While many social media platforms seem to come and go, LinkedIn has remained the preeminent professional networking platform since its creation in 2003. A large part of LinkedIn’s staying power is that it began as a network for professional connections and has remained that way.
And while social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram have now made space for businesses, that wasn’t always the case. For this reason, most social media users think of LinkedIn first for professional networking over other platforms.
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For financial advisory firms, LinkedIn can be used as a place for posting thought-leadership content, market commentary, and much more. Keep reading for a deep dive into how LinkedIn can boost your financial advisor marketing strategy.
Getting Started on LinkedIn for Financial Advisors
If you don’t have a personal financial advisor LinkedIn profile, this is the first step. If you already have one, give it a once-over to make sure it’s up to date and see if it could use some improvement. Some important aspects of a financial advisor LinkedIn profile include: An appropriate and recent photo (a headshot or other professional photo is recommended), complete work and education history, accomplishments, awards, volunteering experience, and any other organizations or programs that you are involved with.
This is important because it not only gives a snapshot of your professional qualifications but also gives a glimpse into what causes are important to you. For financial advisors, this is especially important due to the level of trust both partners and clients need to feel good about working with you and your financial advisory firm. Note: For independent financial advisors, your personal LinkedIn profile may be your only LinkedIn presence, so it pays to make the most out of it.
Next, it’s time to establish (or improve) your financial advisory firm’s LinkedIn company page. This page is important for advisory firms with multiple advisors, as it unifies a brand identity and helps users get a feel for your firm overall.
As noted above, company pages aren’t usually utilized by independent advisors given that a personal profile can do the trick. However, it’s important to note that LinkedIn business pages do offer some tools that personal profiles don’t have – so the choice is up to the advisor. The big takeaway here is it should be one or the other for individual advisors, not both a personal profile and a business page.
For financial advisory firms with multiple team members, it’s vital to optimize the individual profiles of each team member, regardless of role. Some things to check include consistent use of logos and other branding items, professional photos, and accurate work and education history.
It’s important to note, however, that someone’s personal LinkedIn profile is still their own personal account. If they aren’t in compliance with your brand standards, or legal standards, you have the option of unlinking them from your business page. This means they will remain on LinkedIn but are not officially associated with your financial advisory firm on LinkedIn.
It's also important to keep track of who has access to your financial advisory firm’s company LinkedIn page. This page will not have its own login information, but instead is set up and run by a designated page admin – of which there can be multiple. Admin access can be given to any LinkedIn user and can be given various levels of permissions to modify and update the company page.
This is convenient for financial advisory firms with multiple users - or digital marketing partners – posting content to the page. Conversely, this can cause problems if employees leave, or the admin forgets their password, and no one can access the company page. And this happens, more than you might think!
To prevent this, a best practice is to always have more than one designated admin with full access. It’s also a good idea to periodically review your financial advisory firm’s company LinkedIn Page admins and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
Financial Advisor Content on LinkedIn
No matter where you’re posting your financial advisor content, the quality and relevance of that content should be the priority. And even though LinkedIn is technically a social media platform, that doesn’t mean it should have the same financial advisor content as your other social media channels.
LinkedIn is a place for professional networking, and while the tone doesn’t have to be serious, it should match that of a workplace. Your financial advisor content should avoid politics, personal anecdotes, photos, and anything else that can’t be directly connected to a professional topic, event, or asset.
LinkedIn is an extension of your financial advisor brand, and remaining consistent across digital channels is paramount. Your audience on LinkedIn could include partners and other financial professionals as well as potential clients, which means the messaging needs to work for both. But think from a professional and educational standpoint first — this is not a place for a hard sell.
In addition to original financial advisor content such as white papers, blog posts, videos, etc., you can also include some other LinkedIn content ideas, such as highlighting your team members and their achievements and awards/accolades. While it may seem self-serving on other platforms, LinkedIn was created to be a place to tout professional accomplishments and awards.
Establishing or improving your financial advisor LinkedIn presence and content doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Assess your library of existing financial advisor content, and repurpose it in a relevant way for your LinkedIn audience.
Build Your Financial Advisor LinkedIn Network by Making Contacts
LinkedIn is a great tool for making professional networking contacts. By finding partners - both in and outside of the financial industry, you can expand your reach and get your financial advisor content in front of a larger audience by cross-promoting. As a bonus, you can think beyond LinkedIn and exchange guest posts with your partners on your respective websites. Adding this content and backlinks for your financial advisor website adds credibility and can boost SEO.
