Social media can be a great asset for any financial advisor, especially when used as part of a larger digital marketing plan. While it’s easy (and free) to get started on various social media platforms, that doesn’t mean it should be taken on without careful consideration and planning.
Before diving in head-first into social media for your financial advisor firm, read on for an overview of some of the biggest social media mistakes financial advisors make and how to avoid them.
Going in Without a Plan
Your financial advisor social media should have a dedicated content schedule and calendar to manage your social content and posting. It can be easy to start off strong and post every day, and then lose momentum and fizzle out. Before you know it, your page could be gathering digital dust and missing out on crucial engagement and exposure for your business.
One best practice is to create a social media content calendar with days and times for social content to go out. Putting in this work on the content creation and planning ahead of time will help your online presence become consistent in social feeds and keep your firm top-of-mind for your social media followers.
Additionally, by having a plan ahead of time, you can schedule posts to go out on specific days and times using a scheduler app or tool. This can save time by letting your schedule social media content when it’s convenient for you. Also, by having a plan for social content, you can avoid posting content too quickly without possibly considering any backlash from your audience. You’ve heard the phrase “good news travels fast, bad news travels faster,” and social media is no exception!
Posting Too Much (Or Not Enough)
More is not always better when it comes to social media posting. But if you don’t post enough, your content can be lost. How do you strike the right balance? While there is no magic formula for how often to post, there are some basic guidelines.
Focus on the quality of your posts over the quantity. Don’t just post something for the sake of posting it, that will only increase your chances of losing followers and getting less engagement. Think about your own social media feed: if you see someone posting over and over and it’s clogging your feed, you’re likely to unfollow or unfriend them, and that’s not what you want for your financial advisor social media.
Neglecting Your Actual Website
While putting so much effort into your social media, it can’t be overstated that your website needs to be top-notch as well. One big mistake made by financial advisors is focusing all of their efforts on social media and not putting the same effort into their website and blog. This can result in an inconsistent appearance by visitors to your website who were sent there from social media.
For example, let’s say someone reads a post on your social media account and clicks the “learn more” button only to be taken to your website that hasn’t been updated in months. Or perhaps the branding looks completely different and they’re not even sure they ended up on the right website.
Another mistake is having a website that isn’t mobile-responsive or optimized to be viewed on smartphones and tablets. With more and more people working remotely and doing more daily activities on mobile devices, having an optimized website is a must-have.
Not Sharing Quality Content
What you share is much more important than how many times you post and even when you post it. Why? Because when quality content is shared, it has a much higher likelihood of receiving engagement such as likes, clicks, and shares.
The power of social media is how quickly it can be spread among many users in a short amount of time. And while your post may not become as “viral” as the next piano-playing cat video, there is a place for all types of content on the internet and your audience wants quality content about financial advising services.
Using Social Media Only for Sales Pitches
We’ve all been there, visiting a car dealership and salespeople begin circling like sharks hunting for prey before you walk on the lot. Moral of the story? Don’t give people a sales pitch every time you post on social media. Consumers are getting wise to all the ways they’re being sold to, but most of the time they’ll accept it if it’s coming to them as actual information.
For example, if you want to get the message across that you specialize in estate planning guidance you can go about it in a couple of different ways. The first is to blatantly say “let me help with your estate plan.” Another, more subtle approach is to offer a whitepaper or infographic on the importance of having an estate plan. This provides value to your audience while also establishing you as a source of knowledge and information on something that can be difficult to understand for some.
Not Analyzing Your Data
You wouldn’t spend hours preparing a meal and then not taste it, right? Then you shouldn’t work hard on a social media plan only to not check the results. Many social media platforms offer free basic analytics tools that can show you which posts are performing well, and which ones aren’t. It can also show you if your audience is growing or shrinking, and what times of day your posts are receiving views and/or engagement.
This information is critical to the success of any financial advisor's social media plan. This information can be used to set benchmarks and show you what type of content to produce in the future. Additionally, if you’re willing to invest in a premium analytics service, you can get more robust analytics and granular social media statistics. If you partner with a digital marketing firm, you can also benefit from an experienced team that can help you better interpret those results.
