Social Media News Roundup
Each month, FMG Suite compiles the most relevant social media updates to give you powerful tools to grow your advisory firm. We help you grow your business by keeping you up to date on the latest changes, from Facebook algorithms to LinkedIn networking strategies.
DECEMBER 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA & SEO NEWS
It’s time for our last roundup of the year for social media and SEO updates! To recap 2019, be sure to scroll through the list for anything you may have missed.
You Can Now Invite Connections to Your LinkedIn Company Page
With this new update, you can invite your personal connections to follow your Linkedin company page! After networking through Sales Navigator or on your own, you can send invitations to those connections to like and follow your page and receive updates that way. Inviting clients to follow your firm’s page will ensure they see posts about your upcoming events, company updates, and more.
Google Suggests Differentiating Your Site
In addition to the blogs and videos we offer, we encourage advisors to create custom content as well. Websites with unique content are not only more effective, they fare better in search results.
A recent (and rare!) insight from Google execs confirms this concept. If your site features content that is also available to other advisors, it is imperative you produce and post your own as well. It’s the best way to define your niche and appease search engines at the same time.
Differentiating your site is about understanding the concerns of the people who are making those search queries and finding your site. Make sure the content you create addresses all of the underlying aspirations and goals implied by the question they are asking. Google is ranking web pages based on more than keywords and links. It increasingly ranks sites for answering a specific question or solving a popular problem in a way that satisfies the user.
New Research: Average Site Traffic for Small Businesses
According to a new study by BrightLocal, the average local business attracts 414 users to their website each month. While the study didn’t look at financial advisors specifically, the numbers for other service professionals like Insurance Agents or Lawyers work for comparison. Those industries average 276 (Insurance) and 463 (Legal) site visits per month. Overall, 13% of small businesses receive less than 100 users each month, with 55% seeing less than 500.
In terms of traffic sources, 50% of website traffic comes from organic, with 37% coming from direct sources. The average local business receives no email, paid, or display sessions each month.
Take a look at your own website traffic and see how you compare. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to site traffic, so you shouldn’t get too alarmed if your numbers are low. However, if you’re ready to increase your site traffic, putting more effort into your social media strategy or email marketing are great ways to start.
OCTOBER 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA & SEO NEWS
This month, we have updates on LinkedIn events, Facebook video, organic page impressions, and a Google change that may affect your rankings.
LinkedIn Launches Events Tool
LinkedIn has officially launched a new events feature, empowering members to create and organize event pages, similar to Facebook.
As explained by LinkedIn:
“You need to provide a description, date and time, a venue, a ticket or RSVP link, and then invite your connections using filters such as location, company, industry, and school. We also recommend you share the event as a post to leverage the power of the feed to reach relevant attendees. From your event page, you can easily track attendees and invitees, post updates and interact with other attendees.”
This is a huge development for financial advisors! Now, you can promote your next event via LinkedIn to bring in your clients and prospects. Just add a link to the event post you have on your FMG Suite website, and you’ll bring in new traffic to your website and event. It doesn’t look like you’ll be able to post from your Company page, only for Private pages, but that is how LinkedIn prefers people to connect on a personal level.
If you don’t see it as an option yet, don’t panic. LinkedIn is slowly rolling out this new product to its members. This help article will show you how to create an event on your LinkedIn page.
Facebook Admits Video Metrics Were Inflated
Facebook is set to pay $40 million in a settlement over a case that alleges that it knowingly inflated video view metrics in order to attract more ad spend.
The case accuses Facebook of providing inaccurate performance metrics which “significantly overestimated the amount of time users were spending watching video ads”.
According to the claim, the average viewership metrics on some videos had been increased by up to 900% as a result of Facebook’s errors.
What does this mean for your financial advisory marketing? Well, video is still an effective marketing tool. YouTube is the second most popular website worldwide after Google, and 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text (Wordstream). So experimenting with video is a worthy move for your marketing strategy. But if you’ve been watching your Facebook numbers with suspicion, or have seen them go down over the last year, this is why.
