5 Key Elements to Social Media Marketing Results for Financial Advisors

'You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink' is a proverb that most people reading this have probably heard once or twice in their lives. It means that you can give someone an opportunity but not force them to take it. That brings us to the five key elements to financial advisor social media marketing.?

For example, I frequently give the five exact steps to make social media marketing work to the advisors I work with. The five key elements are proven to work by the hundreds of advisors we work with that are currently implementing them. But some financial advisors still don’t follow the simple elements. You can lead advisors to leads and clients on social media, but you can’t make them do anything to get them.

Before we get into the five key elements, let’s make sure we’re on the same page on the whole point of social media for financial advisors.

Pop Quiz. Are you on social media to:

1.?????Get more LinkedIn connections?

2.?????Get people to read what you post?

3.?????Have a large audience?

4.?????Become a thought leader that engages with your audience and converts them into qualified leads by capturing their name and email address?

Hopefully, most of you guessed #4. (Hint: The answer is always the longest one!)?The main goal of any of your activity on social media is to get appointments and grow your email list.

Why an email list? Because some people might like you, but they might not need you right now. Your email list is an asset that you own (not owned by LinkedIn), that you can nurture and engage.

LinkedIn connections and other stats like # of views are meaningful, but mostly just vanity metrics.

So, keep reading, because here are the five key elements to financial advisor social media marketing that gets results.?

Element One = Your Audience

This might sound simple, and it usually is, but the key is to go where your audience ‘hangs out’ online. Facebook and LinkedIn are pretty much no-brainers at this point. But they’re also enormous and difficult to get your voice heard. The key is to focus on a specific niche and go find them. Your niche could be surgeons, engineers, salespeople, or even professional memorabilia collectors.

One Cash Flow Mapping user has a client that collects memorabilia such as trading cards, still-in-the-box Lego sets (NO idea how he was able to pull that one off). He even has about 100 unopened boxes of the original Start Wars figurines. (Talk about foresight!)

Regardless, where do you think he hangs out? On LinkedIn? Nope. On Facebook? Yes, but deep in certain groups that are very hard to get into. So, what does our Cash Flow Mapping user do? He asks Rick about all the conventions he goes to and tags along. He’s built an enormous business just by working with other collectors like Rick. It probably helps that he’s a collector himself and understands the passion and real business behind the collectibles.

I recommend LinkedIn Sales Navigator to most advisors looking to get connections on social media, but certainly not in this case. If you’re interested in Sales Navigator, connect with me here on LinkedIn and I can get you two months for free ! Simply send a connection request and ask for two months. Then I’ll send you the invite link. It’s that easy!?

Element Two = Formatting Essentials?

For financial advisor social media marketing to deliver results, the way you format each post is critical. This is by far the biggest mistake I see most advisors make. They post useful content, but it’s not deliberate. 99% of the posts I see are top-of-mind articles that link to other sources. Just look at a few posts from advisors in your LinkedIn feed. Wouldn’t you agree that most of them link to sources like Forbes, Kiplinger’s, Money magazine, or other periodicals?

Top-of-mind posts like this are fine to post periodically. However, I recommend using the following format to get actual results. This format is deliberate and focused.

Copy – The first line of every post should grab the attention of your audience. Think of it as an attention-grabbing headline in a newspaper. Then, make sure every post delivers value and is useful. This can mean that the post is education, has quick tips, or even something as simple as giving reminders about important fiscal dates.

Image – Include a relevant image in every post. The image should be related to the context of the post. In other words, if your post is talking about how to live comfortably in retirement, your image should be of…you guessed it…people living comfortably in retirement.

In addition, try and make your images what we call “scroll stoppers”. People scroll through their social media feeds incredibly fast, so create an image that makes them stop scrolling. You can do this by using bright colors, an eye-catching or remarkable image, or even a funny image with a funny quote. Here’s an example of a scroll-stopping image on Cash Flow Mapping’s LinkedIn company page . (Quick Tip: Follow the Cash Flow Mapping company page to get a consistent flow of useful content in the exact format we’re talking about here.)

Hashtags – According to LinkedIn, you should use hashtags to:

• Establish your credibility and expertise
• Reach people who value your insights
• Start meaningful conversations over shared interests.

Here is a great hashtag strategy to use on LinkedIn right now:

• Use 3-5 hashtags
• Use LinkedIn search to find out the frequency of the hashtag
• Put your hashtags at the end of each post
• Use keywords with the theme of each post

Call-to-Action – Last, but most certainly not least, include a clear call-to-action in every post. You can link to your website, blog, or landing page that captures leads and is tracked. This is a game-changer that will give you the results you’ve always wanted (and needed) from your social media marketing efforts.?

Element Three = Useful Content?

Making your content useful is kind of a no-brainer. So, I’ll keep this part simple. The best way to think of your social media marketing efforts is to think of it as educating your audience by providing them with useful financial tips, insights, and other useful information. As a result, you will grow your audience, become a thought leader, and best of all, help more people!

Element Four = Frequency

Another of the most frequent mistakes I see with financial advisor social media marketing is when an advisor will post a flurry of social media posts over a brief period, then disappear. I recommend posting every day. If you’re just getting started, post at least 3-5 times per week.

There are a ton of social media management tools that make this process easy for you. Also, they’ll empower you to track what’s working and give you other insights into your social media efforts.

Here are a few great tools (Bonus: Most have free plans.): Hootsuite , Buffer , and my personal favorite ContentStudio .

Element Five = Follow Up

Rule #1 of marketing = Always follow up.

Rule #2 = Never forget rule #1!

People will respond in their own time. But when you politely and consistently follow up with useful content, you nurture and engage the relationship with that person. As a result, you build trust so that when a life event or specific need comes up for that person, you’ll be the first person they go to. ?

You can do this manually by scheduling outgoing emails. Or you can save a ton of time by using an Email Service Provider like MailChimp or the tool I use called Drip . (Just make sure whatever tool you use is approved by your compliance department!)

Next Steps

The next step is simple. Start! Even if your audience is small. There is only one way to grow it and that’s by consistently posting useful content. If you already have an audience and follow the tips in this blog, you’ll see results within a few days or weeks. If you’re starting from scratch, it might take a few months. Either way, you can’t afford to ignore social media anymore.

If you need a little nudge or to make your life much easier, check out the Cash Flow Mapping marketing library. It’s full of content you can use on social media.

To your continuous success,

Hendrik

Bio: Hendrik de Vries is a former financial advisor and current digital marketing agency owner. He is also the Managing Partner at Cash Flow Mapping . He enjoys awkwardly writing his own bio, watching soccer, long walks on the beach with his wife trying to think of different ways to occupy their amazingly energetic daughter Elin.