Why Social Media Marketing Works for Financial Advisors

According to LinkedIn, 92% of financial planners who use social media for business purposes report that it has helped them get new clients.

Wealth managers should consider developing social media and marketing strategies for financial advisors to:

• Increase brand awareness
• Digitally connect with leads and clients
• Generate referrals
• Stay top-of-mind in a competitive landscape

Share Your Expertise and Strengthen Client Trust

Encourage your team to actively share updates on:

• Market trends

• Regulatory changes (like SEC rule changes and tax updates)

• Key planning concepts like The Bucket Plan® or The Money Cycle

More people go to social media to get news and information like this than ever before. And they expect you and your business to satiate their hunger for knowledge and financial literacy.

As more people turn to platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube for financial education, your firm has a major opportunity to provide credible, compliant content—and build trust while doing so.

Grow Through Marketing

Each Social Network Requires a Different Approach

Before developing marketing strategies for financial advisors, the first thing to consider is SEC marketing compliance. Like all other forms of financial advisor client communications, social media for financial advisors must follow marketing compliance.

Those penalties start to add up quickly if you don’t carefully adhere to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations. According to FINRA, the fine for misinformation in the financial services industry can be as much as $3.8M.

Strategies involving social media for financial advisors should not replace your existing marketing plan. Instead, look at if and how each individual platform will fit into the marketing strategies for financial advisors that you currently practice.

Digital marketing for financial advisors complements other advertising methods to enhance the overall client experience.

1. LinkedIn: Your B2B Powerhouse

Social media for financial advisors can be tricky to navigate. Sometimes users experience negative feelings if you’re trying to sell them something when they’re trying to scroll through cat photos. On LinkedIn, however, you don’t have to worry about that as much.

LinkedIn is an online professional networking platform that provides business-oriented services like job boards and resume builders to individuals and companies alike. Because it focuses more on the professional than the personal, there is more freedom to follow a hard sell approach on this platform than on others.

All digital marketing for financial advisors, including anything published on social media, should be approved by marketing compliance.

2. Facebook: Broad Reach, Deep Engagement

Facebook is arguably the most well-known social media platform of all time, so all marketing strategies for financial advisors should incorporate it both organically and from a paid advertising perspective.

3. Twitter (now X): Stay Relevant and Real-Time

Twitter is a text-based microblog; each tweet can only contain a maximum of 280 characters. This includes the text for your post and any emojis, hashtags, or links, so brevity is key.

Hashtags were born on Twitter. They’re essential to getting in on the conversation and reaching the right audiences. You should follow governmental organizations like the IRS and SEC and filter their content to be relevant to your audience and their needs.

Because it is so text-heavy, including images can really help your content stand out when users are mindlessly scrolling.

4. YouTube: Educate with Evergreen Video Content

Did you know YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine after Google? Imagine all the online traffic you’re missing out on if your firm doesn’t have a YouTube channel.

According to Hubspot, the amount of online video consumers watch has almost doubled since 2018, and 94% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service.

When you’re in as complicated an industry as ours, simplifying processes for your clients is priceless.

5. Instagram: Make Finance Visual

Instagram is an image-based app owned by Facebook’s parent company, Meta. The term social media influencer was coined on Instagram.

How can you position yourself as an influencer on social media for financial advisors?

6. TikTok: Engage the Next Generation

TikTok is a short-form video app. It has the youngest audience out of the platforms we’ve covered above.

This means there is a wealth of opportunities to get in before the space becomes cluttered.

Final Thought: Social Media is a Trust-Building Tool

Social media for financial advisors sometimes means weeding through bad actors who offer advice but have no credentials or valid data to back up their claims.

Again, please ensure all digital marketing for financial advisors has been approved by marketing compliance before it goes live.

Learn more marketing strategies for financial advisors and how to incorporate digital media into your traditional marketing mix

Download The Marketing 101 Guide

Financial Professional Use Only

The information provided in this presentation is not intended as investment advice or legal advice. The information provided is for informational and training purposes only. The information in this presentation was accurate as of the time of the material was created. Tax laws and rulings can frequently change. Please discuss the client’s current situation with an accountant or tax advisor.

What are the best referral sources for financial advisors?

