If you’re asking yourself whether you, as a financial adviser, or your business, should be on social media, the answer should be a no brainer. It’s 2018 and everyone seems to be glued to their screens permanently, so why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? But if you’re just starting out, the choice of platforms can be daunting, and success can be a long game.
Here are some guidelines to help you leverage social media to connect with prospects, engage with clients, and boost your business’s prospects:
Twitter isn’t just a place for Donald Trump to espouse his many views, it is also a great platform to start building your online presence as an adviser. On a first impression, Twitter can be compared to a party where everyone is having really loud conversations and you’ll have to join in somehow. Where to start then? First off, you should view Twitter as a source of information, by following the industry’s opinion-makers and your colleagues. Use that information to connect with your prospects and clients.
Take a few minutes a day to post interesting articles you come across, and they’ll be glad to hear from you. Try to use hashtags, retweet and reply to your followers’ posts as it is a great way to engage and encourage them to interact with you and your firm while growing your follower base. Allow yourself to express your business’ personality freely through your content, by being insightful, relatable, witty, and (of course) entertaining. Everyone loves the occasional meme.
Like Twitter, LinkedIn is also a great platform to post original, informative content to educate your network. Make sure you have a professional photo and a wonderfully crafted headline that’ll position you top of mind within your network and your target. Headlines are searchable on LinkedIn, so you should use keywords to help target clients find you, such as “independent financial adviser in South London.” Try to find groups where you can join discussions with like-minded people regarding industry topics and use this as a chance to build up your network and find prospects. You can also try to establish a relationship between some of the groups your targets navigate in and the services you offer and join in on those conversations in a meaningful way (leave your salesman hat at home, though).
Even if your firm doesn’t have a blog to feed your LinkedIn page, there is nothing stopping you from writing your own pieces or sharing a simple SlideShare presentation. Not only will you be encouraging engagement and interactions, but you’ll be establishing yourself as a thought-leader by actively educating people on the industry.
Although it may not strike you as an obvious choice to promote your financial advice services, Facebook can become a strong ally of your online marketing approach, particularly if you’re looking to grow your firm’s brand awareness or generate new leads. Facebook has tremendous potential to reach an extended number of potential clients through advertising.
For example, take advantage of the content you’ll create and monetise the pieces with greater engagement (likes, comments, and shares) to reach more people and let them know you exist. Even if people don’t need your services now, you’ll still be top-of-mind when they eventually search for you. If you combine this with a strong SEO strategy, the people who’ve seen your ads should find you easily in a search engine enquiry.
Don’t hold back
Social media is certainly not a magic wand that miraculously places a queue of people knocking on your door. Above anything else, it’s a labour of patience and perseverance that’ll only generate a good return on investment if your heart’s in it. If you’ve only just started, start small, explore one of these networks first and start building your community from there. Results won’t happen overnight, but in the meantime don’t forget to enjoy the ride.