Sukanta Singha Roy, CFC, FSS, temporarily lost his ability to speak clearly after suffering a stroke in January 2022. Communication with clients was relegated to text messages, as he was unable to attend meetings and converse with them.

By this point in his career, the 11-year MDRT member from Kolkata, India, had attended numerous seminars and conferences, and a common message he took away from many presentations was that prospecting is critical for an insurance business. It is the glue that holds a practice together, and without a pipeline of potential clients, his “business is nothing.”

“I felt like I had to think of a way to continue in my profession amid this chaos. I was forced to come up with an alternative since I could not leave my house,” Singha Roy said. 

His practice could have ground to a halt during the five months he was bedridden. But while infirmed, he came upon a prospecting strategy via social media that enabled him to sell the most health insurance plans ever in his career. Like several other MDRT members have done, Singha Roy raised the value of his brand by using social media to go where his audience is and to position himself as
a subject-matter expert.

Don’t pitch business

Singha Roy did not start by sending direct-message pitches to potential clients about his services. Instead, he interacted with their posts.

“It is very likely that these people who are doing so well in their lives would ignore direct messages, especially when they know that you are just pitching your services there,” Singha Roy said. “Rather, start interacting with them through their posts, their feed and on their wall. Give them a positive review of a picture they post or a story they share. Maybe ask them about a certain place they have been or ask them about the camera gear they have been using. This interaction can help open your first conversation with them. Converse with them at regular intervals on fruitful topics. This would help you establish a bond of trust between you and your prospect, and then you can start letting them subtly know about your services.”

After enough interactions, prospects eventually will notice your name on their feeds and maybe visit your profile, Singha Roy said. So, he recommends optimizing your digital presence with a good photo of yourself and posts about who you are and your areas of expertise.

“It should convince them that you are successful. Successful people like to interact with successful people; that’s how the normal human psyche works. Your feed should not have posts related to sensitive topics such as politics and sports, since these can reflect negatively to the prospect and build a wall between you and them,” Singha Roy said.

What to post

Sonny Ongco Boquecosa never posts information about products but rather shares content that highlights his expertise and builds curiosity to attract prospects. The four-year MDRT member from Makati City, Philippines, grounds his personal branding actions by asking himself, Am I committed to just the commission or to the mission, which is giving clients peace of mind and comfort?

One of the best ways to make your digital presence compelling is to tell a story. Boquecosa displays his track record by posting how he helped clients achieve their objectives. Client testimonials also help him stand out and develop an edge over the competition.

“By buying an investment plan with me, clients will be able to enjoy the benefits of their hard-earned money to use it for traveling, business expansion and live a comfortable life,” Boquecosa said. “So, I will post about the successful claims and testimonials on social media.”

Another question he asks himself that directs his social media outreach is, Am I someone a client can trust?

“I will post all the trainings I attended and share some of my learnings and photos of me with the speakers to leverage on the authority figure effect,” Boquecosa said. “This shows that I’m passionate about what I’m doing. Secondly, I will ask myself, Am I knowledgeable? I need to be knowledgeable and building my competency by attending courses and getting certified to gain confidence with prospects.”

When she first stepped into the social media world, Candice Ong never imagined that it would account for nearly half of her business within a year.

“Imagine waking up daily to ready buyers who know you, trust you and want to work with you even before meeting you,” said the six-year MDRT member from Singapore.

She recommends advisors consider two questions to direct their social media approach:

• How do I build my personality on social media to amplify the good work I’ve already been doing?
• How do I find my community online and convert them into offline business prospects?

If you’re struggling with what kind of content to create, remember that people crave human connections.

“If you could take time to reflect deeply on the following questions and answer them honestly, you would have tons of content ready to share with the world,” Ong said. “No one else would have the exact same answers as you, so go forth and show up as you.”

• How do you help your clients? (What problems do you solve?)
• What values do you hold dear when conducting this business?
• What successful stories do you have to share?
• How do your clients feel about you? (Share testimonials)
• What would it look like if clients chose to journey with you? (A road map perhaps)
• Do you enjoy your job and why?
• What was the most interesting encounter last week?
• What are some myths about the work we do?
• How have you added value to your clients beyond finance?
• What does an ideal working relationship with your clients look like?
• What services do you provide?
• What makes you stand out from your competitors?
• What do you do outside of work? (Help them to know you on a personal level)

Mix up your content with short posts like a picture with a caption, an article, your own video, infographics and thought-provoking surveys to generate traffic.

“It is always encouraged to have a combination of these different mediums. After all, variety is the spice of life,” Ong said. “However, start with the one that you are most comfortable with. People want to see you expressing yourself authentically. What you say matters more than how aesthetically pleasing it looks. The beginning is always the hardest. Get your first piece of content out, and you’ll definitely gain momentum as time passes. Building your presence may not be an overnight affair; however, with enough consistency, it will be a very sustainable and lasting tool as you build and scale your business.”

Where are they?

Advisors need to be where their target audience hangs out. Though Taiki Eguchi’s superiors told him that making appointments over the phone was the gold standard for turning prospects into appointments, his instinct directed him to do something different.

“I thought that communicating through social media was more natural for my generation, so I actively used it. Most of my clients are in their 20s and 30s, and they don’t feel uncomfortable at all with communication centered on social media,” said the three-year MDRT member from Fukuoka, Japan.

He posts photos from his daily life on Instagram of the places he visits and engages in casual online conversation with prospects who have been to the same locations. Thanks to the online rapport, when those connections come in for a first meeting, they feel like they’ve known Eguchi for a long time. Eguchi also positions himself as an information source. When the yen was depreciating, the tax system was being revised and Japan’s stock investment program for individuals was being revamped, he consistently posted information about those topics, which led to clients seeking consultations about a wider range of money matters besides insurance.

