Like, share, subscribe — how should RIAs best approach social media?

This is the 21st installment in a Financial Planning series by Chief Correspondent Tobias Salinger on how to build a successful RIA. See the previous stories here, or find them by following Salinger on LinkedIn.

Last month, financial advisor Anh Tran quashed her hesitation and posted a picture on LinkedIn of herself deadlifting 300 pounds.

SageMint Wealth

"I used to post a ton of market updates and, 'Here's what's going on in the market.' Honestly, people don't care. Nobody engaged about that," said Tran, managing partner of Irvine, California-based advisory practice SageMint Wealth. The feat marked a personal record that she wanted to share, but at first she "wasn't quite brave enough to do it," Tran recalled. In early September, though, Tran posted the picture. In the post, she reflected on her firm's motto ("Live well. Do good"), connecting her grueling regimen over the past two years to the idea that "true wealth is built on consistency and discipline" in investment portfolios — and life, she said.

"I have never gotten so much engagement, whether it's direct comments or direct messages," Tran said. "It was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe people care.' I realized it's something that gives people insight on who you are."

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Keep it simple on social

Many advisors are gaining more professional connections and generating quality prospective client leads across social media, but experts point out that it takes time to build an online following and that it's important for posts to fit into a coherent marketing strategy. That doesn't mean that every post must focus on business — in fact, travel, community involvement, pets, kids or other family members and friends often draw a lot of impressions (or views, for the uninitiated). But plenty of registered investment advisory firms still leave proven marketing channels like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and, to a lesser but still notable extent, LinkedIn, completely to their competition. 

They may be overthinking the possibility of faux pas, scared of online trolls or worried about compliance snafus. But RIAs that are already operating effectively within the complex laws and rules for any wealth management business can certainly navigate them in their social posts, according to advisors and marketing experts. For younger advisors entering a profession that is known for frustratingly high barriers to entry, social media represents terrain where they're likely to have an advantage over more experienced players. But scores of advisors of all levels of tenure have been amassing likes, follows and, yes, business through social media for a decade or more. Any doubters can check out the online footprint of advisors in any industry rankings for evidence — and inspiration.

Pearl Planning

Having consistent messaging, defining a specific target customer and realizing that "some time working on your brand identity" is worth the investment are three key best practices, said Melissa Joy, the founder of Dexter, Michigan-based RIA firm Pearl Planning. But advisors don't need to turn themselves into influencers to deploy social media profitably. And many say real advisors' voices are essential online with so many "experts" beaming out garbled investment advice or, worse, outright misinformation. At the very least, RIAs seeking to grow organically need some social presence.

"It's not going to be perfect on day one, and getting started is half the battle," said Joy. "There are so many of your peers and competitors who are also afraid to get started, so getting started really pays off."

READ MORE: When should a financial advisor launch an RIA?

Rising but relatively low social media presence

While at least 8% of RIAs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclose no website or social media footprint, there is rising adoption across the various channels and especially on LinkedIn, according to the annual RIA snapshot report from the Investment Adviser Association, an industry research and advocacy organization, and compliance firm COMPLY. At 62%, or nearly 30 points higher than in 2016, LinkedIn had won the widest usage among RIAs at the end of last year. Facebook (26%), X (17%), YouTube (12%) and Instagram (11%) showed higher rates from eight years earlier, but the extent of RIA profiles and posts in those feeds remains relatively low.

Compliance teams' concerns about possible regulatory attention that could be more costly than, say, a negative "reply guy" in the comments of a post may be holding some advisors back. While SEC enforcement cases involving social media often relate to scammy conduct that would be just as out-of-bounds in any other setting, compliance personnel may take an overprotective stance toward confusing guidelines like the SEC's 2020 marketing rule. Internal and external compliance teams are "kind of all over the place, honestly," about their restrictions on advisors' social media posts, said Dori Thomas, a client strategist and relationship manager with industry marketing and public relations firm Impact Communications.

But advisors have a vested interest in working with their trusted compliance departments to achieve a regular cadence of posts.

