Setting up Your Social Media Profiles: A Checklist for Financial Advisors

Unsure how to set up your social media profiles for the financial industry? It can certainly be daunting to tackle the various social media channels. To start off, we recommend focusing on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  

So, what do you need to know in order to get started on the big three platforms? Follow this checklist to ease into the creation of your profiles and help you create accounts that both engage followers, boost your brand’s SEO and drive more traffic to your site.

6 Steps to Setting Up Your Business Facebook Page:

According to Sprout Social, Facebook has over 2.8 billion monthly active users. It is an incredibly relevant platform that, when used correctly, can allow you to connect with current and prospective clients. To do this, you’ll need to set up a business page. Here’s how. 

Step 1. Already Have a Personal Facebook Account?

It’s necessary to have a personal Facebook account because every Facebook business page requires an admin to manage it. Already have a personal account? Great! Feel free to move on to step two.  If you don’t, then no worries. You can set up a personal Facebook account with these quick instructions. 

Step 2: Carefully Choose A Cover Photo And Profile Photo

It can be confusing what to use as your cover photo and profile photo on a business page. Using the company logo is the best option because it keeps your page professional and helps other users recognize your page after seeing it online.

Once you’ve decided upon the profile and cover picture, it’s important to consider the size of your photos. Make sure your Facebook picture is the full 180-by-180 pixel resolution that Facebook allows. Also, check that the picture is clear and visible to the viewer.

Step 3: Don’t Forget About Your Firm’s Name

Use Facebook to market your company and build new relationships and connections with potential clients as well as to keep up with past clients. You may think when it comes to your Facebook profile’s name, this is the time to be creative. Wrong! Make sure to be consistent with the name you use when making your business Facebook page as it pertains to your company website. Stick with your company name and you can’t go wrong! 

Step 4: Think Carefully About The Company Overview And About Section

The company overview section is the place to add your brand statement or mission. In addition, you can include the services that your company provides and draw more people to your page. The About section should include your business address with a map, phone number, company website link and your office hours. The About section is so important because it provides all the information that prospective clients could need to contact you. 

Step 5: Add A Video

According to a Nielsen Norman Group study, users only read 28% of words when visiting a website. On the other hand, people that use video get 66% more qualified leads per year than those who don’t! For many firms, having a video on their Facebook page is the perfect way to share information in a captivating way. Be creative! Use this as a chance to showcase your firm’s personality and let others know what makes your firm different from others! 

Step 6: Post Your First Update!

Keep your Facebook friends and followers engaged with consistent updates. Make sure to keep your updates simple and to the point to keep your clients interested and prospects hooked! Here is a list of the different types of content you could share on Facebook.

5 Steps to Setting Up Your Business Twitter Profile:

Twitter is an online social network that allows users to post and read 280-character long messages known as “tweets.” Twitter is a great platform to start with because it is fairly simple in nature. Here’s how you can setup your business’s Twitter profile:

Step 1: Create One Account

Unlike Facebook, the beauty of Twitter is that you only need a personal account to get started. Once it’s created, you’re ready to go. It’s that easy! 

Step 2: Create A Catchy and Concise Twitter Handle  

Your Twitter handle will serve as your username for your business. Your handle should be 15 characters or less and be memorable and representative of your business. Try to keep your Twitter handle consistent with your other social media profiles. Maintaining a uniform message will help other users identify your company across all social networks. Lastly, keep your Twitter handle short and straightforward so that it’s easy for clients and prospects to find you. You can never go wrong with a simple Twitter handle!

Step 3: Add Relevant Information To Your Bio

Twitter provides 160 characters for your bio. This gives you the opportunity to share a snippet about your company and what you do. Your Twitter bio should also include any keywords for your firm’s services as well as a link back to your website. It’s also important to add a disclaimer in your bio for compliance purposes. Lastly, make sure you use your bio to mention what makes your firm stand out from the rest!

 

Step 4: Choose a Profile Photo and a header image. 

It’s best to use your company logo as your profile picture. Twitter recommends a profile image of 400×400 pixels. It’s also important to note that this image isn’t just on your profile page; it will be used as the icon in every Tweet for your company.

Step 5: Tweet with intention. 

Keep your clients and prospects engaged by posting relevant and insightful tweets. Your followers will lose interest if the tweets you are sharing are uninteresting and insignificant. Remember, the more intriguing your tweets are, the more your followers will be interested in what your firm has to offer and say.

The tweets you share should also relate to the services your financial planning firm or broker-dealer provides. One of the most important things to remember when determining what to post on Twitter is sticking to compliance guidelines. Remember, your posts and communications with clients should avoid making any sort of unwarranted predictions or projections of financial performance.

5 Steps to Setting Up Your Business LinkedIn Page:

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform used by over 774 million professionals to build their careers and businesses. Along with your advisor website, we like to think of your LinkedIn profile as your new first impression. Here’s how you can set up your LinkedIn profile. 

Step 1: Create Your Account

Similarly to Facebook, you will need to create a personal LinkedIn profile in order to create a business page.  

Step 2: Choose Your Profile Picture Wisely

Like our other channels, your company logo is the best option here.  Choose a picture that is reflective of your company and make sure your images meets LinkedIn’s recommended dimensions of 268×268 pixels.

Step 3: Customize Your URL

We recommend optimizing and personalizing your firm’s profile to make it simple for people to find your company. By customizing your public URL, you can eliminate needless numbers at the end to make the URL more distinguishable and easy to share. You can customize your URL in just a few simple steps.

Step 4: Get Innovative With Your Headline

Consider your headline as a mini elevator speech (120 characters or less) that briefly explains what your firm does and how your firm is different from the rest. The headline is possibly the most important part of your LinkedIn page because it is the golden ticket to branding, so think carefully about what you want to say here about your firm.

CFP® Eric Roberge does a great job of using his headline space on LinkedIn to tell people exactly what he does in a creative and catchy way. Roberge positions his headline in a memorable way that shows potential clients that his niche is specializing in people who are high earners since his headline says, “I help six-figure earners…”

Step 5: Post Consistently

Compose a regular posting schedule. You should plan to post at least once a week to your company page to ensure that your followers remain engaged and interested. Using scheduling software tools like CoSchedule, Hootsuite, and Hubspot can help ease the stress of marketing for your business on social media by arranging unique methods to best organize, publish, and analyze your online presence.

Wrapping Things Up

Whether you decide to focus on one social account, or all three, this quick guide should get you ready to build your firm’s following on social media. Setting up your account though is just the start. After all, social media is an investment and results will take time. But with a positive foundation in place, you’ll be headed in the right direction to grow your following.