TDLR; Marketing automation makes repeatable advisor communication possible, but it does not replace strategy, campaign selection, review and follow-up. The report found that managed execution produced stronger engagement, with Freedom 360 users generating roughly two to three times higher engagement across key metrics.
Marketing automation helps advisors schedule campaigns, send email, publish content, manage follow-up and connect activity across the client journey. It reduces the need to recreate every communication manually and makes consistency more achievable.
Automation is the infrastructure. It can keep approved communication moving, but it still needs relevant content, accurate audiences, clear goals and human oversight.
Marketing does not work because a campaign is launched once. It works when the right messages continue to reach the right audiences at the right time. Advisors must still choose campaigns, review performance, respond to signals and ensure follow-up happens.
For a busy advisor, those tasks compete with client meetings, planning work and business operations. Even a strong platform can become underused when no one owns the calendar and next steps.
Managed marketing adds an execution layer on top of the platform. That may include campaign selection, cadence planning, seasonal alignment, performance review and ongoing coordination. The advisor retains oversight while specialists help keep the system moving.
The form of ownership can vary. Some firms use an in-house marketer, shared enterprise team or documented internal workflow. Others use a managed program. The essential requirement is that someone is accountable for consistency.
Freedom 360 offers the clearest view in the report of what happens when execution is managed on the advisor’s behalf. Advisors using the program generated roughly two to three times higher engagement across key metrics, including approximately three times more landing-page views and three times more form submissions per user.
The lift appeared across campaigns launched, emails sent, social posts, link clicks, landing-page views and form submissions. The pattern suggests that strategy and technology become more valuable when consistent execution is built into the operating model.
Software-only automation may be appropriate when the firm has a marketing owner, a reliable campaign calendar, approved content, clean CRM data and a clear follow-up process. Managed support may be more useful when the advisor lacks time, internal expertise or consistent operating capacity.
The choice is not necessarily permanent. A firm may begin with managed support, build internal capability or use a hybrid model in which the platform handles automation while an internal or external owner manages strategy and review.
Who will own the marketing calendar? Who selects campaigns and audiences? How will CRM data be used? Who reviews results? What happens after a click, form or meeting request? How will compliance approval fit the workflow? What happens when the advisor becomes busy?
The right model is the one that can keep the system operating consistently. Technology creates leverage, but ownership turns that leverage into execution.
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“To me, it was the perfect system, exactly what we needed.” Kevin Lonergan, Pacific Wealth Management Group Client proof: After implementing Freedom 360, Pacific Wealth Management Group used coordinated email, social and landing-page campaigns and grew AUM by approximately 250% over two and a half years. |
What is financial advisor marketing automation?
It is software that helps advisors schedule and deliver campaigns, email, content and follow-up more consistently across the prospect and client lifecycle.
What is managed marketing for financial advisors?
Managed marketing combines technology with human execution support, such as campaign selection, cadence planning, seasonal alignment and performance review.
Is marketing automation enough for a solo advisor?
It can be, if the advisor or a team member consistently owns strategy, audience selection, review and follow-up. Without ownership, even good automation may be underused.
How much lift did managed execution generate in the report?
Freedom 360 users generated roughly two to three times higher engagement across key metrics, including about three times more landing-page views and form submissions per user.
Data source: Snappy Kraken, State of Digital & AI 2026. Findings are based on aggregate, anonymized platform data from 2024–2025. Website form submissions and campaign landing-page form submissions are reported separately and are not double-counted.