Facebook Alters Tracking for Organic Page Impressions
Facebook is also making a change to the way in which it calculates organic Page impressions, which could see a reduction in perceived Page and post reach for your financial advisory.
Facebook is reducing duplicate metrics based on the same person revisiting your Page and/or posts. That means that Facebook’s reach data will be more accurate, or at least, more representative of how many people have actually viewed your content, minus repeat viewers. However, your numbers may drop as a result.
Keep an eye on the organic impressions for your financial advisory posts, and if you see a decrease, remember that this change was made.
Major Google Change May Affect SEO for Financial Advisors
Google has announced it is in the process of implementing a major change to its core search algorithm that could change results rankings for up to one in 10 queries.
The change is in response to how we use Google today. Your prospects may be searching “how to get help with retirement San Diego.” But Google would just pick up on the two main keywords, “retirement,” and “San Diego,” and might show results for meetups or retirement homes.
With the new update, Google will pick up on all the words in the search, to more accurately show results that match what the searcher is looking for. This article has a more in-depth explanation of the update if you’re interested.
So what does this mean for financial advisors? Well, you may see a drop in organic traffic, if you were ranking for keywords that show up in those searches. But, this change should hopefully improve the quality of the traffic you do receive. Those who are looking for a business like yours should find that information more easily.
Continue to create website content for readers, not for search engines. If you work to genuinely answer questions people and provide valuable information, Google will notice.
SEPTEMBER 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
New LinkedIn Advertising Campaigns
Initially launched late last year, LinkedIn has continued to improve its objective-based advertising options. To help make it easier, LinkedIn has published a new guide to objective-based advertising, which provides a detailed overview of each element and how to make the most of your options.
This system guides advertiser decisions by first enabling them to choose the top-level objective for their campaigns, such as lead generation or web visits. Then LinkedIn’s system will point to the key ad formats and features which best support your optimal outcome.
If your goal on LinkedIn is to reach new leads with your financial services content, paid advertising is a must. These new tools make it easier for anyone to get started with LinkedIn advertising. If you’ve recently created a quality video or blog, try experimenting with the advertising options and see what happens!
Schedule Instagram Posts in Advance
Are you currently using Instagram for your practice? Well, one of the biggest complaints of the platform has been solved. You can now schedule posts in advance! The scheduling tool is accessible via Facebook for all Instagram Business accounts (not personal accounts) that are tied to a Facebook Business account.
You will not be able to schedule stories, which is due to the limited-time nature of that feature. But you can use it to post videos and images to your Instagram page, as well as to post IGTV videos! If you use Instagram for your financial advisory, this is a game-changer.
LinkedIn Find a Freelancer
Finding a quality freelancer in your area to help with content marketing or other tasks can be time-consuming. But LinkedIn has made it easier with a new feature! The “Find an Expert” post option helps you tap into your network to find a new freelancer.
Here’s how it works:
- Open LinkedIn on your mobile device (iOS and Android devices), create a post, then click “Find an Expert.”
- Fill out the information about the type of provider you are looking for, including detailed project expectations. LinkedIn will build a draft and automatically add relevant hashtags!
- Review the post and share! Once you hit share, the audience you selected will now be able to see your post and either comment directly on the post tagging folks who might be able to help, or message you to share their recommendations privately.
This is a great option if you’re looking for a talented expert to power your content marketing strategies for your financial advisory.
Facebook Improves Tools for Video Creators
The new Instagram scheduling option comes via Facebook’s Creator Studio. They recently launched new tools and a guide to help explain them all.
If you’ve been experimenting with more video posts on Facebook for your financial advisory, you should absolutely look into this tool. Some of the top features for financial advisors include:
- The ability to rehearse Live video streams
- Editing tools for live video, including trimming the beginning or end
- Auto-captions in new languages for Instagram videos
- Hub for video post metrics
These tools should encourage you to start utilizing video for your marketing strategy!
AUGUST 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
August was a slow month for social media news for financial advisors, but we still found a few updates that should impact your marketing strategies.
