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As you’re well aware, social media is nothing new and while I know many of you have a presence on at least one social network, it simply isn’t enough to create value.
Typically what happens is many people create profiles and think they’ve done enough. As an advisor, you must provide more by creating an online home where your community – your clients and prospects – can gather, engage with you, and find resources to help with their needs and challenges.
I’ve had some advisors ask why they should even bother with social media because the information needed by their clients and prospects is already out there. This is a dangerous place to stay. Your potential clients will gravitate to the advisor who is developing a relationship with them by providing resources they need and want.
Here are 5 quick tips to create a solid foundation to your social media strategy:
1. Determine Your Goals
When it comes to social media, it’s so easy to get pulled into the tactics by creating profiles and posting information with no formal strategy behind it. Answer the question, “Why do you want to be on social media in the first place?” When you determine why you want to be on social media, what you want to accomplish, and what your audience needs, you will be in a much stronger position with your social media efforts.
2. Optimize Your Profiles with Keywords
Start thinking about the words your prospects will use to find you in a Google search. They might try to search for you based on your title; Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Wealth Advisor or by the services they need; retirement planning, tax planning, investing for women. Choose the keywords that are applicable to you and your practice, and scatter them into your social profiles in a natural way.
3. Know Your Target Market
Segment your clients and prospects by determining their demographics, habits, challenges, and where they hang out on social media. A social mapping exercise will provide you with two key answers; the social media channels you need to engage on and the content you need to provide.
4. Develop A Content Strategy
Content is king! Social media requires great content and is the fuel for your social media engine. This step is going to require that you switch from a batch and blast marketing method to crafting intentional messages with purpose. Determine what you will share with whom before you decide how to share it.
5. Test, Track, & Measure
Social media is always changing and to be successful you need to experiment and test. Play around with your posts by posting at different times of the day. Create different headlines for the same post and then watch to see which posts perform better. Review your activity based measurements which are your likes, shares, and followers along with your results based measurements, which are your conversions. You should always evaluate social media on its overall contribution to your business and marketing goals.
Download Ironstone’s “ Social Media Implementation Guide. ”
The guide will provide you with the foundation to start your social strategy.