This is the eighth page of an eight-part guide. 

Should you do this yourself or hire someone? 

Despite the time involved in creating for and posting to social media, some advisors still prefer to handle all of this themselves to maximize the ability to personalize and adjust in the moment. Others, however, might task team members or even bring on contractors to lead their practice’s social media efforts. 

If an advisor decides to go the latter route, good questions to ask a potential hire include “What other clients have you worked with?” “How many clients do you currently have, and what is your capacity to take on another one?” and “How willing are you to learn about my business?” No matter who handles your social media, you want to ensure they have the bandwidth to manage a sizable workload and the knowledge to deliver the material in a manner suited to the financial services profession as a whole and your business specifically. 

Why should you connect with clients and ask for social media mentions? 

As previously noted, inviting new clients (or existing clients) to post about you on social media can be very impactful as a way of referring you to their entire network at once. In addition, by connecting with your clients on social media, you can keep track of what they are doing and create opportunities for them to follow what you are doing and share that material as well. 

How can you utilize opportunities for research? 

Social media can provide numerous opportunities to learn about your client before the meeting. Taking the time on Facebook, LinkedIn or even a Google search to look up what the client has been doing recently can generate conversation topics for a virtual or in-person meeting. Skip the generic small talk and indicate that you looked up the client and perhaps noticed they went on a trip. Clients may share stories and/or photos with you while appreciating your interest in them as a person. 

Should you share personal items about yourself on social media? 

Sometimes it seems like nothing is official until it has appeared on social media. As if you want people to know about anything, you need to post about it on a popular platform like Facebook. But what should you be showing to your clients on your profile? The answer is up to you — how individual advisors approach social media will be a factor of their practice, their clientele and countless other variables. 

If you want people to identify with your hobbies, travels, and time with family and friends, you likely will feel comfortable sharing your personal side on social media. It’s certainly possible that professional connections (or just new personal relationships) could come from your personal pursuits, such as bonding over an activity, destination or favorite food. These commonalities/discussion topics can also enhance existing relationships. 

Other advisors may feel that posts about, say, vacations can be taken the wrong way, however, or even used to target their home. One option is to create separate personal and business accounts on social media to establish separation between people you’re connected with about professional topics and others you know will see more personal information. 

What other resources can you use? 

This can be anything from design programs that help with photos to analytics that tell you how your content is performing (this can help determine which platforms to prioritize) to subscription services to content libraries and scheduling apps. You can also consider paying for ads that appear on social platforms or collaborating with other social media accounts to create shared posts that expose both to each other’s audience. 

What else influences your digital identity besides social media? 

Beyond your search results, additional influencers include your website, mobile app and other technological tools. Convey your message with consistency in each area, and you will establish yourself as an expert who can serve people in the way that works best for them. 

Go to page 7: Different approaches for different platforms
Go to page 1: MDRT social media guide