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BLOGSThe Marketing Maven
Six Reasons Advisors Need to Include Social Media in Their Marketing Plans
By Marie Swift
January 30, 2012
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Forward-thinking financial advisors are incorporating social media into their marketing plans. You should consider including a few social media tactics, too.
A recent study by Socialware (a social media compliance/archiving solution for advisors and financial institutions) on the use of social media by financial advisors reveals that 60% of the advisors that use social media feel that it has made a positive impact on their practice, 34% have used it to generate new client leads, and 17% have used it to attract new clients.
According to SocialGloo, a social media consulting firm, three billion applications were downloaded in less than 18 months from Apple’s App Store, demonstrating that users are consuming more and more information on mobile devices.
In a book entitled “What Would Google Do?” Jeff Jarvis talks about how Google has used the Internet to impact culture, marketing and advertising. Jarvis makes the point that customers are now in charge. He says the mass market has been replaced by a mass of niches and that openness is a key to Internet success. Networks, and the platforms upon which they are built, enable customers and users to create products, businesses, communities, and networks of their own.
Advisors who use Web 2.0 and Social Media strategies online can build buzz and generate awareness that compliments traditional networking and marketing strategies. Here are six good reasons to step into the water:
1. Electronic communication is a good tool for creating more personal and frequent connections with your clients. Connecting with clients in multiple ways can make your relationship stronger.
You can’t just rely on “once removed” communications such email, newsletters, quarterly reports, your blog or Twitter feeds, website or YouTube posted content, of course. Nothing will ever replace the power of a face-to-face meeting in your office, a wine tasting or golf outing, a year-end holiday party, a handwritten note, a birthday phone call, or a town hall meeting / seminar for your clients.
Social media and, indeed, all web-based communications, should however be a supplement to your traditional marketing and client communication activities. That said, more and more of your clients—and their heirs—are going online to do research, get information and socialize. And, as the Pew Report revealed (see last week’s Marketing Maven contribution), older Americans may be less inclined to travel for meetings and get-togethers. As we age, health issues, family obligations, traffic hassles and busy lives may give us pause. In addition to cutting travel time and costs, clients who are environmentally conscious may decide that attending a webinar, sipping a cup of tea in the comfort of their own home, beats driving to your office or meeting venue. A trend in the industry that we believe we’ll be seeing more of is advisors offering both live and virtual events so that clients have choice.
2. In addition to “touching” your clients more often and in different ways, electronic communication can also help you generate referrals. If a client likes your content, they’re likely to forward it to their friends or post it to their social networking site–thus marketing your name and services. This can create a viral spiral as people forward good information via their own social networks, blogs, websites or through email or good old word-of-mouth.
For instance, I created a short Video Postcard (http://bit.ly/xRXIJP) letting people know how to find me at the TD Ameritrade national conference this week I posted the link on Twitter, LinkedIn and my blog. The “share button” made it easy for people to “favorite” or “share” the information with friends and colleagues. I could see how many people were opening and watching the video thanks to a nifty system I’m using to create and distribute branded videos on-the-fly.
3. Enhance search engine page rankings (SEPR). When people Google you, what do they see? You want lots of positive information to come up about you and your firm. The more positive items that come up on the first page, the better you will be perceived. The trick is to populate the worldwide web with positive media mentions, published content and credibility-boosting web listings such as Paladin Registry inclusion, NAPFA Membership, FPA Membership, Garrett Planning Network Membership, Baron’s Top Advisors list, Financial Advisor magazine’s Top RIAs list, etc.
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In the May issue of Financial Planning magazine, I discussed how client perceptions may have changed over the past three years. I use the term Client 2.0 to describe this more-cautious and aware buyer, and offered thoughts on how you can better connect using an evolved Client Communications 2.0 plan. I spoke with several smart, accomplished advisors and industry consultants such as Ed Jacobson, Steve Saenz, Carol Anderson and Amy Mullen to hear their comments.…
When you start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), think carefully about the words and the style you use. Every communication is an opportunity to reinforce your positioning, market your firm and your build your brand. Sometimes, dear mild-mannered financial planners, it’s okay to be bold – and even a bit (gulp!) bossy. It’s a noisy world out there. Your ads, flyers and other marketing promotions must stand out and grab attention. …
Every communication is an opportunity to reinforce your positioning, market your firm and your build your brand. Yes, you really are marketing, whether you think so or not. Might as well do it right.
Marie Swift is a nationally recognized consultant who has for over twenty years worked exclusively with some of the industry’s top financial institutions, training organizations, investment advisory and financial planning firms. A top rated speaker at dozens of industry events including FPA, NAPFA, TD Ameritrade Institutional, Securities America, Schwab Institutional, NFL Players Association, Financial Network, Pershing and Lockwood conferences, Marie is dedicated to elevating the conversation in the industry.
Marie is also a prolific writer and contributes to many of the industry’s leading publications, including Financial Planning magazine. You can read Marie’s
newest content on www.financial-planning.com where she writes the weekly Marketing Maven column. She is also contributes content to the Networking 2.0 blog for Sourcemedia’s interactive, online destination created just for women advisors as an extension of the Women Advisors Forum events being held in cities across the country multiple times every year.
A thought leader for thought leaders, she is known for bringing some of the industry’s best and brightest voices together for dialog and debate. Her Thought Leader Round Table series is just one example how Marie generates interesting conversations with movers and shakers in the financial services industry.
Her Best Practices in the Financial Services Industry blog provides additional insights and advice, including podcasts, articles, videos and other helpful content for independent
financial advisors and the institutions that serve them. Find it at www.marieswift.com.
Prior to establishing her own firm in 1993, she served as Director of Corporate Communications for Worldwide Investment Network in Irvine, California, where she helped FNIC’s then #1 Top Producer attain and maintain that title for five consecutive years. She managed a staff of twenty that supported two-dozen successful registered representatives,
estate planners and wealth managers.
As president and CEO of Impact Communications, Inc., Marie leads a dedicated team of marketing communications and PR professionals serving financial institutions and a select group of independent advisors on an exclusive basis. Marie resides in Leawood, KS and can be reached through her website, www.ImpactCommunications.org. For breaking news, follow @marieswift on Twitter -www.twitter.com/marieswift.
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