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If you’re not getting leads from social media, it’s because you are investing your time in the wrong way. Here are five tasks to do on a daily basis that will eventually yield clients and assets.
An IRA, not a cash register
I keep saying it over and over again in plain English. So now I’m using financial terms to make the point clear to all of you advisors.
Most advisors provide little to nothing of value through social media, yet they expect it to pop open a drawer flush with cash like a cash register. Or they expect it to be like an ATM generating a conveyor belt of money.
This is the wrong way to treat social media.
It’s more like an IRA where you deposit something of value, you make adjustments on a consistent basis, you watch it periodically, trade this for that, you zig when the market zags which leads you to reach your financial and retirement goals.
You wouldn’t blame an ATM for not giving you back any more money than the equivalent of the value you put in, so stop blaming social media for not getting you leads if you are treating it like an ATM or a cash register. It’s not a trade of cash for merchandise; it’s an investment that grows in value over time only as a result of wise decisions, just like the stocks and bonds you invest in IRAs.
I can also express this in math terms for all of you who like me suffered through three (or more, in my case) years of the CFA program. Social media is not a linear function, where y = f(x). Instead it is more like the first derivative, a measure of the rate of change of the value of variable y with respect to change in the value of the variable x.
Please kindly comment on APViewpoint, by the way, if you think these analogies are cool.
Now that I’ve made the point about the rewards from social media being a logical function of the change in value that is applied to it, I’ll explain how you get leads from social media.
Daily tasks
Getting leads from social media is not elementary, my dear Watson. Here’s where the critical misconception lies.
Gloriously posting something to the glamourous runway of your newsfeed for all to see is just one way nurture leads. But it’s not enough to huff and puff and blow the house down. Spend 15 minutes a day on social media, which I know is a great deal of time. Invest that time wisely by doing the following five value-enhancing – though not glamorous (like the news feed) – tasks:
- Actually say “thank you” when someone likes or comments on your posting
Advisors all claim on their websites to be the sweetest most personable people in the world to the point where it has become a #financialcliche. So why, then, is it that whenever someone comments or likes your postings, few of you respond?
If you were at a cocktail party and you showed everyone a picture of your new office or of you getting the gold medal at an awards ceremony (which is a typical posting on social media) and somebody screamed out “I like it!” you would immediately thank them. Wouldn’t you? So why is it different on social media? That’s how dialogues start which is the road to lead generation.
Just because we’re interacting through a computer doesn’t mean that we should neglect to acknowledge when somebody takes the time to like, share, or comment upon any of our postings.
- Comment intelligently on discussions hosted by widely followed people
Research who your competitors are following and start following them. This is boring, but if you have an intern or a marketing associate then you can delegate this task off to them.
I’ll use a recent example of Michael Kitces, whom I’m sure many of you known. Are you reading this, Michael? I hope so because I read your writings! Anyways, I love following him on social media because he posts great content. Kitces is a great influencer and has many people following him. When he posts something good – there are many eyes on it.
One day I made what turned out to be a really insightful comment on one of his articles that reflected a deep understanding of how advisors work at a wirehouse as opposed to independent broker dealers.
Notice here that I inserted something of value into the conversation and I did not say something like “Yes that’s exactly the type of person who needs help with marketing. Contact me for a free consultation if this applies to you.”
Well, many people appreciated the value I was bringing to the discussion which led them to “like” my comment. I didn’t ignore them, though, I simply initiated a connection request stating that I wanted to thank them for liking my comment and we should connect. People responded to the gracious gesture and one of them even set up an appointment with me without any prompting.
- Follow semi-famous people and try to comment on their postings
There’s a PR person who is on my email newsletter list. I’ve never engaged him for PR work but he keeps trying to get me to hire him to get me on television.
He consistently reads my email newsletters and makes intelligent comments about them. I honestly appreciate it and it’s made me respect his commitment. He’s gotten my attention, for sure. I don’t have a need to get on TV, but one of my clients recently expressed an interest and I am going to refer him.
Paying attention consistently to somebody over time can be quite endearing. Remember that at the core of our being is the need to be admired.
- Engage in discussions in LinkedIn groups where affluent people flock
As I explained in a previous article, when I was an advisor I got leads and a new client from a women’s group on LinkedIn. But didn’t join the investment advisor group on LinkedIn, because that is the equivalent of a social media “meat market” full of predatory vendors who will try to sell you accounting software. (One of the reasons I like APViewpoint is that it does not permit non-advisors to market services on the platform.)
Go where the wild things are (to quote Shel Silverstein). Join groups about working moms, BMW owners (yes, this is actually a group on LinkedIn) or wherever your interests may lie. Hint: try to join groups where affluent people are likely to congregate, like my BMW example. The entrepreneur groups can have broke people in them and aren’t the best ones.
Take notice of the people in the group who comment on discussions and are likely to be qualified prospects. Then after some time, initiate a connection request and explain that you’re in the same group and you’ve seen him or her participate in discussions and it seems as if the two of you see things the same way. You’d like to connect and exchange thoughts for that reason.
- Add value to every connection, even random ones
I’m very active on social media, so I get a great deal of people who send me connection requests every day. I ask them a question immediately after I accept the connection, even for those people who seem unrelated to what I do.
Why? Because at that moment you’re “top of mind,” so to speak. You have their attention. For the purpose of lead generation you must assume that all attention is a good thing, and maximize the value of every second of attention you get.
The easiest thing to do is to ask people why they are connecting with you. Just say, “If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that lead you to seek my connection?” Then listen – actually listen – to what they say. If they’re a vendor trying to sell you something, don’t blow them off. Salespeople have gigantic networks because of the work that they do. They also tend to be fairly transient, and some of them earn very high salaries. You never know if these vendors are a prospect or if they know someone who is. Value those connections.
Cherish connections with your competitors. You never know who is following another advisor you’re connected to that might be fair game. For example, certain relatives of mine would have never done business with me when I was an advisor, but if they were in the market for an advisor and saw you making really intelligent conversation in my news feed, they might have considered you. Think about how many prospects your competition couldn’t close, and those people are in their networks online. These are very valuable connections to have if you handle them correctly.
Sara’s upshot
If you feel like the little pig of social media is not going to let you in by the hair of its chinny chin chin, then huff, puff, and blow the house down. Use these techniques 15 minutes a day. Comment on AP Viewpoint and tell me how it goes!
Sara Grillo, CFA, is a top financial writer with a focus on marketing and branding for investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms. Prior to launching her own firm, she was a financial advisor and worked at Lehman Brothers. Sara graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature and has an MBA from NYU Stern in Quantitative Finance.
Read more articles by Sara Grillo
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
