The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors How to Use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to Build and Grow Your Business

by Halloran, Matthew; Thies, Crystal; Cates, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781118208014
• ISBN10: 1118208013
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-31
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press

Summary

Expert advice for financial advisors looking to make the most of social media platforms Social media is everywhere. 3.5 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook each week, 22 million professionals are networking on LinkedIn, and 140 million tweets are posted every day. The opportunities these platforms present for financial advisors are huge, but most advisors have no idea how to use them to build bigger, stronger client bases. The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors: How to Use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to Build and Grow Your Business shows how to make the most of these new tools, offering invaluable advice about how to connect with potential clients in the twenty first century. For most advisors, converting prospects into clients is their top priority, and social media presents incredible opportunities for sealing the deal. Sales dont happen because clients are impressed by complicated charts, they happen because theyre impressed by your social media presence, and by properly understanding how to make these new platforms work for you, youll be positioned to see your business boom. Designed to teach financial advisors how to use social media to better market their services to attract new clients and referrals Presents expert communication advice from top financial advisor coach Matthew Halloran Categorizes communicators in a unique new way Teaches financial advisors how to use social media in new, highly effective ways that theyve never even considered An essential resource for wealth managers and financial advisors looking to amplify their marketing message and raise their visibility in a crowded marketplace, The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors is the only book you need to make yourself heard.

Author Biography

Matthew Halloran first became interested in social media when Myspace was the place to be. With over 80,000 Twitter followers with a 99 percent effectiveness rating, 1,000 LinkedIn connections, and 700 Facebook fans, he knows how to gain followers to help build business. Having coached and consulted hundreds and spoken to thousands of financial advisors, Halloran knows how financial advising practices work, and believes that social media is the new marketing frontier for transforming the prospecting aspect of any financial services practice. He is the Director of National Development for GIVE Strategy, a mission-driven company that focuses on helping connect financial advisors, CPAs, estate planning attorneys, clients, and planned giving directors to redirect $1 billion to charity, and the founder and President of Top Advisor Coaching.

