Digital media is key for financial advisors.
From LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to newsletters, blogs, and podcasts, digital media has become an integral part of our daily lives.
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the social selling landscape shift among financial advisors.
Gone were in-person communications, replaced by social media shouldering more of the burden of business growth and sustaining existing relationships.
For financial advisors, social media allowed them to stay connected with their clients during a time of such volatility, said Leslie Leach, Hearsay Systems’ vice president of marketing.
“Advisors couldn't necessarily talk personally with every client in one week, but they could share how to reach me on social media. They could do a lot of that kind of reassurance there,” she said.
In-depth analysis from Hearsay Systems found early in the pandemic, customer engagement from social media surged.
Engagement then dipped for several months, but by September, financial advisors had made adjustments to reach clients and potential new ones through greater personalization and targeting, along with a better mix of content, according to Leach.
“Going forward, I think you'll see that the advisors are more savvy and more sophisticated in their usage of social media,” Leach said.
John Bovard, owner of Ohio-based independent RIA Wealth Advisors, has spent a large part of the past year focused on social media and content creation aimed at connecting with current clients and attracting new ones.
Bovard, who left Merrill Lynch to go independent in January 2020, said when launching his new firm, he knew he wanted to use social media to get the word out. But with the pandemic eliminating in-person networking events like happy hours, he doubled down on digital media.
Bovard is active on social media and puts out weekly content on his blog and podcast. His efforts, he said, have led to five or six inbound clients reaching out per month, mentioning that they saw his content online.
And while Leach couldn’t prove that increased social media use leads to new clients, Bovard credits his online presence withto helping build his business.
“Most of the time, financial planning is in the back of everyone’s mind until they have some sort of life event that sparks their interest to reach out. So the fact that I have those consistent posts, they could allow my firm to be more top of mind,” he said.
Bovard also believes a personal touch online helps, as it allows clients to get to know their advisors better through their social media presence, making advisors more identifiable and more approachable.
His assertions are backed by data from Hartford Funds, which found that nearly half of people report that social media impacts who they engage as a financial professional. One-tenth of respondents reported that if financial advisors don't have a social media presence, they won't hire the advisor.
This is why it’s important for financial advisors to have robust digital media presences, said Bill McManus, Hartford Funds’ managing director for applied insights.
“Let's face it, you have to assume as a financial professional, if you're meeting with a new client, they've already looked you up on your website, LinkedIn, any other types of social media that you have out there," he said.
Some 10% of potential clients say they won't hire an advisor who's on social media. But for the remainder of prospects, if an advisor can't be found online, that could be a red flag.
“The question I would have, if I was looking at a finance professional, and there was nothing about them, is why. So it's certainly important that we have some presence,” McManus said.
