look, they equip advisors to present themselves confidently on camera.

The discussion turns to balancing traditional and digital media. Michelle stresses that both are valuable and should complement one another. Despite assumptions that few people watch local TV news anymore, she notes that the demographic most aligned with financial advisors—older adults approaching or in retirement—still watches TV regularly. At the same time, thought leadership articles and digital placements can be leveraged on websites, social media, and newsletters, which extend the life of earned media. With the rise of AI search, Michelle highlights that earned media is increasingly important because AI tools prioritize credible, third-party sources when serving results. She shares that people now vet advisors differently than in the past. Instead of simply visiting a website, they often check social media or look for credible media appearances. This means that having media placements show up in AI or social searches adds powerful credibility in today’s landscape.

Mark emphasizes how consumer behavior is shifting, pointing out how quickly people are moving from using Google to using AI tools like ChatGPT to get answers. He notes that AI favors legitimate sources, which makes PR even more critical. Michelle agrees, stressing that earned media is where AI is pulling information from. This makes PR not just about brand awareness but also about visibility in the digital age.

For advisors who may not be ready to hire a PR firm, Michelle offers grassroots strategies to break into media. She recommends reaching out directly to local reporters via email, introducing yourself as an expert, and offering to be a resource. Watching for opportunities on social media, such as when reporters ask for sources, is another effective tactic. Advisors should also pay attention to cyclical stories—like interest rate updates, back-to-school budgeting, or holiday giving—where they can insert themselves as experts. She emphasizes the importance of being responsive, as news moves quickly. Advisors who make themselves available for same-day interviews build relationships with reporters and are more likely to get called again.

They also discuss whether it’s better for an assistant to make initial contact with reporters or for the advisor themselves to do it. Michelle recommends that the advisor reach out directly, while the assistant can help research contact information and reporters’ beats. She explains that reporters covering consumer finance or local interest stories are best to target, while investigative or crime reporters are not ideal. Producers can also be key contacts, though they can be harder to find. Media Minefield uses a mix of methods to connect, from email and phone to social media DMs, depending on the preferences of the media professional.

Compliance is another concern for advisors. Michelle reassures that interviews typically stay at a high enough level to avoid compliance issues. Media Minefield also develops talking points in advance that can be sent to compliance departments for approval. For advisors who require disclosures, those can be added when sharing the interview afterward on their own channels.

ROI is a common question, and Michelle acknowledges that PR is not as direct as advertising in terms of tracking results. However, she explains that advisors often see website traffic increase within 24 to 48 hours of an interview, as well as phone calls and inquiries. Over time, the consistent presence builds a snowball effect that raises appointment requests and closing ratios. Mark adds that often advisors misattribute their improved results to simply getting better, when in fact PR has been elevating their credibility in the background.

The conversation also touches on AI and whether it threatens the PR industry. Michelle insists it does not, noting that while AI is a great tool for research and ideation, true storytelling and unique perspectives require human input. Advisors who want to stand out must share their authentic experiences and expertise, which cannot be replicated by AI-generated content. Media Minefield begins each engagement with a messaging session, creating a “message map” that identifies an advisor’s differentiators, stories, and soundbites. This ensures that all PR, social media, and thought leadership is aligned with the advisor’s personal brand.

Michelle explains the process of working with Media Minefield, starting with messaging, then moving to pitching opportunities in as little as two to three weeks. Advisors have input on the topics pitched, and the firm provides local exclusivity so that they are not representing competitors in the same market. Engagements start as six-month commitments to allow time for results, after which clients move to a month-to-month agreement. Media Minefield also offers opportunities for national exposure, in addition to local placements, which broadens an advisor’s reach and authority.

The discussion closes with Michelle underscoring the passion her team has for PR and how it can transform an advisor’s practice. While not every advisor may be ready for PR, she hopes the conversation helps advisors see its value and either take the first grassroots steps themselves or partner with a firm like Media Minefield. Mark summarizes by encouraging advisors to take action, whether by trying to get into media themselves or by hiring professionals. He emphasizes that PR builds credibility, trust, and authority—three critical factors that can drive growth and success for financial advisors in today’s competitive and evolving marketplace.

Transcript:

Mark Mersman, Chief Marketing Officer at USA Financial - Welcome back everybody to Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook. I am joined by Michelle Lawless with Media Minefield. She is the vice president of Media Minefield and I'm not even going to attempt to start the explanation of exactly what you guys do, Michelle. So start by sharing a little bit about your background and then ultimately what led you to landing at Media Minefield and then I want you to explain what the heck Media Minefield is.

Michelle Lawless, Vice President of Media Minefield - I'm happy to do that, Mark, and thank you for having me today. I am the vice president at Media Minefield. I've been here for about 13 years now, but my career actually started in broadcast journalism. I was a television news producer in Phoenix for about seven and a half years. I got kind of burned out. It's a tough industry and the natural transition was to PR for me. So I moved to a public relations company that worked with a lot of products and I was there for about two years. It was a remote job and I was just kind of not feeling it. And I ended up coming back to Minneapolis where Media Minefield is headquartered, got through a strange introduction. My sister's best friend from high school, introduced me to Christy Peel, our founder. And it so happened that at that time, Christy had just signed her first big deal, which was actually with a financial marketing organization. And we were gonna start working with financial advisors across the country. And she needed people to do the work. And so she hired me and I came on board and the rest is kind of history.

