In part one of this series, we shared some essential statistics with you. We know that numbers are important to you, especially when they relate to helping you reach your target audience! You’ve learned a bit about optimizing your website and email strategy; now let’s switch our focus to social media marketing.
Did you know…
- Social media has become a primary research tool for investors. 5 million investors with assets worth more than $100,000 use social media to investigate their financial options (LinkedIn/Cogent Research “Social Media’s Growing Influence Among High Net Worth Investors)
- In fact, 90 percent of all high-net-worth investors use social media sites (LinkedIn/Cogent)
The takeway lesson: Your target audience is on social media, and they are looking for you! Not only do high-net-worth individuals use social media at high rates; they aren’t just sharing photos of their pets or chatting about their weekend activities. They view social media as a powerful research tool to learn about financial advisors, market conditions, and other valuable investment information. If you haven’t yet tapped into the enormous marketing potential of social media, or if your current social media strategy lacks commitment, then you are missing out on a huge opportunity.
That’s not all. This probably won’t shock you, but we aren’t the first people to realize that your target audience is actively using social media. Other financial advisors have already noticed this trend, and social media has become a vital part of their marketing strategies.
- From a survey of 800 financial advisors, 79 percent of them found new clients via social media sites (Putnam Investments)
- Over 60 percent of financial advisors who prospect on LinkedIn reported acquisition of new clients (LinkedIn and FTI Consulting)
- According to an American Century Investments report, 43 percent of financial advisors have already seen a positive ROI from their social media use.
- 48 percent of advisors use LinkedIn to enhance their profile with clients (ACI)
- 28 percent of advisors improved their referral rate with LinkedIn (ACI)
- 28 percent of advisors enhanced their business knowledge via LinkedIn (ACI)
- 24 percent of advisors used LinkedIn to share insights with clients or prospects (ACI)
The takeaway lesson: As you can see, advisors are using social media in a variety ways, and finding more than one benefit from their strategies. More importantly, these advisors are your competition, and they have discovered a valuable resource for staying in touch with current clients, improving their referral rates, locating new clients, and opening doors to new opportunities. Your future clients are on social media. If you don’t network with them, who will?