LinkedIn Live: A Guide for Advisors
Earlier this year, LinkedIn announced a beta version of their own live-streaming tool, similar to Facebook Live. While not everyone on the platform has access yet, LinkedIn has released more information, including a thorough guide.
LinkedIn Live allows you to broadcast to your network by using a third-party system (this is where it differs from Facebook). We understand that staying compliant with your social media is a concern for advisors, and live video might feel questionable.
But there are certainly ways financial advisors can take advantage of live video while staying compliant. If you post a video that has non-financial content, such as an introduction to your team or an invitation to a seminar, that shouldn’t need pre-approval. If you want to talk about market commentary or economic discussions, write a script and get it approved by your compliance ahead of time. As long as you refrain from promoting your firm’s products or services, there are ways to stay compliant with live video.
If you want to try it for yourself, see if you’re able to access the new LinkedIn Live feature! Apply to the beta version here.
Study Finds Marketers Prioritizing Video
In a new survey of over 1,000 creative and digital marketing decision-makers, video is the number one priority for the next year. The Mondo Creative & Digital Trends report revealed that 67% of digital marketers and creatives anticipate video marketing will be their first priority.
The types of video marketing that respondents expect to invest in most include Instagram stories (66%) and newsfeed videos (62%). Gifs (52%), cinemographs (31%), live streaming (28%) and IGTV (28%) were among other top-ranking video types respondents anticipate producing.
What does this mean for advisors? It’s time to embrace video! Creating custom video for your firm is easier than you think, as we discussed in this podcast, and can be a great tool to engage your clients and prospects.
JULY 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
July has been a busy month for updates to the most popular social media platforms and search engines. Get the greatest return on your financial advisory marketing budget with these important social media updates.
Facebook Streamlines News Feed Ads
Facebook has changed how mobile news feeds will be displayed. The update will take effect August 19th and will impact your financial advisory ads on the platform with two key changes:
- Fewer lines of primary text will show on mobile News Feed. Advisors will now have only three lines of text to get their message across.
- The maximum height for photos and videos will be reduced to 4:5 on mobile News Feed. The update to the new vertical limit will mean any media with a height greater than 4:5 will now be masked on Facebook mobile News Feed.
Those changes will look like this:
An additional update now allows advisors to place ads in Facebook Search. You can now have your ad show up in searches for related terms on Facebook, a function similar to Google search ads. Take advantage of this new ad placement option when you incorporate it into your next Facebook ad campaign.
LinkedIn Engagement Continues to Rise, Opening Up New Avenues for Networking
Microsoft, who purchased LinkedIn in 2016, announced that the platform’s engagement is steadily climbing. According to Microsoft, “LinkedIn revenue increased by 25% ($371 million) with record levels of engagement, highlighted by LinkedIn sessions growth of 22%.” LinkedIn also now has over 610 million users.
If you aren’t already harnessing the power of LinkedIn to grow your network and reach prospects and clients, your missing out on one of the most powerful tools available to grow your business. There’s every indication the platform will continue its growth. Getting started on LinkedIn is easy and it only takes a few minutes a day to grow and maintain your network.
New Study on Worldwide Social Media Usage
According to a new study by Famemass, people now spend an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes on social media EVERY DAY, which is nearly double the average in 2012.
Study participants cite staying up to date with current events and news as their primary goal for using social media. For financial advisors, the research results are clear — social media is a perfect platform for sharing updates, news, and other financial services resources with prospects and clients. There is every sign that social media use will continue to increase and your marketing investment in social media should increase accordingly.
Google Shows Podcast Episodes Directly in Search
Whether you produce podcasts or are just getting into the medium, this new release from Google gives advisors yet another way to share their expertise. Google announced the ability to play podcasts directly in the desktop and mobile search results. Google will feature podcast episodes based on the relevance of the search query to the content of the podcast, so be sure to make SEO a focus in your podcast scripts.
Want to this powerful tool in action? Head to Google and search “Market in Motion Podcast” and see just how effective this marketing tool can be for sharing insightful content.