“If using social media can improve my sales activities by even 1%, I think it’s natural to use it, and I do,” Eguchi said. “But I don’t think the tools are what is most important. What’s important is the basic attitude of a financial advisor to care about the client and only recommend products with confidence.” 

Who are they?

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first individual in history to hit 1 billion followers on his various social media accounts. Amassing huge numbers reflects the soccer star’s global popularity, which will boost his brand and monetization opportunities. But broad reach and visibility should not be the priority for an advisor’s social media strategy. That’s what salespeople do, said Brian Joseph Haney, CFS, CLTC, a 15-year MDRT member from Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Instead, advisors should focus on connecting with their ideal client. Quality over quantity is really what matters.

“Having thousands of LinkedIn contacts shouldn’t be the goal. If 60% of them are people you may never really want to do business with anyway, it doesn’t necessarily enhance your brand value,” Haney said. “I say no way more times than I say yes to a connection request. I’m very thoughtful about who I want to be in a relationship with and who I ask.”

An advisor’s social media strategy should begin by creating a demographic profile of your ideal client: How much money they make, what niche they work in, where they live. Also, research what they are looking at online. You can simply ask your clients and prospects if they listen to a podcast or read a blog, or who they follow.

“How can you meet your clients where they are if you don’t know where they’re at?” Haney said. “Are they on Facebook? LinkedIn? Are they in other places? If I knew most of my ideal clients weren’t on Facebook, would it make sense for me to spend time marketing on Facebook? If the whole goal is to meet the people I want to meet, I should just meet them where they are.”

Small-business owners are the target market for Carla Brown, FPFS, CFP, a seven-year MDRT member from Cuddington, England, UK, so her social media strategy includes video of owners talking about their pain points and experiences.

“We’ve got some great case studies and client testimonials that we’ve gathered because people like to hear from people. It’s about trust,” Brown said. “So, if we have other clients who are on there saying what a good job we’ve done, our target audience is going to look at that and think, Well, they’re just like me. If they can help them, they can help me.”

Like Haney, she recommends defining your ideal client before figuring out content.

“What do they look like, what age they are, where do they live, what’s their job, what’s their income, but then think about what are their potential pain points because people go online to find solutions,” Brown said. “The key point is thinking about your target audience and how you are going to fix their problem. Then your content should really start to flow.”

Since her posts show the many different ways her practice helps clients, social media has become a cross-selling tool. Owners are so busy running their business, her content suggests that they also think about protecting their family, their mortgage. These messages are inroads to getting her target to consider the ancillary areas where her practice can help beyond their business.

“Social media is a platform where you can show everything that you’re doing, and you can talk about how you helped people in similar situations,” Brown said.

Get granular

Trying to create a message for the masses that catches lightning in a bottle can be futile. But proactively sending content customized for an individual can be effective and easier. Thu Trang Ha Pham, a two-year MDRT member from Hanoi, Vietnam, used Facebook tools to classify the people she interacts with into groups such as those who are expecting a baby, have young children, work as freelancers, are retired and many more. Grouping her contacts helped her anticipate their needs and interests, so she could send private and personalized messages with suitable topics. For example, when Pham’s office hosted medical and health experts to share about common childhood diseases in the summer, she posted their information on Facebook and sent it via Messenger to individuals in the group with young children. “Today I learned about summer diseases in children and things to note,” she wrote in one message. “I would like to send you this information, hoping it will be useful to you.”

Some contacts responded with more questions, which created an opportunity for Pham to dialogue and connect that issue with the insurance benefits she could provide. Pham also posts her personal interests like fashion and favorite coffee shops because she has found that the more she shares, the more opportunities she gets to meet people. After one of her contacts posted a picture of a special matcha teacup, Pham commented, “Hi, I really like your matcha teacup, can you give me the address to buy it?” The contact replied that she often read Pham’s Facebook posts, really liked her style of dress, and invited her to meet for tea as they were both matcha fans. The two made an appointment to meet and talked a lot about family responsibilities and life. Pham learned that her new friend was single, earned a moderate income, was the caregiver for an autistic younger brother and had no one to rely on. Pham asked her if she fell ill, did she have any plans for taking care of her brother? After a few more conversations and seeing a lot of sympathy, the woman signed an insurance contract.

In another instance, a Facebook contact responded with a follow-up question to Pham’s post about insurance for the elderly. Her parents lived in Vietnam. She lived in the U.S. and had been following Pham’s Facebook account. Also, Pham’s MDRT membership created a sense of trust and professionalism for her. After a few more phone calls, the new client signed two insurance contracts for her parents.

“I have many similar cases, thanks to making friends on Facebook, chatting back and forth, and finding information from personal stories,” Pham said.

Caveats

Social media, used correctly, can generate interactions and connections that could turn into sustainable client relationships. However, there are some don’ts that come with these platforms. Obviously try not to be offensive or political. Don’t spread spam, and before sharing any news on your wall or with your prospects, check its authenticity.

“Think about the platform that you’re posting on,” Brown said. “TikTok and Instagram are very visual. LinkedIn tends to be wordier, and you can share case studies more often there. If you want to create a blog or a lengthy post detailing what you’ve done, make sure that it doesn’t look like it’s been written by a bot. There’s nothing wrong with having artificial intelligence writing your content for you, but make sure you read through it, adjust it, and personalize it to make it sound more authentic, and it’s coming from you.”

Haney recommends that you get to know someone virtually before approaching them for business. Show that you’re listening by responding to their comments and do so in a genuine way — not with a boilerplate, autogenerated message. Finally, make sure no matter where you post content that it includes a link to your website, so people know where to find you.