Mark Mersman - Okay, now obviously Media Minefield, you guys do PR in a lot of different industries, but you have a little bit of a specialization in the financial space. Is that a safe assumption to make?

Michelle Lawless - Absolutely. I mean, it is, it's foundational for our company. So it has like a really special place in our hearts. And throughout our 15 years in the industry, we've always maintained a roster of 40 or so financial, 40 to 50 financial advisors across the country in different markets that we're working with. And the way that we're working with them is really to help build brand awareness and reputation and increase their reputation positively in their local markets. And we do that through a couple of different ways, but one of them is earned media, which is essentially just getting these financial advisors in their local media, speaking as the expert on topics that the audience is really interested in. And seeing somebody on TV as an expert makes you feel like you can trust them. And as we know, in the financial industry, trust is critical for your clients to feel like they want to work with you. So that's like a huge advantage to this. The other piece that we're doing is helping them with thought leadership. So it could be blogs that are going on their website, or we have a lot of advisors that are doing authored articles, Kiplinger articles. And so they're getting their thought leadership published in Kiplinger. And that's what we're that's what we're helping them with. And then in some cases, we're helping them with strategic social media. So growing their LinkedIn, for instance, sharing their expertise, again, to connect with their audiences and feel like they're building a connection and trust.

Mark Mersman - So how do you explain the role, and you kind of touched on this a bit, obviously trust is certainly at the forefront here, but how do you explain the role of PR and the growth of a financial practice? Where does it kind of fit in? Why shouldn't advisor care and even think about jumping down this, know, exploring this path with you guys or any, you know, just looking at media as a tool inside of their practice?

Michelle Lawless - Think the best way to say it, then this is not a quote for me, but advertising is saying you're good. PR is getting somebody else to say you're good. And that's really what this is all about. In today's day and age, people can see through advertising, but earned media and public relations and thought leadership, really feels like you're giving advice, you're educating people, and it makes them feel like they're getting to know you on a personal level. That's where we're building the trust. That's where we're increasing the credibility for our financial advisor clients across the country. And we're doing it in their home markets, right? Because that's where their clients are going to come from, right? You're licensed in a certain state and you work in a certain area. And so we're going out to the local media to get you positioned as an expert to talk on the topics that your audience really cares about. And then they feel like they get to know you, they see you as an expert, and then they reach out to you. And that's kind of the end goal is to that the goal is always to drive more business, right? We wouldn't invest in anything in marketing if we weren't trying to build grow, drive more business. And that is exactly what we're doing. It's just a different path than, say, advertising would be.

Mark Mersman - Yeah. So you've got a unique perspective because you worked in the media for a while. Now, obviously you're working directly with the media on behalf of your clients. What would you say are some of the biggest misconceptions that financial advisors might have about working with the media and trying to punch through and get connected and make, form some of those relationships.

Michelle Lawless - I did. I think one of the things that we have to do quite a bit of education around is that it's OK to go and talk about a basic financial topic. Most financial advisors are looking for people pre or entering or in retirement. That's their ideal client base. However, going and talking about a topic like what's happening with interest rates that may be a little bit broader and then something super specific to your audience is still super valuable because to the people that are watching, listening, reading, it's positioning you as an expert in the financial space and it's giving you that brand awareness. So they recognize your name, your company's name. And when they're looking for that financial advisor, they're like, yeah, I saw that guy. He was on my favorite TV station with my favorite anchor interviewing him and he was great. That's somebody that I want to reach out to. So I think part of it is understanding that broader topics is actually really good for you because at the end of the day, the person at home wants to trust you and wants to feel like you're a financial expert.

Mark Mersman - So I'm going to ask you this question and I'm put you on the spot. I don't know. I don't know if this, if you, if you're going to have an exact answer here, but when somebody sees, take any local market and you know, small town, midtown, big, big town USA. And there's a financial advisor being interviewed by somebody on the news. What percentage of those do you think is.

Michelle Lawless - I love that.

Mark Mersman - paid thing where an advisor is actually paying the station directly, let's say for a commercial, if you will, or an infomercial versus something that maybe a firm like yours ultimately stirred up and got, you know, got that advisor that opportunity.

Michelle Lawless - You can tell the difference between the two of them by where the interview is being aired. So for instance, if it's in a newscast, if it's in any one of the station's newscasts, it is not paid. They don't pay for any of those segments. There are some lifestyle shows that will do paid segments, but you'll notice they'll put a banner on it that says it's sponsored by the company. That means it's a paid segment. So that's the difference that you can tell at a TV station or a magazine there or a newspaper. If something is paid, they're always going to make sure that the audience knows what's paid versus what's editorial. And editorial is where you're going and doing that expert interview. Those are often facilitated by a firm like ours, by a PR.

