In this webinar, Chief Evangelist of Twenty Over Ten & FMG Suite Samantha Russell discusses the importance of social media engagement with best practices and tips on how you can optimize your LinkedIn profile to generate more leads for your business.
Agenda:
- Top characteristics of a strong profile
- How to develop a thoughtful and engaging content strategy
- How to attract and drive engagement
- Latest updates on the LinkedIn algorithm
Over 60% of investors believe that most financial advisors make the same promises, making it hard to tell the difference between them.
-2018 BNY Pershing Study
When it comes to standing out on LinkedIn, ask what is going to set you apart? What your audience finds is going to influence how they view you and the initial part of the relationship.
Why LinkedIn? [7:27]
LinkedIn users have 2 times the buying power versus the average web user.
49% of people who make $75,000 or more annually are on LinkedIn users versus just 26% who make $30,000-$74,999.
LinkedIn is the Most Professional Network [8:24]
There are 630 million professionals on LinkedIn.
It is considered the most successful platform for advisors especially those who are focused on business owners, entrepreneurs, people in prime working years People expect to hear from other business owners and see content on things like finance.
LinkedIn Converts Leads Best [9:24]
In a HubSpot study of over 5,000 businesses, they found that LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook or Twitter.
- People that do see your posts tend to convert at a much higher rate.
- The median age of a new client that a financial advisor gets from social media is now 40 years old based on a survey from Putnam Investments. That has gone up 5 years.
- 4.9 million AUM was resulting from social media initiatives
5 Steps To Creating a Strong LinkedIn Profile [12:07]
1. Set Up Personal AND Business Pages [12:34]
- Step 1: Claim your business name/profile on BOTH regardless
- Step 2: Establish a face for your brand
- Step 3: Have employees/personal pages share content that tags the business page or re-share content from the business page at least 1x per week.
You will want to post much more often on your personal page. If you are going to leave comments and engage with the best, do it as a member, not an admin.
2. Upload An A+ Headshot and Banner Images [15:32]
- Use high-resolution images
- Make sure the photo looks like you
- Smile (Show your Teeth)
- Wear what you would wear to work
- Take the photo in natural light
- Create a custom banner image using Canva
- Choose a template here
3. Write A Great Headline [19:02]
- Articulate your unique value-“I help people (blank) and my approach is different because (blank.)
- Use the 120 characters wisely
- Don’t be too gimmicky
4. Personalize Your URL [24:25]
- Follow these instructions to personalize
- Best to edit for SEO purposes
- A good URL may contain just your name plus your title or your name plus a certification
5. Turn Your Summary Into Your Story [26:59]
- Never leave the summary section blank
- Don’t just list jobs+ skills. Tell your story. People connect better with stories.
- Bring to life why your skills matter and the difference they make to the people that you work with
- Write this in FIRST PERSON
- Don’t forget the “Featured” section highlighting awards and best content
Beyond the Profile: Connecting with Prospects Through an Engaging Content Strategy [33:53]
What Should You Post? [33:57]
- Helpful, informative content
- Blogs, videos, podcasts your team creates
- Articles from other major news pubs
- Pieces other CIOS have written
- Graphics and quotes
- Polls
- Upload PDF to create “Carousel”
- Native content gets prioritized
When you are posting, get people to leave comments. Getting a conversation going is so important when it comes to engaging and ranking higher in the algorithm.
How To Write a Great Post: 5 Social Media Commandments [40:18]
Don’t Start Posts with “I” “My” or “We.”
Address the benefit to the reader
Don’t Use Passive Voice
Don’t Be Too Broad
Write for a specific audience. Visualize who will read your posts.
Never Share an Article or Link with Absolutely No Content as to Why You are Sharing It
- Give your opinion
- Share an interesting stat or fact from the piece
- Post a quote from the article
Follow the 80/20 Rule
For every one thing you post, comment on 5 other people’s posts.
You want your comments to be more impactful and really discuss what you do. When commenting, think who in your network are you trying to connect with more? Comment on the posts of the industry and audience that you want to tap into.
LinkedIn Algorithms 2021 [48:26]
- Prioritizes showing content from users whom you have engaged with in the past and who post consistently
- Shows more content from users who get a large amount of engagement
- Favors lengthy comments over a high volume of reactions
- Prefers native content that does not link out as this takes you off of LinkedIn
- It doesn’t automatically show video over other types of content types as it did when video was first introduced
How to Use the Algorithm to Your Advantage
- Post 5 times a week
- Follow the 80/20 rule
- Get as many comments on your posts as quickly as possible
- Use both personal and business pages
- Ony share posts that link out every third or fourth post
Know The Best Times To Post
- Wednesdays between 8-10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Thursdays at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Fridays at 9 a.m.
*Tip: Try posting the same content from 4-6 months ago, but post it at a different time.
Use Hashtags And Tag others
The algorithm is headed to tagging people in your posts even more than hashtags. It is best practices to tag people/businesses while also using hashtags.
- Hashtags allow your post to be found by anyone who clicks on the hashtag
- Tagging someone will get them to “like” or “comment” or even reshare your post
- Don’t spam people by tagging them over and over
Overwhelmed With Your Marketing?
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About the author
Blair Kelly
Blair is a social media and marketing coordinator at Twenty Over Ten and has a passion for uncovering what drives online traffic and the highest engagement. She follows more animals on Instagram than humans and her greatest achievement is her daughter, Grey.