A New Survey Proves Once Again Why Financial Advisors Should Claim Online Listings
Are your online business listings on Yelp, Google my Business, and other platforms correct, consistent, and updated regularly? A new study looked at 200k businesses and found some interesting results:
- Businesses claiming their listings on multiple sites earn 58% more revenue
- Businesses with ratings of 3.5 to 4.5 stars earn more than those with lower and higher ratings
- Businesses with more reviews (than the average) across sites generate 54% more revenue (These reviews do not count as “testimonials” under compliance rules. So as long as your clients provide unsolicited reviews, you should be within compliance.)
Claiming and maintaining your online listings is easy, and if you’re unsure of the accuracy of your listings online, this quick test will help you get on track.
JUNE 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
Catch up with social media and SEO updates for June 2019 to keep your marketing strategies up to date. This month’s roundup includes news from Facebook, Google, and a new Pew survey.
Survey Reiterates the Importance of Mobile-First Websites
A new study from the Pew Research Center found that 37 percent of U.S. adults most often use their smartphones for accessing the internet — double the rate of 2013. If your advisory firm’s website isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be missing a significant portion of your targeted audience.
According to the survey:
“Younger adults are especially likely to reach for their phones when going online. Fully 58 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds say they mostly go online through a smartphone, up from 41 percent in 2013. Still, this growth is evident across all age groups. For example, the share of adults ages 30 to 49 who say they mostly use a smartphone to go online has nearly doubled from 24 percent in 2013 to 47 percent today.”
We expect these numbers to continue to rise as smartphone and mobile connection technologies advance. Financial advisors should know these trends and adjust their marketing efforts accordingly. It’s time to make sure your website looks as great on a mobile device as it does on a desktop.
Facebook is Reducing the Number of Page Categories
Starting August 1, Facebook will remove the following sections from your Page listing options:
- Mission
- Company Overview
- Awards
- Year Founded
- Biography
- Affiliation
- Personal Interests
These rarely viewed category pages are being eliminated to streamline the Pages user experience. Facebook suggests moving critical information from the omitted category pages to the Page Description field.
Review your firm’s Facebook page to determine what actions you should take to continue sharing your firm’s vital information. It’s a best practice in digital marketing to review your Facebook presence often to ensure your information is up to date with any algorithm updates.
Facebook Introduces More Courses
Did you know Facebook has a comprehensive catalog of free courses to help small businesses better use their platform? Facebook Blueprint provides page owners with page insights, advertising tools, and more.
Facebook just released 22 new courses on topics like ‘How Instagram Can Help Your Business’ and ‘Facebook Ads and Your Business Goals.’ If you want to utilize the full power of the Facebook platform, these courses will give you the knowledge you need. Combining a 40 percent video to 60 percent text format, the courses are condensed to around five minutes for easy consumption.
As a busy financial advisor, it’s tough to stay updated on all the latest marketing tools and applications. Make viewing these great resources and putting the techniques into action a regular part of your firm’s social media marketing strategies to keep your brand relevant.
Google My Business Updates
Google My Business, Google’s business listing tool, has introduced new fields to create more comprehensive listings.
Google My Business
Advisors will find new options for cover photos and photo displays that show instantly on your profile. Your profile is now an opportune place to add photos of your office exterior and interior, photos of your team, and even your appearances at local events. You’ll also be able to add custom logos which will be displayed alongside your profile.
Another new update that will impact local marketing is the new “Local Favorite” badge. While the criteria has yet to be revealed, Google said that the top five percent of local businesses in a specific category will be awarded a “Local Favorite” badge. We do know that profile updates and customer responsiveness will be a part of the selection process. This feature has not been released yet, but now would be the time to make sure your firm’s local listings are updated and accurate.
Subscribe to our newsletter for more valuable tips for keeping your marketing strategy relevant and your plans on track.
MAY 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
Social media continues to evolve and advisors need to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies, features, and trends for the most relevant platforms. Read on for a roundup of SEO and social media updates financial advisors need to know for May 2019.
