Keep a High Profile

Art by Marcellus Hall

Having a social media presence may have been optional for plan advisers in years past, but they can no longer afford to ignore the platforms.  

“If you’re a business now and don’t have a LinkedIn profile, that would certainly raise an eyebrow,” says John Curry, chief marketing officer at CAPTRUST in Raleigh, North Carolina. “A couple of years ago, it was optional. But it’s not optional anymore. It would be like not having a website.” 

Four in 10 B2B buyers recently told Gartner, in a survey, that they have used social media to help make purchasing decisions.  

According to Cerulli Associates proprietary data gathered last year, just 42% of advisers use social media at least once a month. Marina Shtyrkov, associate director, wealth management, with Cerulli in Swampscott, Massachusetts, conjectures that this use is primarily for business purposes. Forty-four percent, however, do not use it all. Advisers in this category may be missing a crucial opportunity to connect with potential clients; often it becomes the first impression that prospects get of an adviser and the firm, she says. 

“If you’re doing outbound calls to build your business, and you leave a voicemail, often the first thing they’re going to do is Google you,” Curry says. “When they do that, the two things they’re going to get are your bio on your company website and your LinkedIn profile.” 

When advisers create their social media strategy, it is important that they consider the purpose of the strategy, Cerulli says. In most cases, it is not to drive immediate direct sales. On average, only 3.1% of advisers’ new clients were acquired because of leads generated by digital marketing, including social media, the research firm reports. 

“The purpose of social media is to be the beginning point of conversations,” says Sheri Fitts, CEO of Sheri Fitts & Co., a financial services marketing, sales and branding consultancy, in Portland, Oregon. “The purpose is really [to convey] reputation and visibility.” 

Part of a Broader Strategy 

To recognize that social media is just the start of things is critical, in part because it is very hard to directly tie social media marketing directly to sales. 

“It’s tough to go all the way from ‘this person liked a post,’ to them becoming a client,” Curry says. “Attribution is hard in our business, because you could meet someone at a conference five years running, talk to them on the phone, they like a few posts, and then they become a client. Why did they become a client?” 

Because of that, social media marketing really makes sense as part of a broader marketing strategy. 

“I think people who think that social media will be their main driver of new business need to be prepared that it’s going to be a long build and if you don’t get your audience big enough, or the content-quality high enough, you’ll have to wait a long time for conversion,” says Josh Itzoe, a former adviser and founder of FiduciaryWor(k)s, in Phoenix, Maryland. 

Individual advisers should think of their social media profile as a way to advance their employer’s, as well as their own, personal brand, which has become increasingly valuable in today’s marketplace. 

This means having an up-to-date professional headshot as a LinkedIn photo; a complete profile that includes a professional headline and a summary written in first-person; and at least 500 connections, plus activity that goes beyond simply liking other people’s posts, and skills listed in the order of the personal/professional brand of the client, or type of client, you are trying to attract. Your profile should include some detail about your current position and how you work with clients, she says.  

Putting the Algorithm to Work 

Besides connecting with prospects and partners, social media can help advisers connect with others in the industry, remain in touch with former colleagues and keep an eye out for potential clients. 

Fitts aims to put up two beneficial posts per week and to have meaningful, daily interaction with connections on LinkedIn, including business prospects and others in her network. “I want to touch people every once in a while, because when I do touch them, then the next time I post something, the algorithm might work in my favor, and they show what I posted in their feed.” 

The most effective use of social media will vary depending on an adviser and firm, and it is one that advisers may need to figure out through some trial and error.  

“You need content, but you’re seeing trends move away from [text-based posts] to more engaging content, such as audience polls, video or something else,” Itzoe says.

While plan advisers should consider all the social media platforms and create profiles on those  they feel most comfortable with, experts say LinkedIn remains the best venue for connecting with plan sponsor decisionmakers.  

“I’m hard-pressed to believe that the vice president of HR [human resources] or the chief financial officer of a company is going to be scrolling TikTok and see a video from a 401(k) adviser and say, ‘That’s a great video; I should hire them to help me oversee my plan!’” Itzoe says. 

“Younger demographics are on some of those social media outlets, so that might make sense for more private-client-focused advisers.” 

That said, Itzoe concedes that platforms such as Instagram or Twitter may serve other purposes for larger firms, such as acting as a recruiting tool by promoting a company’s culture and employer brand. In today’s competitive labor market, people want to work for employers that care about them as people, recognize and reward them for the work they do, and create opportunities for growth and development. “Social can be used to communicate what firms do in these areas,” Itzoe says.

“Social is about getting people to the top of the funnel, maybe to engage with a piece of content. Then you need a call to action, and you want to get them into your funnel, so you can drip on them over time.”

A List-Building Tool 

Often, the goal of plan advisers’ social media strategy is to get their connections to click through on content and onto the firm’s web page. So it is key that the web page is optimized, with the adviser’s contact information on the home page and an easy way for the adviser to capture information such as the visitor’s email address.  

“A good email list is still probably the very best marketing resource you can have,” Itzoe says. “Social is about getting people to the top of the funnel, maybe to engage with a piece of content. Then you need a call to action, and you want to get them into your funnel, so you can drip on them over time.” 

As with other kinds of marketing, firms need to keep their strategy in place for several months, or even years, tweaking it as necessary, even if they fail to see results right away. 

“People get really fired up about a marketing strategy and building their brand, and then they do it for six or eight months and get distracted by another shiny object,” Curry says. “You have to focus, to commit for a minimum of 18 to 24 months on any marketing strategy before you start to see a result.”