So! You’ve decided to join your clients in the twenty-first century and make a push with social media marketing. Welcome! We’re all glad you’re here.
As you get started, you’ll need to know where your social media posts will have the most effect, how to tailor your posts to their respective social media sites, and what type of content performs the best with your target audience. What should you focus on, and where? What tone does your audience respond to well — and what do they respond poorly to?
Let’s break it down and get into the social media nitty gritty!
In the Abstract
What Is it?
For the truly uninitiated: social media are interactive technologies which facilitate networks between individuals or groups (according to Jonathan A. Obar and Steven S. Wildman, at least). But it’s safe to say that no one reading this is truly uninitiated. Even if you don’t have a personal account, you know that social media amounts to a significant portion of online conversations. As a series of networks, social media allows most anything to be shared to anyone. We needn’t elaborate on how far these networks reach. More importantly: how far can these networks reach for you?
What to Promote
There’s no limit to what you can share through social media marketing. If it’s good for your image, it’s good for your feed! Here are a few examples of what you could share to promote your financial practice:
Radio / Podcasts
One of the more obvious pieces of content to share are audio clips from your radio show or podcasts. Any select clip from any relevant show is a time-tested way to make a good impression on your social media audience.
TV Segments
Just like radio and podcasts, television clips are readily digestible in a social media format. All major platforms support some version of video; use this to your advantage! Post an entire clip for the public at large to enjoy, or post an alluring teaser for upcoming content to draw in your target audience.
Upcoming Events
Need to get people in seats for an upcoming event? Post about it! Social media hits all the best parts of promotion: quick, viral, visible, and free. Let the people know about your upcoming seminar in rapid bursts and watch your engagement skyrocket.
Recent Events
Photos from recent events make for great social media posts. They show that you’re a learned hand at seminars, workshops, and educational talks, or that you know how to throw a cookout or movie event for your beloved clients.
Behind the Scenes
Don’t be afraid to show off your office! Some behind-the-scenes clips let potential clients know about the people behind the business. Employee profiles connect you with your audience — something like a retirement bucket list shows the priorities everyone keeps in mind while on the clock.
In the Concrete
Keep this question in mind: where is my audience? Who am I trying to reach when I post on social media? Social media marketing isn’t just a one-time deal; each social media platform appeals to a different demographic, and each demographic contains a variety of interests and concerns.
After all this time, Facebook remains the most popular social media platform, and thus the largest market online for you to utilize. As such, you can experiment with tones and posts here to see what attracts the most engagement to your site. Post an in-depth talk about fixed index annuities right after you talk about your annual company bake sale!
Facebook also contains one particular tool that you may find useful: Facebook Stories. Stories are short clips posted to one’s feed which expire after 24 hours. They’re meant to be quick and disposable, which make them an efficient way to get the word out about your business. Use Stories for a quick update to your followers! Promote an upcoming event quickly and colorfully.
Oriented toward businesses and business professionals, you’re probably already familiar with LinkedIn. Chances are, you’re the most familiar with LinkedIn, since the platform has become a major facilitator for interactions between businesses.
LinkedIn affords the opportunity for other financial professionals to share your updates, events, and interests with their own professional networks. With that in mind, LinkedIn would be the platform to address your followers in a more professional, formal tone. Use this space to discuss your financial practice at higher levels — growth, goals going forward, the minute details of your seminars, and the like. Discuss strategies and philosophies which guide your practice.
Instagram is the premier location for all your photos and videos. Popular across all demographics, Instagram gets across the visual qualities of your financial practice in an appealing, attention-grabbing package. Here is where an eye for color can set you apart. Office decorations and vibrant company folders (designed by your friends at Impact Partnership) would pop on Instagram!
A big part of Instagram’s appeal are Instagram Stories. Like Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories tend to attract a lot of engagement. They, too, are short clips which expire after 24 hours. Use them like you would a Facebook Story: quick and disposable content which can be used to boost more of your other content.
Instagram also provides a longer-form video format called Reels. Normally 90 seconds or less (though some are nearly 15 minutes), Reels are videos either posted on your own grid or in their own Reels section on your profile. Reels have a long reach — as long as yours is a public profile, Reels will populate in users’ feeds even if they don’t follow your page.
With its shorter character limits and compact, digestible formats, Tweets can be readily shared across multiple platforms and boost your signals with ease. Anyone can compose a short, pithy post — even a financial advisor such as yourself!
As opposed to LinkedIn’s professional, managerial tone, Twitter is a great place to engage casually with your client base. Don’t fear cutting loose and chopping it up here, especially with the tight character count in mind.
YouTube
Video content has exploded in popularity in the last few years, fueled in no small part by the omnipresent YouTube. YouTube video marketing can prove to be a fundamental tool in your marketing toolbox. Videos too long for your Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter pages will be right at home on your company’s YouTube page. Coordinate across platforms by teasing a YouTube video on your other accounts.
For a few more tips on optimizing YouTube for your business, check out our blog here.
Google Business Profiles
If you’re not familiar, a Googe Business Profile is the small box of information which appears to the right of a set of search results. This information can include your address, contact information, images of your physical location, and reviews of your business. Your Profile is a quick way to get your most vital information in front of potential clients searching for you.
Check out our House Rules video about Google Business Profiles and how you can use them to your advantage.
Bringing It All Back Home
As you extend your reach on social media, you also expand your credibility with your client base. You establish that you’re not a faceless monolith who only speaks when spoken to — you show that you’re people too! The human touch is the most important element of your practice, since it’s what makes you you and lets you stand out from the competition. Get out there and connect! Explore! Post!
2926074-0523