Facebook Emphasizes Video Posts
Facebook has always encouraged brands to post their own videos, and now they have an update that offers greater incentives for posting video. Facebook will reward brands that publish video content with long watch times that also show a high level of engagement. Facebook pages that post unoriginal or re-purposed video content may encounter limited visibility and decreased monetization. This update doesn’t apply to posts that link to videos on your website or YouTube — only to videos uploaded directly to Facebook.
How can you ensure that your videos get the greatest reach and engagement? Post valuable content that is relevant to your audience consistently — at least monthly. Educational how-tos about finance and content about working with your firm is a good place to start.
Help social media users who don’t follow your brand find your video by using relevant titles, descriptions, and keywords with your video. Think like a prospect and identify phrases and words that your targeted audience would use for search.
Pro Tip: Use subtitles! 85 percent of Facebook viewers watch videos with the sound off, so make sure your video has text or captions.
Instagram Usage is Thriving
A new report by eMarketer found that Instagram daily usage has increased, and will reach 27 minutes per day this year for U.S. adult users. Usage is expected to rise by one minute each year through 2021.
Facebook daily usage is down slightly but is still very popular. This year, U.S. adult Facebook users will spend an average of 38 minutes per day on the platform. In 2020, the average daily time is predicted to drop to 37 minutes. As a financial advisor, Facebook is still a vital part of your marketing efforts for driving traffic to your website.
If your firm isn’t on Instagram, it’s time to start! Whether or not Instagram is right for your firm depends on the demographics of your audience and your ability to create the visual content that performs best. If you are targeting younger clients like Millennials, your brand presence on Instagram could set your firm apart from the competition.
LinkedIn Introduces New Reactions
LinkedIn is a powerful networking platform for financial advisors to establish themselves as a thought leader and start conversations with prospects. Recent updates have made it even easier to engage with posts by introducing a variety of reaction options. Instead of just clicking “Like” on a post, you can personalize your response depending on the message.
The “Celebrate” option is great for new job announcements or accomplishments. “Love” can denote that you support the cause they’re discussing, or that you relate to the topic they’re discussing. Try hitting “Insightful” on an informative article, or “Curious” if it’s a topic you’d like to learn more about.
The next time you post, look at what types of reactions your followers are using and respond appropriately in the comments. For example, if they were “Curious,” maybe you can send them a link to a follow-up article, or ask them questions about their thoughts on the topic.
APRIL 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
Let’s look at some of the more significant social media updates from April 2019 and how they can impact your marketing efforts:
Facebook is Testing New Reactions
Facebook recently introduced new, more animated “reactions.” Reactions are what you can add to someone’s post and include Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. Liking a post
is no longer sufficient because users can now elaborate on their responses.
While the update with Reactions may seem superficial, there’s sound data that prompted the change. Since Facebook launched Reactions, they have seen their use steadily increasing. Facebook also uses Reactions to gauge what shows in your feed. For financial advisors, this means social media posts that get more reactions could have more visibility and reach if you take the time to create content built for these new reactions.
Facebook Hits 2.3 Billion Monthly Active Users
Despite recent privacy scandals and younger audiences swaying toward other platforms, Facebook reported 2.37 billion monthly active users at the end of Q1 2019. This is an increase of 55 million users since the previous quarter. Of those 2 billion-plus users, over 1.5 billion of them log into the social media platform every day.
Facebook continues to be an important marketing channel for financial advisors. Your clients and prospects and their families are on Facebook, so you should be right there with them. We’re always available to answer any social media marketing questions you may have, just request a demo today to get started.
Instagram Experiments with Hiding “Likes”
Instagram is a photo-sharing platform great for business and personal use. Noting the trend of users focusing primarily on “likes,” Instagram discreetly rolled out an update to hide “likes” on certain users’ posts. These users can still track their “likes,” but the responses are not available publicly. The implications of this update will depend on what relevant information Instagram derives from the experiment, so we’ll keep you up to date as the results are revealed.