Mark Mersman - Sure. And I think the average consumer is going to definitely lean more towards the one that doesn't say this is a paid promotion or something to that effect. I can see the value there. Let's say an advisor is listening to this. I'm sure many of them are going to there's a number of different questions that at least come to my mind. If I'm an advisor thinking about this, one of the first ones is. Well, is this even right for me? Am I media worthy? Am I PR worthy? How do you answer that question? When is an advisor, how do you determine PR media worthiness?

Michelle Lawless - I mean, I would say that if you're an expert, you're PR or media worthy. It's just a matter of do you want to do it? It is putting yourself out there a little bit, right? And for some people, like that makes them very nervous. They haven't done it before. Everybody feels that way. I mean, I have nerves any time I go and do an interview. The nerves are super normal. Part of our process is to coach all of our clients ahead of their interviews. So we run through what the interview is going to look like, what it's going to feel like, who you're sitting with. It's important to have an idea of who you're going to be talking with. And we give them that kind of background information. We go through talking points. We teach them how to sit when you're on TV, what to wear, where to look, all of those things, because it does make a difference. That stuff is, it's important. When you go and do an interview, especially one where there's going to be where you're on TV or there's video component to it, people are going to judge you not just based on what you say, but on how you show up. so if you're, I mean, if you look nervous, people aren't going to think that you're an expert. So it is important that you get that kind of good coaching before, but the reality is, if you have a desire to do it, and you're an expert at something, like a financial advisor is certainly an expert, then you're a media worker.

Mark Mersman - So obviously we're in a very digital age now. How do you try to balance like in, with your, your approach or as an advisor is thinking about this balancing more traditional media outlets, TV, radio, newspaper versus digital and online publications. How are you trying to coach the balance there? What where an advisor should put focus?

Michelle Lawless - Yes.

Mark Mersman - When it comes to that sort of thing and or leverage, you know, the traditional with, you know, the digital side.

Michelle Lawless - I think you're absolutely right. our recommendation is to leverage traditional with digital. We're always looking for sort of a mixed approach because it is you, we, the reality is people think that nobody watches TV news anymore, but that is, that is not at all the case. And in fact, for financial advisors, the biggest, the largest audience is their ideal audience. So,

Mark Mersman - Yeah.

Michelle Lawless - being on local TV news is really valuable for them from that perspective. But there's certainly value in, as I mentioned, Kiplinger, right? Kiplinger is a well-respected outlet. And so being able to put out an article on your social media or share it in a e-newsletter with your clients and potential client base is super valuable. You can put on your website that you've been in Kiplinger before. And those things, that is inherent credibility that is important as people start looking for a financial advisor and then vetting them. It's interesting, we find that people used to always just go do a Google search and go to your website. And that's how they would learn about you. People search differently now. So AI search is obviously surging. The number one source that comes up when you do an AI search is earned media. So that's huge for a company. And then secondarily, people are now searching via social media. So they'll put in, like, I'm looking for a financial advisor in this area, via LinkedIn, see whose profiles and companies come up. And that's how they will look for people even if they find them somewhere else, they're going to your social media to vet you instead of to your website. In the no-click search world, earned media is becoming even more valuable. And that's one of the things that we're really trying to educate people.

Mark Mersman - Yeah. I would argue that that might be the biggest takeaway from today's session is, know, it was just a few years ago that a lot of the conversation and talk to the marketing world was search engine optimization and what are all the things that we're doing now? And now everything's shifting over towards, Hey, you know what? It was, it's funny because I was just at a football game the other day and there was the 70 year old gentleman, give or take, sitting right in front of me. And I heard the guy that he was sitting next to ask him a question. And this guy said, I don't know, but let's find out. And he pulled up chat GPT and starts dictating into it. Whereas just two years ago or one year ago, it would have been Google. Now it's about how do I show up in these AI searches into your point? You know, AI is getting very smart in terms of what they're going to start serving up and.

Michelle Lawless - Yep.

Mark Mersman - third party credibility, leveraging that earned media is going to drive that activity so that you bubble up to the top. I think that's, that's a little tip of the trade. I'm sure that you guys are leaning into to say, Hey, this is the new world. This is the benefit to going this direction. And cause these AI engines are looking for verifiable legitimate sources that are going to determine whether or not you get shown or your competitor get shown in some of those searches. So that's a, that's a big deal. I'm going to switch gears a little bit with you, Michelle. So, and for what it's worth, we're not, isn't the point of today's podcast. know you guys are very reasonable from a cost perspective. I've obviously had conversations with your team, but let's assume an advisor  either isn't at a point from a capital standpoint to make this investment or just isn't sure. Is there are there some tips that you would say, hey, you know what, to get started, here's an idea or two that you could do on your own to possibly pierce through some of those opportunities if they wanted to do a little bit of the grassroots blood, sweat and tears on their own.

Michelle Lawless - You absolutely can do this grass roots effort, as you called it, on your own. It is doable. I think the reason that people work at the PR firm is because it does take some blood, sweat, and tears, as you mentioned. But the way to do it is to look at your local media. So go to their websites. They often have their reporters and anchors

Mark Mersman - Yeah. Yeah.

