Making Social Media Work for You
I don’t consider myself a social media expert, so I hesitated going down this path of offering advice about social media. However, so many of you have asked me through email and at conferences about how I handle social media that I want to address what seems to be the most common question: How do I make social media work for me?
When I talk to advisors, I get the sense there’s a lot of pressure to embrace social media.
So, my first suggestion is a simple one: relax.
Take a deep breath and ignore the guru whispering in your ear. Then, put social media in context. It’s a collection of tools and channels that are now available to you. It is not, however, the solution to every problem.
The goal of social media, like many of the other business tools you use, is to make it easier for ideas to spread. The good news is that you and I are in the ideas business. We’re all about helping people make good decisions about money.
So, if my suggestion is to relax, how can you do that and use these tools?
Start by asking a different question.
If the goal is to spread ideas with social media, then you need to consider what makes an idea spreadable. Social media might make it easier for an idea to spread, but it doesn’t automatically make a so-so idea better, which leads to my next suggestion.
Questions from advisors will sometimes focus on this idea of shortcuts. Is there a faster way to spread my ideas? Shortcuts may work in the short term, but they are rarely sustainable in the longer term.
The only things I’ve seen work consistently follow three steps:
1- Create interesting stuff.
We need to provide people with an experience they think is worth sharing. Luckily for us, the bar isn’t set very high in our industry. We work in an field where honesty is a competitive advantage. So, find ways to demonstrate how you’ll treat your clients with the same care you treat your mom. You will be noticed.
2- Make it easy to share.
People will share if you make it both easy and clear why they’re sharing. For example, instead of saying at the end of an email, "Please share," consider: "You may know someone who is dealing with this same issue. If you think it will help, feel free to forward this email, and let me know if you have questions about a specific situation." See the difference? In one, you’re asking for something. In the second, you’re offering help and making it clear how they can share. It seems like a small thing, and yet it goes a long way.
3- Repeat.
I hope it’s sinking in that:
1) You don’t need to stress out about social media.
2) Social media works when you provide ideas worth spreading. It takes time and consistency, but as you fill your social media channels with content that helps people, you’ll begin to understand that social media is just a tool.
If you liked this article, I think you will LOVE what I am building at The Society of Advice.