Social media is growing by leaps and bounds, expanding financial advisors' advertising and marketing reach. The need remains for businesses and brands to reach specific audiences. What’s changing are the various platforms on which to connect with them.
So, how are financial advisors keeping up with digital advancements? By harnessing the networking power of social media, they can make valuable connections with ideal clients.
It’s time to think beyond the social platforms of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Instagram is the newest game-changer for wealth advisors. Launched in 2010, this photo and video sharing platform has 1.22 billion users each month.
What’s Important to Consider?
The majority of users in IG are in the Gen Z (born 1997 – 2012) and Millennial (born 1981 – 1996) demographic range. As an advisor, you’re well aware of the necessity to appeal to younger audiences to find prospects beginning their financial journeys. Commonly done through family connections and word of mouth, social media keeps pace with both.
Instagram gains more users each year that fit an advisors’ ideal client profile. Sprout Social’s 2020 study found that these age groups use Instagram:
- 47% – 30 to 49-year-olds
- 23% – 50 to 64-year-olds
- 8% – over 65-years-old
Since no two social media platforms are the same—neither are their audiences, who use them differently. For this reason, financial advisors should craft a marketing strategy that’s unique to Instagram, based on the target audience.
Meeting your prospects where they are is half the battle in winning customers and brand advocates. IG can help you do precisely that when leveraged correctly.
If you’re not yet incorporating Instagram into your marketing efforts, consider these tips to boost awareness of your financial services. Advisors can hit the ground running with five integrated elements.
Start With the Right Images
Consistent imagery is key on IG.
Because it’s a visual storytelling platform, images/imagery are a vital element of the platform’s massive appeal. All Instagram posts must have an image or video—not to be treated as a marketing message afterthought.
Because images are such an integral part of Instagram, a best practice for financial advisors is to build posts and stories around visual elements, with the caption providing context to reinforce each message.
Because branding is crucial for financial advisors, consider using the same filter on all shared images (or a consistent variation). Using the same filter(s), color scheme and types of images across posts helps create consistency.
A clean, overall aesthetic provides enduring appeal on a page vs. seeing images in a feed. How? Because the page view on Instagram displays images in connecting square tiles (three across). When shown together, it’s obvious when filters are used inconsistently.
Image orientation also matters because Instagram only allows square images; some photos may not fit.
Content Drives Engagement
Without engagement, social media posts are ineffective. After all, it was created to enable two-way communication. The difference is that engaging content invites feedback and interaction, often by asking a question or sharing content that compels people to reshare.
The best way to get more engagement is to craft and share better content.
Provide a mix of educational, inspirational, informative, and story-telling posts. Use multiple images to walk a reader/watcher through a “how-to” scenario (up to ten are allowed). Followers and passers-by are more likely to reshare posts that impact them.
Hashtags
Across various social channels, hashtags signify what each post is about. Tagging posts appropriately allows financial advisors to become part of the larger conversation.
Similar to keyword strategy, a hashtag classifies topics, allowing people to find a topic in one unified stream. Like keywords, hashtags can be competitive. Don’t get lost in the sea of posts. This frequently happens with trending news topics and widely celebrated holidays.
For financial advisors, the right hashtag strategy on IG can focus on lesser-used hashtags that are still relevant to the topic and won’t be lost. Use at least five to seven hashtags as a good rule of thumb.
There is No Direct Linking in Posts
As a visual-first platform, Instagram is intentionally not link-driven. For this reason, individual posts do not support clickable links. The images and content must speak for your firm to compel visitors to connect in other ways.
Better yet, make the experience seamless and allow them to reach out via the post itself. Have a call-to-action to direct message ”DM” for further financial planning information.
Taking this approach requires regular monitoring of comments and message responses. If you don’t have the time or team to manage social accounts, a digital marketing agency with social media marketing experts on staff can help you manage your social media presence.
Organic vs. Paid Content
Like other platforms, Instagram offers paid advertising opportunities for businesses. This can be a substantial part of an overall social media strategy for financial advisors.
Keep in mind that to optimize brand awareness on social platforms, a mix of both paid and organic marketing should be used. The same rules apply on other channels. This includes creating a budget and making adjustments as needed.
Make the Choice
Financial advisors can use social platforms to spread their mission and connect with the masses. Crafting content should focus on calling in new clients while engaging existing clients.
Create a professional brand using the right images, content, hashtags, calls-to-action, and digital ads. Since managing Instagram accounts is not at the top of your to-do list, let the pros handle it for you to maximize your digital marketing investment.