Michelle Lawless - They're listed on those websites. They have email addresses there. do some kind of, it's kind of cold outreach to them, but introduce yourself, who you are, here's where I work, I'm an expert in this. These are some of the things that I can talk about. I'd love to be a resource for you. There are, you can do that and you can make some good relationships that way. I will say that works more often in smaller markets. And also it helps if you pay attention to social media for the news stations. A lot of times reporters are putting out like, hey, I'm doing this story and I'm looking for this type of expert. Does anybody know anybody? Like you could jump in there and be an expert. If there's a new reporter to a station, they are  always looking to make, you they're looking to build their Rolodex. They don't have it yet in that, in that industry or in that market. So reach out to them when they're new to the, to the market and then offer to be an expert for them. And then here's the other key part of this is you got to be ready to jump. So news moves quickly and

Mark Mersman - to build their roster. Yeah.

Michelle Lawless - Being a go-to resource means that you need to be able to do interviews that day. Same day, within a couple of hours, potentially, on financial topics. And being a yes person is going to get you the next call. So if you can never do an interview, if you're never available, they're going to stop calling you. They're going to stop reaching out to you. You're like, you're done. You're off their list. They'll find somebody else. But if you can say yes, so knowing when to reach out, knowing that I'm in town this week and I'm not traveling, my schedule isn't so packed that I can't make 15 minutes for an interview at any point this week. Those are the things that you want to think about as you're reaching out. And then pay attention to what the news is already talking about. News is cyclical. So there are some things that we can see coming, right? Like there's interest rate meetings that are happening. What is happening with interest rates? We know when that's going to be a story, right? Back to school time. Everybody needs to budget for back to school, shopping, clothes, all of that every single year. It's a topic every single year. Be the expert that is able to talk about how to build a budget so that you can actually save for retirement and afford your life right now. There are some topics like that that you can see giving. Certainly around Thanksgiving, we talk a lot about charitable giving. What impact does that have for you on your finances? What are the benefits? What should you look for? There are things like that that you can think about being an expert on. So looking ahead at some of those opportunities and then reaching out to say, hey, you might be thinking about doing a story on this. I wanted to let you know that I'd be happy to be an expert interview for you.

Mark Mersman - So let's dive a little bit more into that. Cause I think this is really practical. And I think that advisors that are listening to this will be in three camps. One that is just saying, for me, period. Another that's saying, yeah, this is really interesting. Maybe I want to try to forge my own path. And then obviously those that say, Hey, I want to just hire and pay somebody to do it all for me. And I'll show up for that middle group. If they've got an assistant in their office, is it better for the assistant, do you think, to reach out to that media contact? Or is it better for the advisor, just from a peer positioning standpoint, what would your guidance be and what would that initial reach out look like in that situation?

Michelle Lawless -The advisor do it. I think the assistant is a great person to do some of the research for you and get some of the find the right people to reach out to. Like that's a great job for an assistant to do. I think if you're trying to forge a relationship that being the expert that is reaching out is is the best way to approach it. And I would start again with an introduction. Who am I? What do I do? You know, I know that you're always looking for expert interviews, especially to speak about financial topics. Here's my background. Here are some of the topics that I would be able to help you with. I'd love to be a resource for you. Feel free to reach out to me in this way anytime you need me kind of thing. That's where I would start. And then you can start to you may or may not get a response back you may not get a response back. And then two months from now, that reporter is reaching out to you because they need you for a story. So don't be alarmed if you don't hear anything right away. It doesn't mean that it's not working, but you can stay kind of top of mind by every few weeks or once a month reaching out with, hey, here are some of the things that I'm seeing in the industry. Here are some of the things that I'm talking about with my clients. Here are some of the things that like we

Mark Mersman - Sure.

Michelle Lawless - we talked about, what are the things that are coming up in the financial world that they could maybe be a resource on? And just giving them some tips, some ideas, and letting them know that you're still there and still a

Mark Mersman - At a TV station, for example, who's the right contact? I mean, is it the on air person? Is it a producer person? mean, because they're obvious. some of those stations, you might find a list of 10, 20 people, you know, that, I can get their contact info. can see their title. What angle there are you typically, you know, recommending somebody to make the connection with?

Michelle Lawless - So reporters are a good place to look. I would look at a reporter. I would take a reporter and then I'd look at the stories that they've done. Some reporters, even if they don't have a signed kind of beats, which is the type of news that they're doing, you can tell by looking at the stories. So there'll be some reporters that are gonna be the ones that are always covering the crime, right? That's not a reporter to reach out to.

Mark Mersman - Right. Right.

Michelle Lawless - This is a reporter that's always covering politics and the courts. That's not a reporter to reach out to. You can find reporters that are doing some more kind of, sometimes there's financial reporters in and of themselves. Like they're doing all the money stories at that station. And that's a great person to reach out to. Or it's somebody that's doing a lot of consumer focused angles. Like that's a great person to reach out to.

Mark Mersman - Right.