"We have case studies that show success," Thomas said. "When you start to share some of those with RIAs who have been hesitant, they can't deny that it's a necessary thing to do now as a business."

Thomas has been collaborating over the past two years with Elizabeth Bisaro, co-owner and controller of Troy, Michigan-based RIA firm StraightLine, as Bisaro's firm pursued more organic growth through modern marketing, she said. Last month, the firm's compliance team approved its move onto Instagram for the first time, and StraightLine is weighing options for a new email listserv provider to bulk up other online marketing tools. StraightLine has already built a stronger presence on LinkedIn and Facebook that points followers to its new website. But it took Bisaro some time and effort to convince all of the firm's advisors that social and online headquarters were the right focus for "our next plan of attack" in client outreach, she noted.

"We need to teach people what it is that we do," Bisaro said. "We're building our credibility and trust and educating businesses."

READ MORE: What's wrong with the big RIA model, straight from advisors' mouths

Helpful examples of social media posts that work for advisors

One part of that internal and external education around social media includes understanding that advisors can leverage the marketing channels without needing to morph into some type of online superstar. Several recent posts by StraightLine, Joy and Tran attracted solid engagement and showed viewers where to find more information about working with them. 

For instance, StraightLine celebrated an advisor's achievement in becoming an accredited investment fiduciary, shared part of CEO Mike Bisaro's quotes in a Financial Planning story and served "This Week's Financial Snack" with one of the firm's planners. Joy gave her followers and herself "a little note to me" about seeing the band Blues Traveler perform at last month's Future Proof Conference, unveiled her firm's transition to being a standalone RIA and provided a clip from her podcast with seven tips to maximize retirement savings by the end of the year. And, in addition to the picture of her pumping iron in honor of September being self-improvement month "and a reminder that real growth comes from consistency and purpose," Tran posted about her recent trip to Kauai for LPL Financial's Summit Conference and her son Cameron's impressive showing at the largest kids jiujitsu competition in the world.

In other words, the posts display notable accomplishments, fun activities and some financial, professional or industry insights. And they're well-designed without entailing a lot of technological wizardry. But they're not viral hot takes about politics or industry gossip.

The compliance and brokerage or RIA supervision can pose a layer of complexity, but most independent advisors these days can find their way through that challenge. 

Tran's advisory practice uses LPL's RIA and brokerage and works with the firm's compliance managers on any aspects of social posts they bring up. In general, the compliance side has "become much easier," she said, noting that those limitations curb the activities of licensed professionals more so than so-called finfluencers who have no certifications at all. She also noted that advisors seeking more curated social content can get compliance-friendly materials through services such as FMG and its chief evangelist, Samantha Russell.

READ MORE: Crafting the right message to win new clients starts by looking inside

Start slow, build over time and 'have a human side'

Others wondering where to start may find some guidance by working with an outside marketing team to craft their strategy and ensure it fits into an overall plan for reaching their ideal clients.

"The most important thing that I think I did was come up with a messaging guide for my brand," Tran said. "It has to be a message that resonates. It's a repeatable process. You tie it into everything you say or do. This is who we are." 

Advisors' social posts should reflect the business and the people who create and sustain it, Joy said. Her team films a weekly podcast and uses advisor video marketing firm Idea Decanter to create short clips of the episodes to share on social feeds. But Joy has been thinking about marketing a lot over the past seven years as she has embraced more types of social media.

"One of the most important things is to not be afraid to have an authentic voice, not just the voice of the company. Have a human side to your social media," Joy said. "If you ask me in a few years, I hope I'll say YouTube just because that's an area of growing presence and importance." 

Bisaro has found that advisors buy into the need to post regularly across social media when there are ways for them to do so that aren't as demanding as, say, a long-form blog post diving into a concept. She expressed hope that the eventual rollout of a new email listserv will bring more analytical information to show the return on investment more directly.

"It's been a little bit harder to prove to them that it's working," Bisaro said. "It is paying off, it's just harder sometimes to get through to the advisors because they have to be patient."