To pay or not to pay? That is the question

Research reveals that of 70% financial advisors are using social media for their marketing purposes, 90% use LinkedIn as their primary marketing platform. Research also reveals that one-third of such financial advisors generated $1 million or above in Assets Under Management (AUM) through LinkedIn*

Being on LinkedIn is important for financial advisors to generate leads and build their brand. But merely “being” on LinkedIn is not enough to derive desired marketing results. Creating a strong presence is vital.

LinkedIn’s organic and paid search tools can help you in creating a solid and long-lasting brand presence. These tools can add more value to your existing marketing strategies and boost the bottom line.

The best method depends on your marketing goal and how fast you want to achieve it.

Here are some ways to use these powerful LinkedIn tools:

Use LinkedIn Paid Search for a Super-Targeted Reach

LinkedIn paid plans offer extra features that make targeting easy and efficient.

· Sponsored Content gives a highly-targeted reach. It allows you to choose your target audience and takes your content to them. Ads appear as native advertising on the viewer’s LinkedIn feed.

Sponsored Content appears on every device – mobile, desktop and tablet, meaning you have more opportunities to reach your target audience.

· LinkedIn Text Ads use the familiar PPC (Pay Per Click) and CPI (Cost Per Impression) model. They use targeted ads that are displayed on the right side of a LinkedIn page.

You can create a compelling ad for your target audience to capture their attention. Payment is made only for ads that work – those that are either clicked or receive impressions.

· Sponsored InMail gives you the added benefit of personalisation. Personalised messages capture audience interest faster and can drive desired results faster.

Sponsored InMail allows you to send messages personalised to your target audience through LinkedIn messenger. You can reach targeted audiences on their mobile devices and desktop. You can also conduct A/B testing and choose a campaign that offers the best reach.

With LinkedIn’s paid tools, you can achieve a targeted reach that generates quality leads and better conversion rates.

Employ LinkedIn Organic Search to Build a Credible Brand Image

LinkedIn organic search helps you create a strong presence over time. Organic search is a steady process and requires steady and continuous efforts for success.

To build a powerful brand image you can employ the following strategies:

· Create a profile page that gives up-to-date details about your practice as a financial advisor, qualifications and experience. Use a professional image to make an instant impression.

Write a LinkedIn headline that talks about the value you can deliver to your target audience. Consider the headline “Certified Financial Advisor Helping Professionals in London Minimise their Tax Liabilities through Strategic Planning.” It is as detailed as it can be, and far more effective than a headline such as “self-employed financial advisor”.

The Magic Headline Formula : Who+How = Result

(If you would like your profile fully optimised for search engines to rank higher and transformed into a showcase page for yourself and your business, click here)

If you are working for a firm, you could go for a Company Page. Use the Showcase Page to highlight your key services.

Use keywords related to your financial domain and expertise in your LinkedIn profile page, and the Company or Showcase Page, for greater visibility during searches.

· Publish content related to your financial expertise. You can create articles, blog posts, podcasts, ebooks, and white papers with relevant content that can help your target audience.

For example, if you are a financial advisor specialising in family wealth, then subjects such as “Top Family Wealth Planning Tips”, “How to Protect your Estate Value”, “5 Ways to Minimize Tax on Family Wealth”, will garner interest.

By publishing content on topics relevant to your audiences, you are helping them with timely and actionable advice. This approach is more than likely to make them to turn to you in times of need in the future.

Over time, you can become an authoritative and trusted voice in your specialised finance domain.

• Join groups. There are over 2 million groups on LinkedIn and 1000 new ones are added every week. Choose groups that align with your professional or personal interests.

Groups are a great way to meet new people, create rapport and build relationships. By being a regular member of group activities, you can create greater awareness about your financial services.

By joining groups, you will make it easier for your target audience to discover you. They may be a member of a group you are interested in, or you could be referred to your target audience by members of the group.

Use a Mix of Organic and Paid Search for Lasting LinkedIn Marketing Success

Each LinkedIn search method has its own benefits and drawbacks.

LinkedIn’s organic search helps:

· Build credibility

· Generate leads over time

· Create evergreen content assets that will continue to provide greater search visibility and nurture your image as domain authority on LinkedIn

· Be on top of your target audience minds

Results from organic search are solid and take time but you should see results from day 1. Our clients do!

Paid LinkedIn search delivers the following benefits:

· Highly targeted reach

· Potential higher quality leads

· Greater rates of conversion

The downside? Paid LinkedIn ads can be costly for your marketing budget.

A prudent approach therefore would be to go for a mix of paid and organic LinkedIn search. LinkedIn organic search helps build credibility while paid search generates leads faster, speeding up your sales cycle.

LinkedIn Paid and Organic Search tools must be a part of every financial advisor’s marketing strategy. This is a platform that works for you 24/7 and keeps you well-informed about your target market.

It is time to take the lead to generate leads!

For bespoke social media marketing advice to take full advantage of the opportunities available to you via LinkedIn, schedule an initial phone consultation here:

#finances #financialservices #wealthmanagement #fintech #socialmediamarketing #LinkedInConsultant #LinkedIn #LinkedIntraining #Leadgeneration #TheLinkTank #Trevisan 

*(Source: The Advisor Coach)