Michelle Lawless - Avoid an investigative journalist at all costs. If they're a part of an investigative team, don't reach out to them. That's not your ideal audience. But that's what you would kind of want to look for when you're forging a list of reporters. When you're looking for producers, you're going to have to dig a little harder to find a producer's contact information. But producers are often making the decisions about who's being interviewed like live in studio on the local morning show, for instance. So getting to that producer is ideal. You can try to go through the anchor and take the same path and say, hey, is there somebody that is kind of responsible for your expert interviews that you could put me in touch with? And still give them the same kind of rundown. That might help you get there. Otherwise you're gonna have to

Mark Mersman - Do you recommend?

Michelle Lawless - You're going to have to do some, I call it stocking because that's, I say that like we're expert stockers at the end of the day, which is why we're so good at our jobs. But, you got it. You got to do some digging to try to get the actual producers.

Mark Mersman - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it like when you guys are doing your stocking and then your reach out, is it typically multiple reach out to the same person or like at what point is there a borderline between a you're being a pest versus you're just trying to be helpful? Cause that feels like a fine line there.

Michelle Lawless -It totally is a fine line. And I think the differences in what you're reaching out about and how often, right? So we don't ever pitch the same person more than once in a week. And then if we're gonna follow up on something, we're only gonna follow up one time on something. And if we then if we're going to reach out again, it's with a totally different idea or angle or reason. Right. So as I mentioned, don't just do your introduction, but then don't just reach out to reach out, reach out with something that is helpful to that reporter, like the trends and the things that are going to be in the news or are in the news that you could weigh in.

Mark Mersman - Does it make sense? mean, I'm just trying to think through and crafting the pitch. And I mean, if you're about to make a pitch on, you know, you mentioned it earlier, interest rate updates or changes or whatever rate meetings. Does it make sense to have a blog or two on your site that maybe is demonstrating that you do actually have knowledge on this topic and can speak intelligently about it? mean, what other, what else should you maybe send to, to prove that? Hey, I am actually credible. Cause I think once you get your foot in the door, you show yourself. Well, you know, your opportunity to come back is going to create itself, but just punching that door open. Anything else that you try to coach advisors on to say, this is what's going to make our pitch even easier if we had X, Y, or Z.

Michelle Lawless - The number one thing that I tell people is their LinkedIn presence. So the media vets experts in the same way that the public does. And they're going to go and look at your social media, either your specific social media or the company's social media. But they like it even more if you've got your own social media that is active. So when I say active, it means that at least once a week you are posting some original post or and or you're engaging on other posts on sharing different thought leadership that way. So when you mentioned like having those topics on your website, yes, blogs are super helpful for that. And you can even include that when you send when you send that to your to a contact at the media. There's two things that I would think of, but the first thing is social media. And then the second thing is that thought leadership being on your website that you can include when you send to

Mark Mersman - So the other, I guess, one angle that you've kind of taken is taking current news or topics that we know are cyclical and inserting yourself as a resource and an expert there. But what if an advisor has something that is deemed newsworthy in their own right? And a couple of examples, maybe they're opening a new office or they built a new building or a big one might be they just published a book. Are those things newsworthy? What's the, what's your advice on whether or not we can get some PR around events like those or anything along those lines?

Michelle Lawless - So we've had several advisors that we've worked with in similar situations. Some of those can be newsworthy for the business writers in your area, oftentimes for a new building, a new office, acquisition, something like that. That is going to be newsworthy to the business reporters in your area going to be even more newsworthy if you've built a name for yourself in that community by being active in the community and a resource for expert interviews, right? So these all kind of build upon each other, right? A book can be the exact same way, but the best way that we find is to do expert interviews and work those pieces into an expert interview. So for instance, we had an advisor recently who had an education class that he was putting on and he went on TV and did an expert interview and then mentioned that he had this education class that was coming up and here's what he was gonna be talking about and here's where you could go and sign up. And he had attendees come just because they saw him in this, on this interview on TV that wasn't even all about this educational class. So I think sometimes people think, it has to be all about my book or all about my new building. But in reality, there's a way to work that into almost any expert interview that is makes it feel natural, but also gets that information out, which is a win win.

Mark Mersman - about the book or write. Yeah. I'm going to ask one question. only like, I don't like to give too much attention to this because it's kind of boring, but how do you help advisors navigate compliance? And, know, as you know, we're in a highly regulated industry. I think some advisors might shy away from PR just because of the compliance concerns. How do you help them navigate that? What do you, you know, obviously if they want to take advantage of the opportunities, but they certainly don't want to get their wrist slapped. You know, what, what's your takeaway on that side of things?

Michelle Lawless - Yeah, so I mean, we've been doing this for 14 plus years, so we understand financial compliance pretty dang well. We know what you can and can't say. And what I will tell you is expert interviews are so high level that you're rarely ever getting into a place that compliance could be upset with you. However, what we also do is we do talking points ahead of time. So those talking points can go through your compliance department, right? If you need to get approval on the topic and what we're gonna talk about, we can put those talking points together ahead of time and then send them through compliance so that when we get an interview, we already know that compliance is gonna be good with it. We also have some advisors that still need a compliance disclosure that is included with that interview that they've done. So when we get the link for them, then we add the disclosure to the end of that. You're not going to get the disclosure on the actual TV interview, but you can add it when you're posting it, which has been adequate for all of the advisors that we've worked with over time.

