Setting up Your Social Media Profiles: A Checklist for Financial Advisors

Unsure where to begin when it comes to setting up your social media profiles to make them relevant in the financial industry? It can be daunting to tackle creating all the various social media profiles for sure. To start off, I recommend first focusing on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

So, what do you need to know in order to get started on your big three social media platforms? Follow this checklist to help ease you into the creation of your social media profiles and help you create profiles that both engage your followers, boost your brand’s SEO and drives more traffic to your site.

6 Steps to Setting Up Your Business Facebook Page:

Facebook is a social media networking service that allows users to create a profile, exchange messages, post status updates along with photos and videos, and like pages for public figures and organizations. According to Sprout Social, Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users and over 1 billion daily active users. Facebook is an incredibly relevant platform that your business can make effective use of to connect to current and prospective clients. 

STEP 1: ALREADY HAVE A PERSONAL FACEBOOK ACCOUNT?

Great! That’s all you need to create a business page on Facebook. If not, here are some quick instructions on how you can begin to create a personal Facebook account. It is necessary to have a personal Facebook account in order to have a business page on Facebook because every Facebook page needs to have an admin in order to log in and manage the Page.

STEP 2: CAREFULLY CHOOSE A COVER PHOTO AND PROFILE PHOTO.

For your business Facebook page, it can be confusing what to use as your cover photo and profile photo. Using the company logo is the best option because it keeps your page professional and also helps people recognize your Facebook page from having seen it online or on your website. Once you have decided upon the profile and cover picture, it is important to consider the sizing of your photos. Make sure your Facebook picture is the full 180-by-180 pixel resolution that Facebook allows. Also, check that the picture is clear and visible to the viewer.

STEP 3: DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR COMPANY NAME.

Use Facebook to market your company and build new relationships and connections with potential clients as well as to keep up with past clients. You may think when it comes to your Facebook profile’s name, this is the time to be creative. Wrong! Make sure to be consistent with the name you use when making your business Facebook page as it pertains to your company website. Stick with your company name and you can’t go wrong! 

STEP 4: THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THE COMPANY OVERVIEW AND ABOUT SECTION. 

The company overview section is the place to add your brand statement or mission. In addition, you can include the services that your company provides and draw more people to your page. The About section should include your business address with a map, phone number, company website link and your office hours. The About section is so important because it provides all the information that prospective clients could need to contact you. 

STEP 5: ADD A VIDEO.

According to a Nielsen Norman Group study, users only read 28% of words when visiting a website. In fact, people that use video get 66% more qualified leads per year than those who don’t! For many firms, having a video on their Facebook page is the perfect way to share information about their firm or relevant to their firm in a captivating way. Be creative! Let others on Facebook know what makes your firm stand out from the rest. 

STEP 6: POST YOUR FIRST UPDATE!

Keep your Facebook friends and followers engaged and up to date with what your business is up to. Make sure to keep your updates simple and to the point to keep your clients interested and prospects hooked! Here is a list of the different types of content you could share on Facebook.

5 Steps to Setting Up Your Business Twitter Profile:

Twitter is an online social network that allows users to post and read 280-character long messages known as “tweets.” Twitter is a good platform to start with because it is fairly simple in nature. 

STEP 1: MAKE AN ACCOUNT. 

Unlike Facebook, the beauty of Twitter is that you do not need a personal account to get started. It’s that easy! 

STEP 2: CREATE A CATCHY AND CONCISE TWITTER HANDLE. 

Your Twitter handle will serve as your username for your business. Your Twitter handle should be 15 characters or less and should be memorable and representative of your business. Try to keep your Twitter handle consistent with your other social media profiles. Keeping things uninformed will help people identify your company across all social networks. Lastly, keep your Twitter handle short and straightforward so that it is easy for your clients and prospects to find you. You can never go wrong with a simple Twitter handle!

STEP 3: ADD RELEVANT INFORMATION TO YOUR BIO. 

Twitter provides 160 characters for your bio that gives you the opportunity to share a snippet about your company and what you do. Your Twitter bio should also include any keywords for your firm’s services, as well as a link back to your website. It is important for advisors to add in a disclaimer for compliance purposes in the bio as well. Lastly, make sure you use your bio to mention what makes your firm stand out from the rest!

STEP 4: CHOOSE A PROFILE PHOTO AND A HEADER IMAGE. 

It’s best to use your company logo as your profile picture. Twitter recommends that you use a photo that visually represents your business and fits well in a small space. It is important to note that this image isn’t just on your profile page; it will be used as the icon in every Tweet for your company. Keep in mind the sizing requirements so that you keep a polished look for your profile as well as keeping it looking consistent with your other social profiles and website.

STEP 5: TWEET WITH INTENTION. 

Keep your clients and prospects engaged by posting relevant and insightful tweets. Your followers will lose interest if the tweets you are sharing are uninteresting and insignificant. Remember, the more intriguing your tweets are, the more your followers will be interested in what your firm has to offer and say.

The tweets you share should also relate to the services your financial planning firm or broker-dealer provides. One of the most important things to remember when determining what to post on Twitter is sticking to compliance guidelines. Remember, your posts and communications with clients should avoid making any sort of unwarranted predictions or projections of financial performance.

5 Steps to Setting Up Your Business LinkedIn Page:

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform used by over 500 million professionals to build their careers and businesses. Along with your advisor website, we like to think of your LinkedIn profile as your new first impression.  

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT. 

Similarly to Facebook, you will need to create a personal LinkedIn profile in order to create a business page.  

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR PROFILE PICTURE WISELY. 

Choose a picture that is reflective of your company. The company logo is the best option.

STEP 3: CUSTOMIZE YOUR URL. 

I recommend optimizing and personalizing your firm’s profile to make it simple for people to find your company. By customizing your public URL, you can eliminate needless numbers at the end to make the URL more distinguishable and easy to share. You can customize your URL in just a few simple steps.

STEP 4: GET INNOVATIVE WITH YOUR HEADLINE. 

Consider your headline as a mini elevator speech (120 characters or less) that briefly explains what your firm does and how your firm is different from the rest. The headline is possibly the most important part of your LinkedIn page because it is the golden ticket to branding, so think carefully about what you want to say here about your firm.

CFP? Eric Roberge does a great job of using his headline space on LinkedIn to tell people exactly what he does in a creative and catchy way. Roberge positions his headline in a memorable way that shows potential clients that his niche is specializing in people who are high earners since his headline says, “I help six-figure earners…”

STEP 5: POST CONSISTENTLY.

Compose a regular posting schedule. You should plan to post at least once a week to your company page to ensure that your followers remain engaged and interested. Using scheduling software tools like CoSchedule, Hootsuite, and Hubspot can help ease the stress of marketing for your business on social media by arranging unique methods to best organize, publish, and analyze your online presence.