There are countless benefits that your advisor business can get from utilizing social media in its marketing strategy. Not only is social media a great tool to heighten your brand and interact with your audience, but it’s also a channel you can use to boost traffic to the advisor’s website.
Often times people think having great social media is only about generating noteworthy content. In reality, there’s so much more to it than that.
Although the content you share on social media is crucially important, there are certain do’s and don’ts that are critical to the success of your social media marketing strategy that goes far beyond just the content you’re sharing. Follow our do’s and don’ts to ensure your social media presence is effective.
Do:
Research What Kind Of Content Is Popular
Although content is not everything, posting the right content is key when it comes to the success of your social media marketing strategy. The first thing you’re going to want to do is to look at what kinds of content are already successful. Look into what content is well received on social media. Keep in mind that some types of content tend to do better on different social media channels than others. Bottom line: do your research before you just post content for the sake of posting!
Archive Your Content for Compliance
As a financial advisor, it’s essential that you keep track of all of your social media activity in order to remain compliant on social media. Keep in mind that once something is put out there into the cyber world, it doesn’t just disappear!
SEC Rule 17-a3 and 17a-4 require that firms must retain records of all business-related electronic communications and failure to do so can result in hefty fines or loss of your business. We wouldn’t want that now, would we? We know this may seem daunting to archive every single thing you have ever posted. However, it can be less daunting with the use of helpful social media archiving tools to help you and your firm stay organized and compliant.
Establish Realistic Goals & Track Them
Any good marketing plan starts by establishing goals. If you know the outcomes you’re looking for, it’s much easier to set a plan. Maybe your goal is to engage with and seek out potential clients. Or, maybe your goal is to drive more traffic to your site. Whatever your goals are, make sure they are clear and sensible from the beginning.
Once you have solidified your social media goals, don’t forget to track them! You can use social media analytics to track your progress. Data about the popularity of certain posts, followers, and engagement can all be indicators of what is working and what isn’t.
Post Consistently
Posting regularly is crucially significant to the success of your social media presence. By posting frequently you will have a higher chance of keeping your audience engaged. After all, what’s the point of having a social media profile if you are only going to post on it once a month? Posting consistently can be pretty overwhelming especially when you are juggling multiple social media platforms. This is where social media scheduling tools come in. These scheduling tools can ease the stress of social media marketing for your business by providing distinctive solutions to best organize, publish, and analyze your social media presence.
Be on the Right Platforms
Your efforts on social media will not reap any benefits if you aren’t posting where your audience is. Keep in mind that most customers are seeking professionalism from a financial advisor. We recommend first focusing on the big three: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These platforms will give you the opportunity to form professional relationships and create a voice for your business.
Don’t:
Forget Who Your Target Audience Is
Keep in mind that when it comes to social media, it is crucially important that you don’t lose touch with who it is you are speaking to on your various social media platforms. Your niche might use a certain social media platform more than others, so it’s important to first identify where your target audience is spending the majority of their time. Once you have determined which social media platform your target audience is spending the majority of their time, you can start to build a strong presence there and get your brand in front of them.
Spam and Overpost
You would be surprised how much over-posting can do more harm than good! You want to be very careful to not overwhelm and overload your followers because that’s a surefire way to turn people away from your social media profiles. Surely there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to how much you should be posting content.
However, a good rule of thumb for financial advisors when it comes to posting on social media is to aim to post at least once per day. In the end, the frequency of how often you post depends on your business goals as well as the social media platforms you are engaging and posting on.
Ignore Posting Times
As a financial advisor, it’s essential that you know the optimal times to post on social media. Posting at just the right time can make a huge difference in how well your post is received. Having a better idea of the potential time frames in the day when you can get more traffic, more engagement, and more followers will make a posting on social media much more effective. Because every social media platform will vary on when the prime time to post is, it’s critical that you utilize page analytics to get a more accurate handle on when you should be posting to social media for the most engagement.
Forget to Highlight Your Personality
Don’t forget that although you are using social media as a marketing tool for your advisory business, social media is supposed to be fun! Sharing motivational quotes, posting about holidays, pictures from recent trips, or fun facts about your team can humanize your brand and create trust with clients. It allows you to mix it up from your normal social media posts and can be more relatable to your audience.
Editing note: This article was originally published on June 18th, 2019 and has been updated to ensure consistency
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