Mark Mersman - Right. Sure. All right, now let's shift gears into the bread and butter of what it really comes down to for an advisor, which is ROI. And I think this is probably one of the biggest areas of challenge that you run into because a lot of your work is very hard to measure. How do you an advisor make sense of whether or not

Michelle Lawless - Yup.

Mark Mersman - They're getting what they wanted out of their investment. You know, how do you help them track a return on, you know, the, the, the dollars that they're putting in and the time that they're putting in to make this PR, you know, campaign happen.

Michelle Lawless - It is that is such a challenging situation and it is a challenging question because the difference between advertising and PR is you can't draw a straight line to the activity that is taken. So oftentimes activity isn't taken immediately or is taken but goes through like you'll have somebody say, oh, I want.

Mark Mersman - You

Michelle Lawless - I want to go meet with this person. And then I put their name into Google and then an ad comes up at the top, right? And I click on that. And now you think that that person is coming from an ad, but actually they came from your interview. Like all of this stuff plays together, right? So it does take the understanding that public relations is at the end of the day, it's about brand awareness and reputation management.

Mark Mersman - you. Right. Yeah


Michelle Lawless - And those things are critical for businesses today. You need to be known in your area and you need to have a good reputation. And that's really what public relations is setting you up to do. And there should be direct activity that comes from this, but it's gonna be on you to be asking new clients, how did you hear about me? How did you find us?

Mark Mersman - Right.

Michelle Lawless - Our clients that ask those questions, they can always say, yep, I had a client with $3 million in assets that reached out to me because they saw the Kiplinger article that I wrote and published. Our clients have those stories, but it's not gonna happen on day one, and it's not gonna happen every time you do an interview.

Mark Mersman - Yeah. I think.

Michelle Lawless - but all of it is a snowball effect that does lead to tangible results.

Mark Mersman - I think the, you know, the anecdotes that I've been able to share over the years, and we've had a number of advisors getting different, you know, media opportunities. Typically what, what I will hear is, you know, if you're doing media fairly regularly, you have it on your website, you integrate it into your other marketing. It's in your collateral that I've been featured in, seen on, interviewed by. If they're doing other marketing efforts, whether it's you know, public educational workshops and that sort of thing. All of a sudden their appointment request ratios go up and then our closing ratios go up. oftentimes advisors aren't always pointing back to PR as the reason for it because they thought, Oh, I'm just, I'm getting good. I'm better at this now. The reality is, is understanding the psychology of the buyer and the consumer. They are.

Michelle Lawless - Yep.

Mark Mersman - vetting an advisor to see, I trust them? Are they credible? All this stuff. And the work that you do on the media side elevates all of those things. Um, and so I, I think that's the biggest challenge because so many advisors and it's not just advisors, is entrepreneurs, business owners. They want to spend a dollar today and expect to see that return of $3. Whatever. Right. So that doesn't always happen.

Michelle Lawless - $2 tomorrow, yep.

Mark Mersman - when engaging firms like yours, but there's usually this rising tide that comes along with their business. So I'm sure it's the question you hate to get because you have to do the dance.

Michelle Lawless - I get it. I mean, I answer it all the time. And there are like, there are some data points. Like if you're, if you do an interview, we, often see if you're measuring your website traffic in the first 24 to 48 hours, our clients see on average a 20 % increase in traffic to their website. So that is like, there's something that you can look and see we often hear that there are calls made in the first 24 to 48 hours to an office after there is an interview that airs or is published or whatever it may be. So there are like, can, there are some data points, but to your point it is, it's difficult.

Mark Mersman - Sure. Okay. Um, I'm sure you've heard of this thing called artificial intelligence. Um, how is that changing your world in terms of the work that you guys do as a PR firm? And, you know, how do you see that maybe evolving for financial advisors, you know, and maybe changing how they might want to think about PR as, know, as we move forward.

Michelle Lawless -Yeah. Well, I'm a huge fan of AI, actually. is, I mean, it's making our business even more valuable. And I've been talking about for forever how important public relations, earned media, strategic social media, thought leadership is. you know, I've been singing this from this song sheet for a long time, but now AI is really proving how important that is. And the people that have been investing in AI or investing in PR are ahead of the game now because that's where AI is pulling, is getting information from. And it's not too late. But beyond just making my business more valuable, which I love, making people understand why we should be doing PR, AI I think is maybe muddying the waters a little bit in

Mark Mersman - Right.

