It needs to market its products and services in order for a business to grow. There is no gap in the financial services industry.
Social media is here to stay, no longer considered a passing phenomenon, and it can be used as a powerful marketing tool. For more opportunities, financial advisors, insurance agents, and the like can use social media.
For financial advisors, social media is critical because more and more people are looking for investment information on social media. A study conducted by Sysomos (a software provider for social media) and Marketwired (a data platform for business news) found that 60-70% of all investors used “normal” outlets to access investment information. This means magazines, research reports, etc. But… about 40-60% of respondents said that when making investment decisions, they used social media data.
The Accenture study shows that 48% of financial advisors use social media to communicate on a daily basis with investors. Which means that more than half of the financial advisors don’t, and that’s unfortunate.
What’s even sadder is that 9 percent of Accenture’s surveyed investors say companies that don’t exploit social media will lose customers. What if I cut 9 percent of your income right now? That’s what’s going on, and the most scary part? The estimate of 9 percent will only get higher.
What do I have to post on social media?
This is a quite common question I get about social media marketing from financial advisors. But when it comes to marketing, there are no universal truths. Have you ever noticed, for example, that the really cheesy infomercials tend to run in the morning around 3:00? Why is it?
People in the infomercial industry know that people who are most likely to buy their goods watch television late at night or early in the morning. Maybe in those wee hours we’ve got poor judgement… who knows? So if at 3 a.m. you’re up You’re likely a prime target for them watching television.
But what about your outlook? Here are a few thumb rules:
- The optimal click-through time is around 1-4 p.m.
- Wednesday has proved to be the best day on average
- The worst time for click-throughs is between 8 p.m. on weekends. And it was 8 a.m.
Tips for financial advisors on social media marketing
1. Know Who You’re Targeting
You can potentially reach millions of people through social media. The real magic in social media, however, comes when you decide the audience you want to sell yourself to in advance.
There are thousands of groups in both Facebook and LinkedIn. These are places where people come together who share a common interest. You need to hang out where they hang out if these people are in your target market.
In addition, social media platforms usually have hyper-targeted advertisements that can be delivered to the same type of person you want to touch.
2. Engage with others and answer the questions of prospects.
Social media is never really “closed,” so you’re missing out if you’re just logging in once a month. If you keep sharing engaging content on social media, you need to keep track of other social media users ‘ comments and feedback.
If you do “right” social media, it will positively lend itself to building real relationships. A strong presence in social media plays a major role in creating brand loyalty. A report published by Texas Tech University found that social media companies have more loyal customers, likely because they connect and communicate continuously.
3. Use any roles, activities, and media charitable.
Post it on social media whether you sponsor a charity fundraiser, attend a major trade show, or volunteer your time in a charity organization! You could even be picked up by news outlets, depending on the time and context.
If a news outlet picks you up (assuming it’s good for something), spread it all over social media. This is called “newsjacking,” and in your direction, it helps to shine the spotlight.
3.) Get to know your prospects, clients, and rivals.
Social media allows you to look at the lives of other people. Whether it’s the girl taking a photo of her stylish Starbucks coffee or the Mercedes S-Class neighbor of yours (you can’t quite find out what he’s doing for a living…), all these networks give us a glimpse of what people value and what’s going on.
As you know more about your opportunities and buyers, as you meet them, you will have some talking points. Furthermore, it helps you to remain in front of them when they’re not on the phone with you or in your office.
We can also learn about their competitors in the same way as financial advisors would know about their opportunities and clients. Is one of your social media rivals doing well? Does he seem to get lots of communication from his or her posts while yours is ice-cold? You should take a moment when that happens and consider what they’re doing that you’re not.
Look at what they write, who they support, what they follow, and their most famous comments. This will help you understand what works for your competition and why your social media is that.
4. Use it to distribute content.
The desire to scale is the real power behind social media. You can get in front of thousands of people easily if you have a piece of relevant content.
Imagine writing an article about retirement planning in your 50s and targeting the piece of content specific to people in their 50s via Facebook ads. Or you can share that piece of content with them if you already have any followers, fans, or connections. This was never thought before.
5.) Pay attention to the social media policies of your company.
I’m not trying to delude you: when it comes to social media, many financial services companies are WAY behind. It blows my mind that in the stone ages there are still some of these locations. But if you happen to be working in one of these businesses, you still have to follow their policies.