Pinterest Boasts 265 Million Monthly Active Users
Pinterest may not be a part of many marketing strategies for financial advisors, but its steady growth says it should be. This month, Pinterest reported having 265 million monthly active users, up from 250 million from Q4 of last year. In addition to the increase in users, Pinterest has continually shown that their users are highly engaged, with 90 percent of weekly users reporting using the app to make purchasing decisions.
While Pinterest might not be the primary channel for reaching your target demographic, the sheer number of users on the platform should provide a good source of prospects. Users on the app value high-quality content and informative articles, so using the platform to establish your thought leader position could be an efficient strategy. Try reporting your blogs or updates on Pinterest once a week and monitor your website traffic for results. But first, check out these helpful guidelines on Pinterest marketing.
MARCH 2019 Social Media News
There’s always something new on the horizon with social media marketing. We’ve rounded up some of the most important updates in March 2019 that financial advisors need to know. Learn more about how you can leverage social media for your advisory and stay on the cutting edge of these evolving marketing platforms.
LinkedIn Goes Live
Last month, we talked about how LinkedIn has reached record usage and why this platform should be part of your financial advisor marketing strategy. In addition to its staggering numbers, LinkedIn has been releasing some valuable features that could increase financial advisors’ reach. One of those releases is LinkedIn Live, which was released in February but is just now starting to gain traction.
This live video broadcast service gives brands and organizations the ability to broadcast real-time video to select groups, or to the LinkedIn world at large. Try doing a live Q&A on your page to discuss market updates, or look out for streaming keynotes from conferences. Think: CEOs streaming keynotes about new product updates, Q&As led by industry thought leaders, and digital conferences that make it easier for the 610 million professionals on the site to further their practice. As of now, LinkedIn Live is invite-only, but keep your eyes peeled for the release of this powerful new feature and check out the new “What Are People Talking About?” widget on their home screen.
Keep an eye out for trending topics in the finance industry, about your community, and any other relevant topics and write up a post to increase engagement.
Meet Twttr
Twttr is Twitter’s new prototype app that aims to test out new ideas outside of Twitter’s public network. The prototype launched mid-March and users can join the conversation and help Twitter build out features by using the hashtag #LetsHaveaConvo. The app will focus on testing new designs, conversation threads, and other exciting features. Twttr might not be a go-to tool in your social media marketing arsenal (yet!), but it’s a positive step that Twitter is considering users’ feedback before making major changes to the platform.
Google’s Broad Core Search Ranking Algorithm Update
A few times each year, Google releases major broad core search updates. In 2018, we saw these updates in March, August, and September. We haven’t seen any major updates since then, until March 12, 2019. Google announced its most recent broad core search ranking algorithm update. It’s still too early to pinpoint what this update changed, but two of the highlights are:
- The update will continue to value expertise, authority, and trust through links. This means if a trusted site like the CDC or CNN links to another site, they will be rewarded. In other words, Google is increasing the amount of power of certain links while decreasing the power of other links
- This update rewards sites that have relevant content, while sites with generic content could see a decrease in organic traffic.
The most significant change with this Google algorithm update is its impact on what Google refers to as “Your Money or Your Life” sites — sites that impact the potential happiness, health, financial stability, or safety of users. As a financial advisor, your site may fall into the financial stability section of this algorithm, which makes providing trustworthy, relevant, and high-quality content more important than ever.
The landscape of SEO and social media marketing is always in flux and you can count on FMG Suite to keep you updated. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions about optimizing your marketing strategy for your financial advisory
February 2019 Social Media News
Every month, we provide a roundup of all the latest social media news that financial advisors need to know. Read on for updates from the most popular social platforms, new studies that reveal how consumers use social media, and some resources that can help you improve your marketing strategy.
Google+ Announces Shut Down Date
Google+ is shutting down. After a bug exposed the data of half a million users, Google announced the social platform’s demise. If you’ve been using Google+ to promote your advisory, make sure you’re prepared for the shutdown. We recommend you:
- Make a plan to remove Google+ share / follow buttons from your website
- Phase out posting content or sharing on Google+
- If you run a Community on Google+, make plans to migrate it to a different platform. Facebook and LinkedIn Groups are two viable alternatives.
