LinkedIn is a great place to start making your firm visible, she said. It has over 100 million members and it is built for business people to network. "It is all business. It is a great way to build credibility," Pritchard said. "Turn this into a networking machine."
Facebook is the single most powerful social media network, she said. The average user is on Facebook 55 minutes a day, she said. That means it's important to build a company Facebook page, she said, adding that one advisor told her, "I thought I knew my clients well until I connected with them on Facebook."
Advisor Insight
At the end of Pritchard's presentation, Barry Glassman, founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services, and Daniel Gregory, director of technology and marketing at Merriman, Inc., talked about how they use social media for their practices.
Glassman said that "80% of social media is listening." He said advisors should start by following the right individuals on social media. He also shared that his clients are certainly on Facebook.
Glassman said the Internet has enabled him to connect with the media. "We all want to get quoted," he said. Glassman said he loves making charts to make a point, which has helped him attract attention from the press. "They seem to eat it up," Glassman said. On the flip side, he said has stopped distributing white paper, which he says are a nightmare to put together and bring little benefit in return.
Gregory noted that social media helps him know what others are doing-in particular, other advisors. "I don't have time to call [other firms]," he said, adding that his firm works with a social media company.
"You want to find a consultant out there," Gregory said.
Advisors Play Catch-Up
Advisors seem to be jumping on board with social media, but they still have a long way to go.
"We saw a marked increase in the use of social media, primarily Twitter, at this year's [conference]," said Lindsay Tiles, managing director of Public Relations at Charles Schwab, adding that the conference generated about 900 Twitter "tweets."
Mike Byrnes founded Byrnes Consulting to provide consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. His expertise is in business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness, along with several other areas. Read more at www.byrnesconsulting.com.