When we think of social media, there is no doubt that it plays a big role in our lives. From expanding one’s connections to allowing people to share their ideas and thoughts, it’s safe to say that the social media user base will continue to increase due to its ability to connect people all around the world, anytime and anywhere.  

Other than being a source of entertainment, allowing users to keep in touch with one another and providing up-to-date news, social media can be an integral business tool for a financial advisor. Whether we love it or hate it, social media can help financial advisors stay on top of the game in the industry and reach out to clients and prospects. Take these techniques from Kaka Lam, MDRT member since 2017, and Kimberly Lai, MDRT member since 2011, on how they think financial advisors can use social media to their advantage:   

Curate educational content 

There is no surprise that deciding what to post on your platforms can be a challenge. To address this, you can post content that is informative yet relevant to your target audience. These types of content can include facts and statistics of how people can benefit from financial policies or even infographics and blog posts. Doing this not only gives your audience insight but also helps you build your credibility as a financial advisor. According to Lai, “Financial planners need to provide their audience with informative, insightful and genuine content to plant seeds in their minds. To do this, they can create educational content to be posted on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, to help reach more people at a faster rate.” 

Post content often 

When trying to remain on top of mind in your audience, it’s encouraged that you post on your social media platforms frequently. This helps you build your brand on social media and avoids your posts from being missed or overlooked by your audience. “For me, I share content such as my qualifications on a frequent basis to show my followers how I can add value to their lives. The need for insurance will never end which is why I do frequent webinars to engage with my audience, to relate and tell them the importance of financial planning,” Lam shared. When posting on social media, it’s important that the content helps audience trust you as someone that’s easily recognisable and they’re comfortable with. “I engage with my audience by posting often on my platforms while ensuring my posts are consistent with my branding across all my social media platforms,” Lai added. 

Curate relatable content 

As part of attracting the right prospects, a helpful technique to take note of is ensuring the content resonates with them. “I personally feel social media helps me relate to my clients and prospects. I use real life stories and experiences to help encourage them that financial planning can protect their lives,” Lam stated. “To me, stories sell more than products do. Your audience will remember your story but they won’t remember your products. For example, I shared on my platform of my personal encounter with a Grab driver who had to work very hard to help his parents get treatment because they didn’t have medical financial policies. Through this, I was able to share how financial planning can help people be prepared for these types of unforeseen situations.” 

Stay authentic to who you are 

Sometimes, focusing on solely pushing out content may divert your focus of ensuring the content you’re posting is authentic to the brand you wish to display to your audience. “It’s important that the content I post aligns with my values and properly exhibits who I am and what I do,” Lai emphasized. “Social media allows us to put our business in front of thousands of prospective clients. Many people do an online search to discover the reputation of someone they’d like to work with in financial services. The more we work on our visibility on these platforms while staying true to what we believe in, the more we increase our chances to be seen and contacted.” 

Use your platforms for two-way interaction 

Social media is the perfect way for financial planners to communicate with potential clients and prospects while allowing them to interact with you. To strengthen trust and get them to take notice of you, you can respond to their comments and questions to your content in a timely manner. Lai highlighted, “Many who see my content will like and share the content with those who need financial services. I had a client who saw my post and decided to pursue my services by setting up a Zoom meeting to discuss financial protection and legacy planning.”  

Lam, on the other hand, mentioned, “Social media also helps me interact with those I don’t personally know. For example, if I have 5,000 followers on Instagram, I won’t be able to approach each one of them. However, social media helps me reach out to them without seeing them in person.” 

To conclude, social media helps financial planners stand out from the rest and reach the right target audience. Although some may find social media daunting at first, it can provide opportunities to interact with clients and prospects. Social media also helps clients see how financial planners can add value to their lives, making them want to do business with these financial planners. 

Contact: MDRTeditorial@teamlewis.com