LinkedIn Hits Record High Levels
According to parent company Microsoft, there are over 610 million professionals interacting on LinkedIn. The statistics should convince financial advisors of the power of this networking platform:
This data and other insights are available through their new ebook, The Social Media Manager’s Guide to LinkedIn. If you want to broaden your reach with LinkedIn, this is a good resource for learning the ropes.
Courts Rule Buying Followers is Illegal
After the New York Times investigated a company, Devumi, that provides social media followers for a fee, a court case ruled the practice to be illegal. According to the investigation, Devumi operated by “drawing on an estimated stock of at least 3.5 million automated accounts, each sold many times over. The company has provided customers with more than 200 million Twitter followers.”
Hopefully, your advisory didn’t participate in these practices. While having a high number of followers can be valuable, it means nothing if those users don’t interact with your content. That’s why it’s important to grow organically with real people who are interested in your financial advisory services.
What Instagram Users Expect
Facebook (who owns Instagram) released a new report that provides insight on what Instagram users expect from brands on the platform. Advisors who are interested in getting started on Instagram (and who have received clearance from compliance) may find some of the data persuasive.
According to the report, 57% of the 21,000 people surveyed indicated that they’re now using Instagram more than they did a year ago, and 44% saying that they’ll use it even more in the coming year. The report provides other useful information, like which age brackets use the platforms the most (are you surprised that it’s not just teenagers?):
Plus, it reveals which types of marketing content users want. Clearly, they’re interested in well-targeted, short-form content designed specifically for the Instagram platform:
Is Instagram a part of your digital marketing strategy? This video can help you determine if the social media platform is right for your advisory. We know that using social media compliantly can be a challenge, so we broke down what you need to know to create social content that doesn’t deviate from any guidelines.
January 2019 Social Media News
The ever-evolving social media landscape can be exciting and frustrating. While the evolution of social media provides greater opportunities for financial services marketing, the following the rules, best practices, and aligning with industry compliance create quite a challenge. To help financial advisors stay ahead of the curve, we compile a monthly roundup of all the social media updates you need to know.
Discover the Best Platforms for Advisors
If you’re unsure which social media platforms you should use to reach your customers, this infographic will provide some much-needed clarity. It discusses the pros and cons of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Where you should focus your marketing efforts depends on which platforms your targeted audience uses and the greatest ROI of your marketing dollars with each.
Instagram Clarifies 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, explaining that the algorithm responds to 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 typically scroll ahead, Instagram will assume those posts aren’t interesting to that user and will filter them toward the bottom. So if you’re using Instagram, make sure you’re posting content that encourages your followers to engage to ensure that they are seeing your posts. Check out this video to see if Instagram is a good fit for your advisory.
Twitter Reverts to the Reverse Chronological Feed
If you’ve used Twitter for a few years, you know originally the feed showed tweets in reverse chronological order. After switching to a different algorithm which changed the order of tweets, Twitter has elected to resume the reverse chronological order. Instagram recently changed the app so both Android and iOS users can change their feed to reverse chronological if they prefer.
This update means 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 is good news if you use Twitter to promote your financial advisory, because a follower who typically wouldn’t see your posts in a timely manner can now see them when they could be the most relevant.
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 improves the way interests are targeted:
“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 easier to reach potential prospects based on their interests. If you cater to a niche group of clients in the tech industry, for example, you can send ads directly to this targeted audience. Paired with LinkedIn’s other audience targeting, such as job title, seniority, age, and gender, this is a great platform to enhance your marketing efforts.
Facebook Launches Data & Privacy Hub
Social media users worldwide are becoming more aware of the security risk of digital platforms. To combat this, Facebook has launched a new hub of data and privacy resources so businesses can protect their customers’ information more securely.
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 be happy to know that your advisory is focused on privacy and security.
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 your digital marketing strategy doesn’t include social media marketing, this study will give you a lot of food for thought!