CRYSTAL THIES first learned of LinkedIn while deciding to return to financial planning, an industry she left for almost a decade to focus on charitable giving in the nonprofit sector. Thies saw LinkedIn and social media as the way to quickly reignite her financial planning practice while combining her two key knowledge bases of financial planning and charitable giving. The call of social media won out, and Thies started Crystal Clear Buzz, LLC. For more than three years, she has helped small and large businesses, sales teams, and sales professionals use social media for sales and business development. Because of her experience and expertise as a licensed financial planner, Thies's clients include many RIAs and financial advisors, in addition to major broker-dealers, wirehouses, and banks. Thies is known as the "LinkedIn Ninja"—a title given to her by her clients and followers.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
A Perspective on Social Media	p. xvii
Introduction	p. xxiii
Introduction to Social Media
Compliance	p. 3
Compliance and FINRA Licensed Advisors	p. 4
Compliance and SEC Licensed Advisors	p. 6
What Should I Do if I'm Not Allowed to Use Social Media?	p. 8
How Does This Work?	p. 9
Final Thoughts	p. 11
Creating Rapport Online	p. 13
The Three Cs	p. 13
Final Thoughts	p. 23
Lessons Learned from Social Media	p. 25
People Can Only See Words	p. 26
Social Media is More About Listening	p. 27
To Be Successful, You Must Be A Social Media Giver	p. 28
Keep Sales Messaging to a Minimum	p. 29
Final Thoughts	p. 30
Give Something for Nothing	p. 31
Interner Resources	p. 31
Final Thoughts	p. 35
The Disciplined Approach	p. 37
Streaming Use of Social Media	p. 37
Managing Time	p. 39
Social Media Dashboards	p. 43
Final Thoughts	p. 46
Twitter
Why Twitter?	p. 49
Texting and Tweeting	p. 50
Setting Up Your Account	p. 51
Final Thoughts	p. 63
Marketing on Twitter	p. 65
Regulations and Restrictions	p. 65
Twellow	p. 66
Two Recommended Tools	p. 70
Unfollowing and Blocking	p. 75
Tweet Scheduler and TweerDeck	p. 77
Self-Marketing Tweets	p. 78
Final Thoughts	p. 79
Getting Leads from Twitter	p. 81
Twitter: A Driving Force	p. 81
Final Thoughts	p. 86
Public Relations on Twitter	p. 87
Tweet Grader	p. 88
Muck Rack	p. 88
Making News through Twitter	p. 89
Final Thoughts	p. 90
Facebook
Why Facebook?	p. 93
Statistics	p. 93
Building Your Page	p. 95
Working with Your Home Page	p. 101
How Control Settings Help Your Marketing Plan	p. 104
The Power of Advertisements!	p. 107
The Facebook Fan Page	p. 108
The Company Page	p. 111
Timeline	p. 116
Final Thoughts	p. 118
How to Advertise on Facebook	p. 119
Facebook Insights	p. 119
Advertising on Facebook	p. 120
Final Thoughts	p. 132
Facebook Applications and Tools	p. 133
Advanced Facebook Applications	p. 133
Video Apps	p. 135
Creating Events	p. 139
More Facebook Apps	p. 143
Final Thoughts	p. 144
Public Relations on Facebook	p. 145
Making Use of the Groups Platform	p. 145
Be Proactive	p. 148
Final Thoughts	p. 150
Linkedin
Why LinkedIn?	p. 153
You Can Control Referrals	p. 153
LinkedIn Members are More Affluent	p. 154
Financial Advisors are Having Success With LinkedIn	p. 156
Final Thoughts	p. 157
Setting Up Your LinkedIn Account	p. 159
Joining LinkedIn	p. 159
Final Thoughts	p. 164
Building an Effective LinkedIn Profile	p. 167
Search Engine Optimizations (SEO)	p. 169
Experience	p. 172
Education	p. 176
Adding Certifications, Designations, and Licenses	p. 178
Name	p. 180
Industry and Location	p. 184
Headline	p. 186
Photo	p. 187
Websites	p. 190
Twitter	p. 192
Summary	p. 193
Recommendations	p. 196
Additional Information	p. 200
Personal Information	p. 200
Skills & Expertise	p. 201
Special Sections	p. 203
Applications	p. 209
Final Thoughts	p. 216
Building Your LinkedIn Network to Create a Self-Referral Machine	p. 219
Networking Philosophy	p. 219
Who Should be in Your Network?	p. 220
Adding Connections	p. 220
Sending Individual Invitations to Connect	p. 225
Final Thoughts	p. 227
Finding Prospects Using LinkedIn: Creating Your Self-Referral Machine	p. 229
The LinkedIn Advanced Search: Free versus Premium	p. 229
Developing Good Searches	p. 231
Finding 401 (k) Rollover Opportunities	p. 232
Small Business Owner Search	p. 235
Connecting with the Prospects	p. 239
Final Thoughts	p. 240
Using LinkedIn Groups for Visibility and Prospecting	p. 241
The Opportunity in LinkedIn Groups	p. 241
Two Types of Groups-Open and Closed	p. 242
Choosing the Right Groups	p. 242
Salesperson Groups	p. 244
Searching for Groups	p. 244
Posting in Groups	p. 247
Joining Others' Conversations	p. 248
Connecting with Group Members	p. 250
Final Thoughts	p. 251
Gaining Visibility on LinkedIn	p. 253
Working the News Feed	p. 253
Company Status Updates	p. 255
LinkedIn Polls	p. 257
LinkedIn Events	p. 261
Final Thoughts	p. 264
Next Steps
The Future of Social Media	p. 267
There's Much More than the Big Three	p. 267
Staying Up To Date	p. 268
About the Authors	p. 269
Index	p. 271
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