The thing that’s both exciting and sometimes frustrating about social media is that it’s always changing. Yes, this means there are more opportunities to reach your clients and experiment with new types of content. But it also means the rules and options are in a constant state of flux. To help financial advisors stay on top of it all, we have a monthly roundup of all the social media updates you need to know. Read on for everything you missed in January.
Discover the Best Platforms for Advisors
If you’re unsure which social media platforms you should be using to reach your customers, this infographic will provide some much-needed clarity. It discusses the pros and cons of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. At the end of the day, it just depends on which platform your audience uses and what platform you feel most comfortable using.
Instagram Clarified Feed Delivery
There were some rumors going around that Instagram was only sending posts to 7-15% of a page’s followers. Instagram has debunked those myths, by explaining that the algorithm just depends on how often someone interacts with an Instagram page.
If they always like or comment on posts from X’s page, then Instagram will continue delivering those posts to the top of that user’s feed. But if they always just scroll past, Instagram will assume those posts aren’t interesting to that user and will filter them toward the bottom. If a user keeps scrolling all the way through their posts, eventually they will see everything.
So if you’re using Instagram, make sure you’re posting content that encourages your followers to like and comment, to increase overall engagement, and ensure they are seeing your posts. (Find out if your financial advisory should be using Instagram with this video.)
Twitter Goes Back to Reverse Chronological Feed
If you’ve used Twitter for a few years, you know that in the past, the feed showed tweets in reverse chronological order. Then, they switched to an algorithm feed, similar to Facebook and Instagram. Well this month, they changed the app so both Android and iOS users can change their feed to reverse chronological if they choose. It’s accessed by toggling the ‘sparkle’ button at the top of a user’s Home timeline in the app.
This means that you can see tweets from those you follow in the order they were posted – not in the order that Twitter predicts you’ll want to see it. This could be good news if you use Twitter to promote your financial advisory, as a follower who typically doesn’t see your posts could see it now if they’re online at the right time. Remember, though, that with millions of Tweets being sent every minute, you still risk your tweet getting lost in the shuffle.
LinkedIn Offers More Targeting Options for Ads
In the last few months, LinkedIn has been slowly rolling out more and more updates to their Campaign Manager platform. The latest update is improved interest targeting. LinkedIn explained it as:
“Interest targeting lets you reach members with relevant ads that match their professional interests – based on the content they share and engage with on LinkedIn. With these added options, you can more easily achieve your campaign objectives and grow your business.”
This makes it even easier to reach potential prospects based on the interests they have. If you cater to a niche group of clients, for example in the tech industry or who work in healthcare, you can send ads directly to them. Paired with LinkedIn’s other audience targeting, such as job title, seniority, age, and gender, this is a great platform to experiment with advertising.
Facebook Launches Data & Privacy Hub
Increasingly, social media users worldwide are becoming more aware of the security risk of these platforms. To combat this, Facebook has launched a new hub of data and privacy information so businesses can understand how to protect their customers’ information.
If you’re interested in trying Facebook advertising, but are unsure how you can use it without violating client privacy, this hub is a must read. Your clients will also be happy to know that you are adhering to the latest privacy standards on social media.
New Social Media Report Reveals American’s Habits
Would you have guessed that nearly one-third of Americans post, like, or share content on social media more than 10 times every day? This new study by Manifest surveyed social media users to get insight into how often they log on and what platforms they prefer. We recommend checking out the entire study and its fascinating findings, but these are some highlights:
- More than half of social media users (52%) most frequently access Facebook, but people may be spending more total time on other channels such as YouTube and Instagram.
- Nearly half of social media users (48%) are more likely to like/share someone else’s content than share their own content (24%).
If you haven’t yet decided to put your efforts behind building a social media presence for your financial advisory, hopefully, this study will change your mind.
Did you read up on any social media updates you think we need to know about? Share them in the comments!
