So you wanna be a social media star

In a world packed with investor chat rooms and so-called finfluencers, is there an appetite for more online educational content from financial advisors? A study of social media usage across Canada by digital marketing agency Leger suggests strongly that there is, and that there are business development opportunities for those who get it right.

Canadians follow companies on social media because they’re entertaining, educational or both. While that’s only true of 27% of Canadians 45 and older, according to Leger, it’s also true of 59% of those 25 to 44.

Asked how they feel about people talking up their employer’s products and services online, 43% see that in a positive light and 45% have a neutral view. Just 11% told Leger that it leaves them with a negative impression.

So, if you’ve been hesitant to promote your practice on social media because you worried it would turn prospective customers off, think again.

But tread carefully — getting it wrong can damage your reputation at the same time it eats up hours of your team’s precious time.

Six questions:

1. Who do you want to reach?

The first rule of content marketing is one financial advisors are familiar with. Know your audience. Armed with a clear understanding of who you’re targeting, you can develop a productive strategy.

This need not reflect your entire book of business. You can use social media to maintain a relationship with one or more segments within your existing client base. You can also use it to target groups of prospective clients. Be specific — think about profession, net worth, future earning potential, age, gender and whatever other demographic considerations you want to factor into your plan.

It’s not about selecting just one gender or age group, for example. What’s important is that you consider each of these dimensions and draw deliberate conclusions that align your social media plan with your growth strategy.

2. Where do they spend their time?

Go where your audience is. Don’t expect them to come to you.

A lot of professionals are comfortable on LinkedIn. But is that where your target audience goes for content? According to Leger, 44% of Canadians have an account, but just 11% visit the platform daily. The top reason users log on — across all age groups — is to view job listings.

Select platforms where users go to follow influencers and content creators. You don’t have to be everywhere. Pick one or two and stick with them as long as they work.

Main platforms used by Canadians who follow influencers and content creators

	Canadians	Men	Women	16–24	25–44	45+
Instagram	62%	51%	70%	69%	66%	49%
YouTube	44%	57%	34%	55%	42%	38%
Facebook	28%	29%	28%	10%	30%	39%
TikTok	27%	24%	30%	40%	26%	20%

Your content need not live on these sites exclusively. Many advisors will post content to their website, and then link to it on these platforms. Not all sites are designed to make that easy though. If you’re using Instagram for example, don’t assume that users will come to your site as a next step. Make sure your post delivers both your content and a way to contact you.

3. What do you want to cover?

Here again, your target audience should inform your decisions.

If you’re targeting mid-career professionals, you’re probably not going to be successful with basic household budgeting and financial literacy content. Test ideas and learn from the results.

Some content is timely and based on a news event. Some is evergreen, which is to say it is educational and always relevant. Experiment to see what your audience clicks on and spends time with.

If you have one, work closely with your employer’s compliance and legal departments. They’ll have important feedback on your plan, and on the content you post.

4. How much is too much?

One of the universal truths of financial services marketing is that proactive contact drives loyalty. Content marketing strengthens your existing relationships and turns subscribers into clients.

Frequency is important, but it is possible to post too often. Start with a weekly schedule of one or two quality content pieces. If you’re building an email newsletter, start with a weekly edition and see how that’s received. (Also make sure you comply with Canada’s anti-spam legislation.)

Make adjustments based on your readership and follower metrics.

5. How do you want to look and sound?

Leger found that just 39% of respondents “completely or somewhat trust” social media content. That compares to 55% who said the same about podcasts. Digital newspapers, television, news websites, newspapers and radio scored between 72% and 80%.

So how you come across matters, both in terms of your success on social media and your professional reputation more broadly. A lot of content creators use comedy to build an audience. That’s difficult to make work in financial services.

Don’t be boring though and avoid industry jargon. Write in a plain-language style that an average teenager can understand. Where you have to use industry terminology, add an easy-to-read explanation alongside it.

Experiment with various media formats too. Not everything has to be a 900-word blog post. (You may find that nothing needs to be a blog post.) Short videos can work, even when they’re shot on your mobile device. Done correctly, they come across as personal and engaging in a way that highly polished professional videos often don’t.

Infographics and short videos can be effective ways to tell a story on Instagram. Longer video-chat interviews with guests can work well on YouTube. (You can also embed YouTube videos directly onto your website, without having to host the content on your platform.)

6. What is your client journey?

Get to know how search engine optimization (SEO) works. Prospective clients that don’t find you on their favourite social media platform are (hopefully) going to come to you via a Google search. SEO is a best practice that involves making sure your content features the key words and phrases most commonly searched by your target audience.

The more content you have featuring terms like “life insurance” and “ETFs,” the more likely you are to show up in search results. Check out Google’s Search Console for guidance.

Once you’ve attracted a user, think through how you’re going to turn them into a follower and then eventually a client. If you’ve earned their attention with a piece of content, what do you want their next step to be? What call to action do you present at the end of the piece? Ideally, there are a couple of links — to contact you and to a piece of related content.

Traditional marketing, no matter how well executed, tends to only deliver brand visibility. Content marketing on the other hand — paired with a well-designed social media plan — builds brand affinity. It’s the difference between name recognition and genuine relationship building.