By Teresa Leno
There is no time like the beginning of a New Year to take the plunge into creating a social media presence for your company or financial firm. A 2022 study by Smart Asset revealed that marketing is a top priority for financial advisors in 2023. Other findings from their research include:
- Almost 68% of advisors say that marketing is very important for their firm and growing their client base.
- Roughly another 23% of advisors say that it is fairly important.
- More than 63% of advisors report that they are using lead generation platforms more this year when compared with previous years.
- 19% of advisors think social media outreach will be the most important thing they do in 2023.
Source: Smart Asset
The value of using social media is obvious, but how can you get started? Here are things to post on social media starting now:
- Industry news: Posting trending information relevant to your industry from third-party publishers is a great way to show you are engaged and an active member of the financial community. Sharing information that impacts the industry and your clients also helps your audience stay on top of regulatory or market performance changes coming their way. News from other publishers validates that you are informed and a source of reputable information.
- Team member updates: Celebrating your employees is a simple way to show them you care and promote your company culture. If appropriate, post new team members and employee milestones such as work anniversaries, promotions, and personal life updates.
- Blog posts: Of course, you’ll want to include blog posts in your social media content mix. Using blog articles directly from your website (remember the blog’s URL is what you should post) to promote on social media helps guide people back to where you want them- on your website!
- Company announcements/press releases: Be bold and celebrate your company’s accomplishments on social media. New partnerships, acquisitions, and executive-level team accomplishments are all worth sharing. Remember to post the press releases on your website first for a higher click-through rate to your site.
- Podcast episodes: If you still need to create a podcast, try looking for podcasts within the wealth management industry to add to your content calendar. Promoting other people’s content is a simple way to attract new visitors and increase the chances of promoting your content in return. Plus, it’s an easy thing to post on social media!
- Engaging videos: Video content has taken social media by storm. Half of social media users prefer video over other types of content, and 58% of viewers will watch the entirety of a business video if it’s less than 60 seconds long. Try producing a few videos in-house or via a video producer that communicates your company’s unique goals in an easy-to-understand way.
- Infographics: If your goal this year is to tackle a complex issue, a great way to communicate this is by using an infographic. Their eye-catching nature is a great way to attract attention and increase impressions on social media.
- Event News: In-person events are significant to share on social media. If you and your team will attend any trade shows this year or host any events, make sure someone snaps a picture or two for social media. Group photos allow you to tag the team members included, which helps to improve shares and overall engagement.
Understanding the wide variety of sharable content on social media is the first step in harnessing the value social media can bring you and your company. The second thing to consider is which social media platforms to use, as approved by SEC Marketing Compliance rules. It’s essential to determine how each social media platform may fit into your marketing strategy for 2023:
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is an online professional networking platform focusing more on the professional than the personal. LinkedIn is the most used platform by financial advisors. Anything published on LinkedIn should be approved by marketing compliance before posting.
LinkedIn is great for validating yourself and what you provide. Posting industry content and any of the above-mentioned works well on this platform.
Facebook – Facebook is a website that allows users, who sign up for free profiles, to connect online with friends, work colleagues, or people they don’t know. It allows users to share pictures, music, videos, and articles, as well as their thoughts and opinions, with however many people they like.
Financial advisors must establish a Facebook business profile under their profile and can only post compliance-approved content to the business profile.
Twitter – Twitter is an online news and social networking site where people communicate in short messages called tweets. Tweeting is posting short messages for anyone who follows you on Twitter, hoping that your words are helpful and interesting to someone in your audience.
While there are more social media platforms, they may need to be approved by your compliance department. Remember to keep a copy of your post on a word document (copy-paste) or archived in your marketing technology or CRM system for record-keeping and list which social platforms the post appeared on.
Click to Learn More About FreshFinance
Teresa Leno worked as a financial advisor and experienced firsthand the importance of financial education to help clients make more informed decisions before a crisis. Through her experience, Fresh Finance was started as a financial content marketing solution to help advisors validate their expertise through sharing content.
