Lastly, if you’ve chosen to create your own images, then you’ll need the right tool. I recommend using Canva’s online tool, not only because it’s free and easy to use, but because it’s also integrated with FMG’s platform, so our current customers can take advantage of it in their own social media planning.
4. Go To Your Audience
You don’t need to overwork yourself and post on every site. It will cost you time when you could have found just one place where you would likely be successful.
So it’s important for you to find out which platform best caters to your personal audience. For some advisors, it will be LinkedIn. For others, it might be Facebook. Spend some time figuring out which one works best for you, then prioritize the channels that get the best results.
Here are some key points for the best way to use major social media platforms:
Facebook:
• This site is great for connecting with those age 50 and over (both retirees and pre-retirees).
• It’s also great for posts that are focused on your local community.
LinkedIn:
• This site helps you connect with working professionals and college graduates age 30 to 65.
• The site also helps you hire talent and network with peers.
• The posts can focus on business owners, entrepreneurs and executives.
Twitter:
• This site is great for helping you connect with peers and journalists.
• It allows you to contribute to trending topics.
• It allows you to network with the media.
YouTube:
• This platform helps you put a face to your brand.
• It allows you to build rapport through familiarity.
• It helps you explain complex topics in depth.
Instagram:
• This site helps you connect with those under 45.
• It helps you network with women.
• Here you can connect with those focused on the wealth-building stages of their lives.
5. Focus On The Conversation
So far, all the tips we’ve covered focus on improving one thing—your engagement with people. That’s the truest form of social media success. And though these tips will help you with that, you’ll want to do a few more things to improve.
First off, you’ll get more readers and feedback if you ask questions at the end of your posts. Even better would be to combine this strategy with what Samantha Russell, digital marketing coach at FMG Suite, calls the “80/20 rule.” For every one post you share, you must comment on five other users’ posts.
Doing so helps these other users, improving the chances they’ll return the favor while improving your own brand awareness. If users like what they see in your comments, they might even feel inclined to check out your page and follow it.
Using all five tips, you’ll be set for social media success. So the next time you’re preparing your monthly marketing calendar or writing a post on the fly, remember to keep these recommendations in mind.
Susan Theder is the chief marketing and experience officer at FMG Suite.