One of the best referral sources for financial advisors is mutually beneficial relationships.

Relationships like referral programs, which are one of the best forms of marketing for financial advisors because they generate new leads and increase revenue.

The key is knowing who to ask and how to ask for the referral.

1. Current Clients
2. Lawyers & CPAs
3. HR Consultants
4. Recruiters

Can financial advisors pay for referral sources?

An SEC-registered investment adviser firm may pay cash referral fees to a third-party (non-employee) if the solicitor complies with SEC Rule 206(4)-3 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 while soliciting investment adviser clients.

So, the short answer is, yes.

But why would you want to when there are so many free referral sources in your personal circle and your wider community?

• Clients
• CPAs
• Doctors
• Family
• Friends
• Head Hunters
• Human Resources
• Lawyers
• Realtors

Earning Business Through these Referral Sources

How do financial advisors get referrals?

First and foremost, they ask for them.

If your clients trust you and believe you are building long-term wealth for their families, then they will be happy to share your knowledge and expertise with their friends and colleagues.

It never hurts to ask.

What sources can you draw on within your network to feed your sales funnel besides existing customers?

Think of all the areas of holistic financial planning—taxes, insurance, health care planning, estate planning, etc.

How can you partner with professionals and businesses to share referrals and recommendations?

Marketing for financial advisors includes networking and building mutually beneficial relationships with others both within the industry and on the fringes of the financial sector.

• People are 400% more likely to become clients after their friend refers an advisor.
• Referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value than those who weren’t.
• A referral introduced 58% of wealthy investors to their wealth planner.
• Fewer than 11% of financial planners actively request referrals.
  Source: 7 Client Referral Ideas to Help You Get More Referrals

1. Your Own Customers

The best referral sources for financial advisors are their own happy customers.

Asking for referrals helps clients feel closer to you as their financial planner and your business as a whole. They might feel connected to helping your firm succeed in addition to feeling a sense of ownership of the friends and family members to whom they recommended your services.

If you recommend a less experienced advisor, take on your client’s descendants, who are earlier in their life and career path, they will put trust in that because you have shown your value.

Earn business for your junior/second chair advisor with the client’s family so that the clients will remain in-house for generations to come as the advisor progress through the career path.

2. Working with Attorneys and Accountants

Is there an attorney or accountant you have previously worked with who would agree to trade contacts and lend their credibility to vouch for you to their customers?

By partnering with a well-known and trusted professional in your area, you can offer holistic financial planning services to their clients at a special rate.

3. Human Resources Consultants

People need the most assistance during major life changes and situations that have financial implications. This includes everything from a job change, marriage, divorce, inheritance, births, deaths, etc.

HR representatives are one of the first lines of defense during these times.

If you can develop a rapport with them to refer people who are experiencing a crisis or transitionary period, you can find and help new clients during a particularly vulnerable time in their life.

The best marketing for financial advisors is helping ease the burden during times of great stress and uncertainty.

HR consultants are also one of the first people to know when someone transitions into a new high-paying role, so it would be wise to build and nurture relationships with them.

4. Executive Recruiters

Another group first to know about new well-playing jobs is executive recruiters.

Don’t neglect a prospect just because they may be early in their career, it’s never too soon to start planning for early retirement.

• Give them center stage during your first interaction.
• Ask about the types of clients and industries they work with.

Once you understand that, let them know that you will keep an eye out for opportunities to send your clients to them. Present yourself as someone who adds value before you start making requests.

You could say something similar to:

“We seem to work with a similar high-net-worth clientele. Whenever any of my customers inevitably need a recruiter, I’ll make sure to send them your way.”

After you have sent them some business, you can start discussing reciprocity and arrangements.

• You can get referrals easily by earning them and then simply asking.
• Delight your existing customers, utilize the Family Estate Organizer to facilitate the transition between generations, and partner with other professionals in your area.

Learn how C2P can become your all-in referral source for new customers in your area

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Financial Professional Use Only

• The information provided in this presentation is not intended as investment advice or legal advice.
• The information provided is for informational and training purposes only.
• The information in this presentation was accurate as of the time of the material was created.

Tax laws and rulings can frequently change. Please discuss the client’s current situation with an accountant or tax advisor.