Why is it that with marketing, you never quite know if you’re doing it right? Like many elements of business, sometimes you just have to try, test, see results, and adjust as needed. On our blog, we talk a lot about tips for improving your social media presence, following, content, and likability. But today, we’re going to focus on the bad and the ugly: the four things you may be doing on social media that you shouldn’t.

7 Things You’re Doing Wrong as a Financial Advisor on Social Media

Social media has become such an important part of any financial advisor’s growth as a business. If you’re not making the most of social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more, then you’re missing opportunities to grow. Being able to connect and engage with clients and prospects is more important now than it ever has been.

With that said, here are 4 things you’re doing wrong as a financial advisor on social media:

1. You Self-Promote 90% of the Time

As much as you want to remind your followers of your services and capabilities, social media is a form of inbound marketing, and the ultimate goal of inbound marketing is to educate. Rather than talk about your specific process for financial planning or your offering a complimentary consultation, share unbiased education, including videos and content on the topics your followers care about. Keep 75% of your posts education-focused, 10% about firm updates or upcoming events, and 5% purely self-promotional, such as offering a free portfolio review.

2. You Post Inconsistently

Consistency is key for successful social media marketing. Avoid posting 10 posts in one day and then neglecting to share the content again for two weeks. You’ll drive followers away with too much posting, and followers will forget about you if you don’t post often enough. Each social media platform has its posting frequency etiquette. As a general rule, Twitter users post continuously throughout the day — as many as 2-3 tweets in a day. Facebook and LinkedIn users are more likely to post once each day. That being said, the actual amount that you post will depend on how much content you have and how high-touch you want your outreach to be.

More important is to focus on your cadence. Cadence is how regularly you post and your posting pattern on which your followers can count. Maintain a rhythm rather than try to stick to social media rules for posting. Prospects would rather engage with an adviser who consistently posts twice a week on Facebook than someone who posts every day for one week and then disappears for the next month.

3. You Don’t Show Your Personality

The world of finance doesn’t always have to be steely and serious. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through in your social posts. For most advisors, the goal is to work with an ideal base of clients – people you enjoy being around. The best way to attract your ideal target market is through your personality and social media content. If you like to keep your office relaxed and casual, share the occasional joke or share a picture of your office when it’s time for spring cleaning. If you solely want to connect with retired folks, you may share your thoughts on your last golf game or recommendations for vacations.

4. You’re Boring

Much like not showing your personality, advisors tend to find themselves being too serious on social media. They feel like they have to share their advisory content and advertise their business constantly. But that’s more detrimental than it is helpful. Remember, you’re on social media, a place for people to interact and engage with one another. Instead of being boring and just sharing professional content, share about the fun and interesting stuff in your life. Maybe something funny happens in the office, maybe there’s a new show you like, or perhaps there’s a local event you’re excited about; share it, talk about it, and let your followers know! Long story short, don’t be boring.

5. You Don’t Have an Opinion

Next is a problem you tend to see a lot on social media; people not sharing their opinions. These days, a lot of people like to share posts that go over events or new laws being put into place. Which is perfectly fine on its own, but advisors tend not to share their opinions about these things. Which is a big no-no. Because without an opinion you don’t have a hook and you’re not showing off who you are as an advisor. You become just another person sharing the same piece of information that anyone can share. You’re hooking the audience and making a bold statement when you share things with an opinion. You’re standing out by saying something different which has a much better chance of bringing in followers and boosting your engagement. Have an opinion, it’s what makes you unique and helps you stand out amongst the competition.

6. You Don’t Respond

There’s nothing worse than reaching out to someone and never receiving a response. It’s annoying with friends, but it can lose business for a professional. One survey found that 25% of people are annoyed when a business doesn’t respond to their questions on social media, and 15% unfollowed a business because of the lack of communication. Yet, despite these numbers, reports show that only 10% of messages to brands on social media receive a response.

Even if you are automating your social media posting, you still need to check in every few days and respond to any private messages or comments you receive. On most platforms, you can adjust your settings, so you receive an email when someone has commented on a post, responded to a tweet, or messaged you privately. Aim to respond as quickly as possible with a personal message, not a canned response. Checking for messages and interacting with followers can be a good task for your assistant if you prefer to stay away from your social media pages.

Social media marketing isn’t easy, but it is forgiving. Tweak your posting schedule, crack a joke or two, and interact with your community. Learn from your (and others) mistakes, and you’ll see your social media following and ROI improve over time.

7. You Don’t Engage Enough

Posting on social media is a great way to create engagement and boost your following. But one thing many advisors forget is that social media platforms are there to be social. Meaning that just posting isn’t enough to thrive on social media. What’s important is interacting with other advisor’s posts and engaging in discussion within the comment section. We even have a rule that follows this; the 80/20 Rule. In short, this rule says that for every ONE thing you post on your feed, you should comment at least FIVE on other people’s posts.

This ensures that you’re truly networking and getting yourself out there, reaching communities you might not have if you just shared your post. You’re throwing out a larger net and engaging with others, which is what social media is all about. If you’re not doing this, then you’re not using it right.

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