Not so long ago a social strategy used to be just a “nice-to-have” marketing strategy, but fast forward to the present and it has quickly become a “need-to-have” strategy.
Do your social media efforts produce results? If not, they should!
Here’s the proof. According to Putnam Investments, 92% of financial advisors who use social media for business reported seeing increased assets attributable to their social networking.
This is impressive, considering in Putnam’s initial survey in 2013 only 49% of advisors reported gaining new clients via social networking.
If you are looking for the right guidance to grow your practice, follow our Practice Management center.
Create a Consistent Strategy
So how do you grow assets via your social channels? By creating a meaningful, consistent and engaging strategy. The Putnam Social Advisor Survey showed that advisors who reported gains in their business by using social media were on their social channels about three times each day. They were consistent every day in their efforts and didn’t simply dabble in social media.
While three times a day may seem like a lot at first blush, when you are on your social feeds, you only need to commit to about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. So essentially you are allotting about 30 to 45 minutes of your day to social media. This shouldn’t seem too excessive, considering the potential payoff.
Keep in mind, this should be your designated social media time. The time period should be solely devoted to posting, sharing content, commenting on and liking other peoples’ content, as well as finding new people to follow and prospects to connect with. If you are concerned you may spend too much or even too little time during these social time periods, consider setting a timer. You can even put reminders in your calendar to set your 15 minute time periods. Choose a morning, afternoon and early evening time period.
Best Times to Post
When you are posting new content, do some research about the best times to post. There is a lot of research available on the best times to engage on social media.
The days of the week and times vary depending on the social channel. Wednesdays are the best day to post on Facebook and LinkedIn and the best time varies from 9 am to 1 pm. Weekends are the worst days to post for engagement.
Check out Sprout Social’s research on the best times for social engagement.
Also be sure to use Hootsuite for Advisors or another social media management tool to help you schedule consistent posts across all of your social channels.
Create an Engaging Strategy
Not only is a consistent social strategy important, but an engaging social strategy is important too. In other words, don’t just haphazardly post content without giving it any thought. Be meaningful in the content you choose to post and share with your networks.
So, what should you share? It should go without saying that you should post your blogs, newsletters and industry content that is timely, informative and relevant to your clients. But, your content does not have to be all about financial topics all of the time.
Including human interest and leisure content that will engage your clients in meaningful conversation on social media is important too. Try to engage them emotionally. Show your clients a more personal side of yourself. This will in turn also show you a different side of your clients.
Not sure where on earth to begin? Consider what common interests and hobbies your clients share. Sports, charities, local dining out hot spots, favorite wines and vacationing spots are all great topics. Choose content you think will resonate with your clients most.
Post entertaining and feel good content. Use inspirational quotes and light hearted humor. Be sure to keep it clean though. Always use your best judgement to select content that won’t be misconstrued or offensive.
Personalize Content
Personalize your content as much as possible. Post pictures and content about your team and milestones about team members such as the birth of a child, grandchild, wedding, graduation or work anniversary.
Also, post local non-industry content related to your community, such a charity events, school events, local sporting events and grand openings of local businesses. Include pictures and videos of you and your team at the events.
Ask questions on your social media pages to get your clients to comment. Ask them questions like who taught them the most about money, what was their earliest money memory or what their first job was. Ask them to describe the legacy they want to leave to the next generation in just three words. You will uncover meaningful and fun facts about your clients. Be sure to respond to their comments and to post your own thoughts about the questions you pose.
The Bottom Line
Your clients are increasingly solely using social media to get their content and to communicate versus any other source.
Engaging through social media on a deeper level is a tremendous way to increase assets, while building loyalty with your clients and prospects.
Social channels have become a solid way to engage your clients in meaningful conversation. You can’t always see your clients face to face or talk to them on the phone. However, social media can be just as powerful with a consistent and engaging social strategy in place.
Don’t forget to visit our News section to catch the latest updates.
