By Mike Byrnes
Sometimes it is better to hear what is and is not working directly from the guys on the front lines, especially when it comes to social media and other technology. That was the case at the recent Limra Loma Social Media Conference for Financial Services.

One of the better panels consisted of Greg Gagne, an advisor at Affinity Investment Group; David Appel, managing partner at Appel Insurance Advisors LLC; Ted Jenkin, co-CEO at oXYGen Financial; and the moderator, Gregory Bailey, vice president of strategic marketing at Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Jenkin has over 3,300 followers on Twitter and over 13,000 fans on Facebook. He writes the yoursmartmoneymoves.com blog, which led to him being asked to attend a national financial blogger convention.

It is important to join Twitter chats, even if it eats into work time, he said. "Then you don't have to buy Facebook [fans]," Jenkin said.

He believes blogging is a must for recruiting the next generation of clients because they are constantly online searching for solutions to their problems.

Jenkin noted that he has been recognized as one of the top 100 personal finance bloggers. When he is writing, he asks himself, "Can I turn someone on the Internet into a consumer, not a customer? Do they want to consume my information?" He suggested there are two phases to blogging: Phase one is about content. Phase two is about engagement.

Out of his 800 blog posts, the most popular was titled,"'How much do I give for a wedding gift?" "Nobody reads the advantages and disadvantages of 529 plans. A lot of articles are droll," he said.

To get publicity, Jenkin recommended signing up as a source for HARO (Help A Reporter Out), a free service that in under a year has become the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline. HARO's tagline, "Everyone is an Expert at Something," is definitely true for advisors that have a lot of opinions and expertise to share.

Jenkin said of HARO, "Free stuff comes to me. I had an interview with Forbes and it didn't cost me a nickel."

Gagne suggested that advisors use videos to service clients to free up more time for other duties. "I needed to stop seeing clients and prospects as much," said Gagne.

Now he creates short videos and notifies clients by e-mail when a new one is posted on his Web site. "Rather than read, they can hear and see. It probably frees up eight weeks of my time. It is a fantastic way to have a client touch and it is on their time," shared Gagne.

He suggested using a wedding videographer. "They work all weekend long," said Gagne.

Appel said that social media supports a huge portion of his referrals. He suggested asking clients, "Can I use your name when I call this person?"-an approach he finds to be very helpful for recruiting new clients.

"Facebook has been used for a subliminal message. It has led to some business, like high school friends reaching out to me," he said.

When asked if social media leads to business, Jenkin said, "You have to work it. It is a tough road to hoe." He used the analogy of an advisor who goes to a social event, meets one person, gets drunk, then comes in the next day and says networking does not work. To be successful you need to put in an effort, he said.

"Your Web site is up 24/7. It is a marketing machine," added Jenkin.

Bailey described talking to Jenkin late one night in preparation for the panel and witnessing a lead pop up on Jenkin's Web site.

Gagne noted that social media builds credibility.

Jenkin called it "webutation" and challenged the attendees to think about their Internet image.

"What's your reputation on the web?" he asked.

Note: As always, check with your compliance department for its specific guidelines on what your organization will allow you to do with social networks. It is strongly recommended you hire an archiving service to capture all social media communications.

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 and follow @ByrnesConsultin.