For example, most companies forbid endorsements of LinkedIn. That’s a decent policy because it helps prevent a testimonial from appearing. Completely another story is not being able to create, post, and promote content.
Only some companies allow you to share content from a pre-approved content library. That’s dull, and I’m personally sick of seeing the same old status updates from consultants working at these companies. But if that’s the company you’ve chosen, you’ve got to fall in line.
5 Social media tactics that will take financial advisors into new business
Social media is a crucial part of any digital marketing campaign and a natural place to meet potential new and highly targeted consumers. If your consultant’s business isn’t social, you definitely miss out on a simple, cheap, and efficient way to reach a large audience. Adopt these five patterns of social media so that your expert is not left in the dust!
1.) Be your own.
You need to find a way to stand out with all the brands on social media. Take a minute to think about your social media products. Why do you choose to follow them, what makes them different? More often than not, it’s because their material is genuine and connected, and the way they post it.
The development of a stellar online presence requires not only educating current and prospective customers, but also making meaningful connections with them. Apart from simple company updates and content sharing, go beyond and beyond showing the personality of your organization. A good way to do this is to post about your squad, you’re attending meetings, you’re going on holidays, or even vacations.
Try to make you feel like potential customers are part of your group. It shouldn’t be all about your social media marketing your products. It should be about getting in touch with your customers!
2.) Inform your clients and prospective customers.
Social media is not only a way to connect with your customers, it is also a way to share with them useful information and resources. If someone wants to see you and your team as a financial services industry specialist, they want to read something that will show them something different, solve any problems they might have, and give them something that no one else can give them.
You will find articles that could profit your customers from reading by tracking similar third-party content providers. Keep in mind, however, that anything you post must be reliable, so just share content from sources that you trust! Treat these posts as valuable advice that will give you new leads because it includes trustworthy knowledge of high quality.
Providing useful social media content will prove that your company is more concerned than just getting business. Potential clients are trying to see if they can trust you since you’re a consultant. It will help to build confidence by publishing supportive and insightful pieces rather than sales pitches.
3.) Provide valuable content to stop them from returning.
Through LinkedIn alone, the site delivers more than two million pieces of content per day. Everything you post must be beneficial to your brand and worth the time of your audience. Focus your niche and create and share relevant content specifically for your niche. Valuable content may be content from your website or third-party content, but it should always be connected to your niche.
Make sure that your audience understands the content that you share. If you’re writing it yourself, leave out the jargon they may not understand, only include important information, and keep your paragraphs short in order to keep their attention.
Including call-to-action is an important part of any content! A call-to-action will provide details about what to do next for your customers. Whether it’s an introduction message, a reference to your website, or a social sharing click, every piece can receive interest from a call-to-action.
4.) Be consistent to build trust.
Consistency is as critical as the actual content that you share. This means more than posting on social media every once in a while. An active presence in social media requires a specific schedule to which you can adhere. Posting regularly will keep potential customers coming back to your pages, show transparency, and establish a strong bond with your audience.
You may think that social media is the least of your worries as a busy advisor. But it’s easier to stick to a plan than it seems! I suggest that you employ a social media manager virtual assistant to help make your life easier. This can be an enormous help for busy advisors.
5.) Encourage shares and dedication.
There is a reason we call it “online” news. It will result in low referral traffic simply by transmitting content and advertising the services. Engagement in social media tests the amount of shares, reviews and enjoys having your content. Instead of just speaking to your customers, engage them in social conversation.
Having these tips in mind will help make your posts more engaged:
- Write a brief, catchy caption. This should tell the audience what your content is about and for some fun may even include related hashtags and emojis!
- Include a graphic or picture that catches your attention. Video content is more than 40 times more likely than other forms of content to be shared on social media, according to HupSpot. Relevant images on websites such as Unsplash are easy to find.
- Ask questions in order to engage the audience. More posts will be welcomed!
- Engage the audience back. If someone is sharing or commenting on one of your comments, be sure to reply or like your engagement!
- Label any content providers from third parties or people related to your message. This is going to help them see your stuff!
- Encourage your staff to share your comments. Employees are the best brand advocates ever and often have much larger networks than just your company.
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