Top 5 Secrets to Increase Your Finance Audience with Social Media

Many financial advisors have been hesitant to use social media to help grow their businesses due to the fact that they feared for breaking the rules and regulations of the financial industry. However, the good news is, once those in the industry understand how social media marketing for financial advisors can work for their benefit without having to break the rules – they will see how much they would be losing out by not taking advantage of this.

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In fact, a study that was conducted not all that long ago showed that out of the 85 percent of financial advisors that used social media to help grow their businesses – about 80 percent of them ended up gaining new clients through that method. Once the tactics of internet marketing for financial advisors is understood, then they can see how well they can potentially do. Let’s now look at the top 5 secrets on how financial advisors can connect with their audience through social media – and be able to become a heavy influence on them as well:

1. Be Sure to Understand the Policy Your Company Has On Social Media

This is the one thing that has gotten financial advisors into trouble in the past which was discussed previously, and this is why there has been a lot of fear around this. However, because of the fact that utilizing social media is a powerful way of marketing for businesses of any niche – most financial firms are on board as well.

Even with that being the case, that does not mean that these firms do not have their own corporate policies. It is the financial advisor’s responsibility to understand that policy by contacting the compliance department and to ask questions. They can talk to colleagues as well and better yet to attend any type of social media marketing for financial advisors training at the firm or online.

2. Determine The Main Target Audience Which Will Have an Influence On the Platform Used

There are a large number of financial advisors that specialize in certain niches that would either be fitting for healthcare professionals, high tech founders, or entrepreneurs in general. The financial advisor needs to choose the social media platform that is used mostly by his or her potential and existing clients. For instance, if the financial advisor specializes in helping entrepreneurs, then he or she will want to focus on creating a presence on LinkedIn because that is the most popular platform for them.

3. Create A Personal Brand

For those who are not overly familiar with social media, this concept can be difficult. However, it does not need to be at all. Defining one’s personal brand really boils down to defining one’s special talents, as well as an area of expertise that can help a potential client succeed. It is also important for financial advisors to show their authentic selves by putting their personal interests out there as well.

That means it is advisable for the financial advisor to put it out there if they are a fan of the Rolling Stones, or love to bake, or love reading Sci-Fi books. It may seem counterintuitive to do that because it may sound as if adding those things make the financial advisor appear to be unprofessional. That is quite untrue, and adding those personal interests actually brings warmth which also increases the chances of engagement and a higher following. When personal interests are not added to the profile, then that reduces the authenticity and creates more of a colder feel to the profile which can reduce the number of followers and engagement.

However, it is always best to never add anything about politics, religion, or anything that is considered to be controversial. That can be harmful as well.

4. Create A Professional Profile That Is Compliant with The Firm’s Social Media Policy

An important aspect of social media marketing for financial advisors to learn about is how to create a winning and engaging profile while being compliant with the firm’s social media policies. The first step is to always invest in a professional photograph of the individual. In fact, this is the key element of the social media profile of the financial advisor. That means the photo will not appear professional if it is just a random selfie that is taken through a smartphone.  The same applies when it comes to using a picture of a pet, kids, scenery, or a cartoon as the profile picture. That is because it must reflect how the advisor appears when he or she is meeting with clients.

Secondly, when it comes to filling in the text content of the profile, that is when the financial advisor must find out what is permitted with the firm’s social media policy. When it comes to branding the firm, the financial advisor may need to use a paragraph that is pre-approved to describe the firm. And, if the financial advisor is using a LinkedIn account for social media marketing, then the endorsements, recommendations, or skills may have to be hidden. Otherwise, it may appear to be a testimonial. Additionally, once the profile is complete, then the firm will need to review it before the financial advisor can start any social media marketing campaign.

5. Begin to Build the Network By Being Authentic, Engaging, And By Providing Value

The financial advisor just had the social media profile approved by the firm. The next step is to begin building the network. The first thing to do is to learn how to create a presence online by observing what competitors are doing. Then take some tips from them if they are receiving a lot of engagement and have plenty of connections or followers. The next step is to start engaging with others by joining in on conversations and even congratulating competitors for a milestone that they had achieved. Share useful information and content that would be valuable to others, and be sure the content that is being shared is permitted by the firm. Content should be shared every 3 to 4 hours so a presence is created but does not overflow the feeds of followers and connections which would lead to many of them unfollowing. 

It is also highly important for financial advisors to remember to share their authentic side. This means if one had taken a day trip to a beautiful park, then that should be shared because it is engaging content. The 80/20 rule applies when it comes to the type of content that must be shared on social media for financial advisors and for any professional. That means 80 percent of the content must be informative, valuable, and niche-related, and 20 percent can be off-topic, personal, or promotional which will depend on whether the firm’s policy will allow it or not. However, once again, it is important to remember to never share anything that is controversial, dirty, political, and religious. That will hurt the financial advisor’s social media marketing efforts.

To sum that up, that means in order to win at social media marketing, the financial advisor must always be professional, engaging, share valuable content that goes along with the firm’s policy, and show the authentic side. And most importantly, the consistency must be daily because that builds trust. And when trust is built among new connections and followers, that creates opportunities for more business and clients.

When it comes to social media marketing for financial advisors, it has to be done right and must be done in a way that is compliant with the firm’s policy in order for it to be effective. However, when it is done the correct and powerful way, the rewards can be fantastic.

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