Michelle Lawless - in how good public relations is done. And that is something that we have to educate on. So AI is a great tool for research and ideation. It should not be driving content that ends up on your website or on your social media. When we talk about the value of the AI search, it's not looking for the same thing. If it sees the same thing all over then that's not what it's gonna deem as expert or thought leadership. It's the unique perspectives. It's the experience that only you can bring from your experience. It's your own stories of success or failure or whatever it is that makes you an expert. And that can't be generated by AI. So a lot of people say like, my gosh, are you worried about your business? Like, absolutely not. At the end of the day, we're messaging experts and we're storytellers. So that's what we do. We put stories together via thought leadership articles. We put stories together via earned media opportunities. And that is going to require a human forever, in my opinion.

Mark Mersman - Touch a little bit more on that because I think that's a big part of what you do, as you alluded, is weaving in that personal story. And this kind of segues, I guess, nicely to the whole idea of understanding what the process is like. If an advisor engaged your firm, what's that process like? And tell me a little more around kind of the story piece of it that you're trying to take and run with that, you know, in their local markets and to help that advisor really stand out from, you know, the other 20 advisors, you know, within a few miles from them.

Michelle Lawless - Yeah, so I mentioned messaging experts are really we start with messaging at the center of what we're doing. And that's about getting to know you and who you are and your business and your differentiators. We can have four advisors in four different markets across the country doing an interview on the same topic. And I guarantee those four interviews are going to look very different. And the reason is because they're different. The advisors are different. The area is different. The stations are different. The way that they talk about themselves and what they do, sometimes what they believe the best path is, is different. And it's our job to understand that. So we start with the message session, which is really that getting to know you, getting to understand who you are, your differentiators, what's important to you. Who are you on a personal  not just professionally. If we're going to trust somebody, we want to know them on a personal level. So being able to share, you don't have to, you don't have to share everything, right? But being able to share the causes that are important to you, the organizations that you're involved with in your community, the fact that you have two kids that are currently in college. And so you know what it's like to save.

Mark Mersman - Right.

Michelle Lawless - and to have to save for college tuition. So those are the things that do go a long way. And that's what we pull out of the message session. And that goes into a message map, which is we just have fun names for everything because it makes our work exciting. So the message map is not a map. It's actually just a document that has all of this information in media-friendly language. Friendly language is like a sound bite. It basically is three to five sentences where you're making one point, but you're sharing expertise, insight, personality, differentiators. So all of that is in this map. And then that's our foundational messaging. That's the base of the work that we do together. When we write thought leadership or social media posts or go and talk to the media on your behalf, we're using this messaging as who you are and how we wanna talk about you and position you so that you can go and do an amazing interview that's beneficial for you.

Mark Mersman - So when you're making that reach out, so if an advisor engages your firm, you're making that reach out. What does that even look like? I mean, are you saying, Hey, this is Michelle. I'm with Media Minefield calling on behalf of, or reaching out on behalf of Joe Smith and of Smith advisors, like, help me understand how you're trying to attach PR firm to the advisor that you're working with when you're making that pitch.

Michelle Lawless - So I always say you have one line to hook a reporter, one sentence to hook a reporter or a producer. So we start with the meat. There's no burying the lead in what we're doing. So this is happening. You're probably hearing about this. Wouldn't you like to hear from somebody who could weigh in on this, this, and this? And then we go into the background stuff right? So you got to start with like what is the reason for that reporter to read further? What is the benefit to them? And at the end of the day, reporters work for their viewers or readers or listeners. So thinking about they're always looking to educate them, to inspire them, or to equip them, to give them

Mark Mersman - Okay. Right, they're audience.

Michelle Lawless - tools to be successful in some area. So if you can think about how you can connect to that, then that's what you need to start.

Mark Mersman - So, which I love that. it's funny because over the years, as we've gotten different media coverage as a firm, we've tried to stress to advisors, the reality is the media needs you as much as you need them, right? And cause they're doing these stories, they're on tight deadlines. They are looking for sources that they can trust to help them get those stories to the finish line. Let's just say you've got, crafted the perfect message. You've got the perfect hook. Are you, are you typically doing an email? Are you picking up the phone? Is there one that's better than the other? If you have both, mean, what's it? And I guess as a follow up to that, let's just assume there's three TV stations in a market that you want to, you'd love to get on. Are you making the same pitch to eat to three of them? Or are you trying to focus on one and how does that look?

Michelle Lawless - It sort of depends upon, like, I mean, the answer is it depends. It depends upon the relationship. So if we're trying to build relationships, like sometimes we're emailing and then we're calling. If we, maybe we've got a great relationship with somebody and we're texting them because that's the relationship that we already have.

Mark Mersman - Sure, then that's an acceptable answer.

Michelle Lawless - figured out and it's really informal. But it's like, hey, wanted to see if you would be interested in this, this and this, given what's happening, you know? So it really does depend on that relationship, whether or not you're picking up the phone, you're emailing, in some cases we're texting because we've got that relationship. And then it also depends on if I'm going to send the same kind of story idea to multiple different stations, it depends upon what I'm sending, right? Is this breaking news, for instance? Is this news that everybody's gonna be talking about and everybody cares about? Or is this maybe more of a one-off kind of story that I think this reporter would really like? Then I might just offer it to them and tell them, like, hey, I wanted to give you this first. So it does require understanding who that media member is and knowing what paying attention to how they like to communicate. Some of them we reach out to via social media. We DM them because that's the way that they they like to have contact made. And so our job is to know who likes what and to figure out who likes what and then to go to them in the way that is best for them.

