How Social Media Can Help Financial Advisors Win Clients: A Quick Guide

Nobody likes it when a financial advisor approaches them in a train station, particularly when you’re in a hurry to get to your destination. Yet, many financial advisors do exactly that. Financial advisors are one of the toughest trades since it is fiercely competitive and highly regulated and has come under threat as more and more online alternatives come into being.

Machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, and chatbots have made it quite easy for consumers to self-serve their insurance and investment needs. Backed with a large amount of data, such algorithms can determine the best financial advice for individuals. While fintech or financial technology has certainly progressed, customers still value the human touch.

Top 11 Ways To Improve Reputation, Build Trust, & Get Leads

Unfortunately, most financial advisors fail to practice this online. They think of social media as an advertising channel where they pitch their products, share about their services, and showcase their achievements.

If you are a money manager, financial consultant, wealth manager, or insurance agent, you need to stop whatever you are doing. Instead, follow these 11 ways to improve reputation and build trust.

Attend Virtual Summits

A virtual summit is basically an in-person conference where you have thought leaders, speakers, and sponsors, but it is conducted online. It isn’t a live event that happens in a hotel or room to be broadcasted or live-streamed over the web. Although virtual conferences have been around for years, recently, more and more brands, magazine outlets, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs have been using virtual summits to generate new leads, make revenue, gain credibility, and connect with industry leaders.

With the rapid pace of information and the difficulty people face in traveling to events due to natural weather patterns, deadlines, and family obligations, virtual summits have become quite popular. There are also no lines, travel delays, travel expenses, or hotel expenditures.

A lot of people use virtual summits; these are available on different topics, such as food, air travel, marketing, cooking, etc. There are even summits on financial advisors that focus on marketing and sales strategies.

Build your Brand

The first rule when it comes to personal sales is that you don’t sell a service or product; rather, you sell yourself. If you want a client to trust you with their financial future or life savings, then you need to win them over first. Some tips for building your personal brand are:

1. Identify the unique selling point you have
2. Define your niche
3. Talk about your life story relating to the financial product you’re offering
4. Show your skills
5. Share content daily
6. Network with people and connect with them
7. Always be authentic

Focus on a Particular Niche

From university education and life planning to retirement planning, there is a wide variety of investment and financial products to suit different needs. The problem, however, is that if you try marketing yourself to different people at the same time, you end up talking to nobody. The good thing about social media marketing is that you can focus on your specific target audiences. Detailed insights from YouTube, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, and Instagram make it easy to focus on specific needs or groups.

Create Online Communities

Imagine having a LinkedIn Group, Twitter Account, or Facebook Group that has all solutions for your financial worries. With so many active members, someone will always be there to answer your questions. For many, this is a dream come true.

As a financial advisor, it is your task to make dreams come true. Some ideas you can consider are:

• Wedding deals
• Financing tips
• Family budgeting
• Advice on university loans
• Retirement advice and planning

Educate Instead of Selling

The latest marketing trends are all about educating customers so that they can do better in life. If you manage to build social capital, trust, and reputational capital, chances are he will think of you when the person wants to purchase hospital insurance, cover his next trip, or grow wealth for retirement.

There are many ways to educate your customers. You can use different keyword tools to find less competitive, trending, and popular keywords you can use to create content.

Don’t Spam People

When it comes to social media marketing, there are two big “nos”:

1. Getting individuals to sign up for an educational workshop when the event is a shill.
2. Spamming an individual’s newsfeed by producing an endless stream of irrelevant content.

Individuals hate when spam content is sprung on them. So, if you aim to teach them how to multiply their wealth, make sure you do so without asking them to sign up for investment plans and schemes. With that being said, it is fine to deliver consistent or regular content as long as it offers utility to clients.

Make a Content Pillar

A content pillar is an informative piece of content on a theme that can be broken down into many derivative materials, pieces, and sections. You can either post your content pillar on your website, or you can use your Instagram account, Linkedin Profile, YouTube Channel, or Facebook Page as pillars.

A content pillar is thematic in nature. It addresses many areas of concern and could include topics like:

• How to budget for a new family
• How to fund your kids’ education
• Family finances
• Guide to financing the home

Note that the pillar content can be broken into different sub-sections, which can then be shared via social media. For instance, retirement could talk about forecasting medical expenses, determining the cost of living, and other topics that retirees must consider.

Tell Client Stories

Financial planning should always keep customers first, which is why stories work great. Storytelling on social sites is a powerful form of content. If your customer agrees, record his story of how he benefited from your financial services, advice, or products.

If you don’t have a heartwarming testimonial yet, then you can develop an imaginary scenario and add in your knowledge there.

Take Part in FAQs

Frequently asked questions are a crucial part of your social media marketing. In fact, you can even plan your ongoing marketing activity around questions. To find questions you can answer, turn to platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also consider trawling platforms and forums like Reddit and Quora. Similarly, you can use long-tail keyword tools to see what people are searching for.

Try Adding as Much Value as Possible

Once you’ve convinced your client to invest, you should continue investing energy and time. In fact, focus on being the most accessible, helpful, and valuable financial planner. You can focus on crafting useful content on your social media channel and send newsletters to your clients on a regular basis. You can also create a private Facebook Group that your clients can join. The purpose of the group is to specifically provide useful techniques and tips.

Alternatively, you can also invite influencers and knowledgeable personalities and host a live session on Facebook, where anybody can ask their questions.

Give Out Life Hacks

You can also try helping the community beyond just the finances. As a life planner, you shouldn’t just focus on helping people manage funds. Instead, you should also try and help them be more successful in all walks of life. These could include different aspects, such as work, leisure, spiritual, health, family, marriage, education, etc.

Conclusion

It is pretty clear by now that there are many ways in which a financial advisor can stand out. In today’s day and age, it is better not to rely on traditional methods like roadshows and cold calls. Instead, compliment them by creating a brand for yourself, building communities, and expanding your presence online.