While industry leaders agree that financial advisor marketing efforts work best when focused on a specific target audience, not all advisors are following suit. It's scary to consider turning away new prospects and leads. The fact is, the benefits outweigh the potential downside. Here are 4 ways to get the right message across online.

Industry experts like Michael Kitces, Bob Veres and Marie Swift have all chimed in on the major benefits of finding and targeting the right audience to market your financial services to. At a high level, when this happens, you become an expert in a specific field and can more effectively reach that group.

When it comes to your website, visitors should be able to clearly identify who you are, what you do and with whom right away.

Upon arrival, every website visitor should be able to associate you with a very specific target audience and expertise. When you do, that individual makes an immediate connection with you or they think of someone they know.

Especially when you are early in developing your practice or you want to shift the nature of your clientele, the faster you can demonstrate expertise with solving a very specific group of people’s problems, the sooner you’ll gain the momentum and the referrals that you want.

Clarity on your brand and your target has to come alive through your web site. Your goal is to send away the people who do not fit and attract in those who do.   Here’s are four ways to get the right message across to your ideal client online:

• Images:  Imagery is a powerful way to connect with visitors in a matter of seconds. Instead of standard stock photos, find purpose and reason for the images you use online. Can your ideal client relate?

• Logo & branding (including colors, layout and design, typeface and icons):  Again, this should match your ideal client. Do your brand colors resonate with your audience? If your targeted millennials, does your website reflect that?

• Messaging: Craft the language on your site to match your ideal client. Get rid of the financial jargon and replace it with relatable and easy-to-comprehend content. Make sure the welcome text that a visitor sees when they land on your home page focuses on the needs of your target client.   An effective way to communicate your understanding is through the use of clarifying questions such as “Are you a solopreneur who wants to retire within in five years? “ or “Do you worry about meeting payroll, paying the mortgage, and keeping your head above water?”

• Calls-to-action: calls to action encourage web visitors to take action. “Meet with Me,” “Download Whitepaper,” and “Get Your Wealth Assessment” are common examples. These are usually displayed on a website as a button or image. Match your call-to-action and offer with your target audience. Different people respond to various calls-to-action in different ways. The more specialized your offer, the more likely your ideal client will take the bait.