Mark Mersman - Yeah, I was wondering that. Sure. Okay, let's, I want to give you a chance to at least touch a little Media Minefield. Obviously you've kind of, we've danced around the edges and a lot of what you've talked about is, you know, are things that you do on behalf of the clients that you represent. I, wants to listen to this and says, I want to take the next step. What does that look like? You know, give a, give a little bit of a, of a pitch for, for you and what that next step would look like if somebody wanted to reach out to you guys.

Michelle Lawless - Yeah, so I would encourage, if you're interested, to look at, we've got a website that is fully dedicated to our financial professional services, to the advisors that we're working with. And that's finance.media-minefield.com. And that site has a lot of great information about how we're working with clients, the value that it's bringing. So I think that if you're interested at all, go check out that site. It will also have a place where you can contact us. And so if you contact us, then we're going to set up an introductory call. And that call is we really want to understand what your goals are, what market you're in, what have you done from a marketing perspective, because then we can kind of prescribe for you some of the things that might be most  the most valuable. So it may start with earned media, right? We may start with doing earned media, but then maybe down the road, we should add in some blogs for your website or some thought leadership in Kiplinger or maybe some strategic social media management. But all of those are things that we can start one place and then we can build as the relationship grows and your business grows because that's what should be happening, right?

Mark Mersman - Right.

Michelle Lawless - But then that's how we kind of get to know you and get to the what's the best solution for you. You'll get a statement of work from us. Our relationships are six month engagements for so you engage for six months at a time. It's because we know that PR like takes a little bit of time and it takes a little bit of time for you to see those results.

Mark Mersman - Yep.

Michelle Lawless - We want you to at least give it a chance. But then after that, you're in a month-to-month engagement with us, which means you can give us notice with 30 days. Just a 30-day notice, and then you can be done with work. We hope you don't do that, but it is an option. And then we're...

Mark Mersman - Yeah, obviously. Yep.

Michelle Lawless - We do that, we schedule that message session and get that message map going. And typically with our financial advisor clients, we're pitching within two to three weeks of them signing an agreement. It's like, it happens quickly.

Mark Mersman - Okay. And that advisor obviously has input on what you're pitching. So you're not out there trying to pitch something that is not in their wheelhouse. you know, I think that's, and the other thing I guess I'll point out to a couple of pieces that you, you didn't mention, but I know from, from conversations with your team, you do have some exclusivity from a local perspective, which if, if you are

Michelle Lawless - Yep.

Mark Mersman -A client of the firm you're really happy about that there's some exclusivity, the drawback is you might be thrown on a wait list. but I think that's a huge advantage for an advisor to understand that you're not out there, you know, pitching their competition right next to them in their local market. The other thing I think that's important to know is you will look at both a local or a national, take a national approach as well. So, you know,

Michelle Lawless - Yes.

Mark Mersman - Cause I think that there's value in both, right? Having a national presence with, know, whether it's publications at a national level versus just the local field. So any parting shots you want to give before we, before we wrap up, Michelle.

Michelle Lawless - There is. No, thank you for pointing those things out, Mark. Those are very, those are very valuable. And if I didn't say that, my director of marketing would be like, what the heck, Michelle, come on. So thank you. Thank you. I think you've saved me. I appreciate that, Mark. No, I really enjoyed this conversation. I really hope that it was helpful. At the end of the day, like I, I want people to work with us.

Mark Mersman - I'm doing what I can. Doing what I can for it.

Michelle Lawless - We're super passionate about what we do, but I also know that it may not be right for you or it may not be right for you at this moment. I hope regardless, you got some good insight and some understanding and you'll consider the value of public relations as being a part of your strategy moving forward.

Mark Mersman - Yeah, absolutely. And, and I, think the point is take action, you know, whether you're going to, you want to spearhead it and try it yourself and put yourself out there. You, you've definitely got some great tips today, but if you want to just hand it over to the professionals and you sit back and wait for the phone to ring, I think that's a great option as well. But I think if, if you want to grow your business and. You know, build that credibility in your local market. PR is a very smart investment for you to look into. So I appreciate your time, Michelle, and we'll catch you later. And thank you for joining the playbook here. All right, you take care.

Michelle Lawless - Thank you so much for having me, Mark.

-- 

The Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook is a podcast/video series for high-performing financial planning professionals that are committed to improving their craft, helping their clients, and growing their business. Hosted by Mark Mersman, Chief Marketing Officer at USA Financial, this series contains a wide variety of content – from quick win ideas to long-form interviews, each episode provides actionable marketing ideas and insights that can be implemented easily into your practice. From digital marketing to traditional direct-response marketing, each episode delivers straight-forward and engaging content that any financial professional can use to improve their bottom line and grow their practice.

Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook is also a podcast! Subscribe today via Apple Podcasts or your preferred podcast listening service for easier on-the-go listening