Social Media for Financial Services Companies and Advisors

Author: Kaitlyn Partington Category: Social Media & Digital Date: July 22, 2019

There are over 300,000 financial advisors in the United States. In such a highly competitive industry, how does your firm stand out from the rest? The key to success is having a strong differentiating concept that makes your firm unique and using a multi-touch marketing strategy that communicates the exceptional value that you provide. One of the increasingly important touchpoints you can use to elevate your brand is social media. Here are four key steps to launching a social media strategy that drives your overall marketing plan.

Setting Goals for Financial Social Media

When it comes to social media for financial advisors, it is a long game. It takes time to build your following, develop the type of content your prospects want to read, and gain engagement. As a result, social media may not be a source of direct revenue initially, but it can have a significant indirect impact on your businesses’ bottom line. To maximize the effect of your financial social media, it is important to set goals that ensure you are making a return on the time investment. Your social media should:

• Build your firm’s brand awareness
• Develop your personal brand as a financial advisor
• Help to drive your marketing campaigns
• Build your reputation as a thought leader in the industry

Platforms to Use

For any business, choosing the right social media platforms can help to reach the right target audience. Although the audience may be different for each financial advisor, the most common platforms for financial social media are LinkedIn and Facebook.

LinkedIn: If your goal is to target companies, LinkedIn is essential. LinkedIn provides tools to help you find and connect with decision makers at the types of companies you are very likely targeting. There are over 177 million professionals using United States.

Facebook: On Facebook, you can target individuals by location, income level, interests, education and other key demographics. It is a powerful tool for targeting individuals who may be in need of your services.

Facebook and LinkedIn are just two of the many social media platforms, but when it comes to social media for financial advisors, having one of these two is a must!

Social Media Ideas for Financial Advisors

When it comes to social media for financial services, financial advisors should focus on building thought leadership. Your clients are trusting you with not only their money, but their entire financial future. When selecting a financial advisor, prospects need to know they can trust you and your ability to solve their challenges. Demonstrating your expertise on social media is a great way to elevate your knowledge and brand, here are a few ideas for social media posts:

• Highlight your team members including their expertise and skills
• Announce you or your team’s awards and certifications
• Answer common questions that clients and prospects ask
• Provide tips and reminders for important financial decisions
• Provide insights on the current market trends
• Share photos of you and your team at industry events or conferences
• Link to content on your website, such as blogs, webinars, podcasts, videos, etc.
• Publish industry statistics or data as an infographic

FINRA Social Media Policy

As with any marketing initiative, following FINRA guidelines is essential. Social media compliance for financial advisors requires you to retain records of all communications, supervise all business-related content on social media platforms, and review all links going to third-party sites. Before you start leveraging social media, it is essential that you have a conversation with your compliance officer to ensure that all content on your profile and within posts abides by FINRA’s social media policy.

Creating a social media marketing plan that allows you to build your firm’s brand awareness and share thought leadership that demonstrates your expertise can be a significant undertaking. Having a strong marketing team on your side that understands social media FINRA compliance and how to leverage social media to achieve your overall marketing goals helps to make it possible. Contact us today to find out how our experienced social media marketing team can elevate your social media presence.