Social Media Strategy and Financial Service Professionals
Today in the world of Social Media Strategy lets discuss how financial service professionals can use social media for their business. To start off, the big challenge most financial professionals will have is whether their company believes that using social media is against financial regulations. Some companies have not embraced the power of social media and others are hiding behind financial compliance. Done correctly that should not be an issue, however, I am not an attorney, nor your boss so please check with one or the other before you start. Back to social media strategy. As financial service professionals you will want to focus on communicating with individuals versus widespread mass marketing. That approach will help you find quality contacts and demonstrate your full and devoted attention to that client.
1.LinkedIn Answers is a great place to start. The reason is that executives and other professionals have questions about their finances and are specifically asking for a financial service professional to help them and answer their questions. This is your time to shine and demonstrate your knowledge to a potential client. Here are a few tips on how to do that without getting in whole world of hurt. Do not give specifics in your answers. That means mortgage brokers rates are out, financial planners do not mention ROI, and health insurance agents should stay away from quotes on LinkedIn. Additionally, do not use specific examples. Instead, talk in general terms that apply to a wide variety of people.
If someone finds your LinkedIn answer and it sounds like you are talking about them then you could receive a nasty surprise (lawsuit, loss of client, federal regulators on your case, etc). It is not worth it. Instead talk about the benefits of having a 401K, 30 year fixed, or whatever product you are looking to promote. Disclaimers like the ones I have been providing throughout this post are not bad.
2. When you want to get a little more in-depth on providing quality information to people start using a blog. Maybe a product of the week, how to deal with this financial challenge, or stay away from this scam today themes would be a great way to inform your current client base and potential prospects about how your business operates and the type of quality information and advice they should expect and receive from you.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was when I was running for political office. I was running for State Assembly in college. I was a little nervous and someone told me that “I need to be an assemblyman, not be someone running for the State Assembly.” What they meant was that you need to “Act As If” for those who are fans of the movie Boiler Room. Act as though the people you are talking to are already your clients, and give them all of the quality advice and then more. The idea is to create a loyal customer. Providing information is free and allows you to demonstrate knowledge of your industry. One quick note: Act As If you are NOT working in Boiler Room.
3. Facebook Friends are always great. The benefit of using Facebook is not only in connecting with new friends, but also with talking to current friends, family, old co-workers, college roommates, high school sweethearts, and so on and so on. Do not focus on connecting always with people you have never met. Instead look to your current network and expand on your relationships to those people.
Your best friend from high school is moving back home and needs a mortgage. “Great, I do that,” should be your answer. Send them a Facebook message, or better yet put it on his wall and let his entire network see that you can help him. I used to be part of BNI, and they emphasized that everyone has roughly 250-500 people in their social network already. Leverage that network for ultimate effect. You will be surprised how many people can use your services.
So, find out about the regulatory issues surrounding your business and then determine whether you can implement any of the above strategies. Communicating with your peers to help them is never a bad thing. Do not expect people to be running to your LinkedIn page or blog on day one, but as long as you continue to promote your industry and the benefits of your services in a professional way you will start to see the benefits of using social media and the branding effect that it has on your business.
