How to put this into practice: Almost everyone goes online to look things up now, including prospects searching for advisors. As a result, you need to have an online presence.
5. It delivers credibility. One important piece of social media jargon is "SEO," which stands for search engine optimization. Wikipedia defines it as "the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the 'natural' or un-paid search results." In other words, social media activities help advisors' Web sites rank higher on Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Studies show that when consumers are looking for something they rarely go past the first page of search results. The studies also show, the higher up in the search rankings the more instant credibility a company attains. In an era of distrust, this benefit can be extremely valuable to advisors.
How to put this into practice: Advisors should search their name or company name and see what comes up. If one does not pop up at the top, that's a problem, as it can result in a lost lead--and there is no way to track a call that an advisor never gets. When a prospect searches for an advisor, the website does not have to be the only thing that will show up. Search "Byrnes Consulting" to see how Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter , among other things, can help a company dominate the search results.
6. It increases awareness. An advisor might have the best Web site, but if nobody visits it, does it really matter? Social media allows for advisors to become better known. They call it the "web" for a reason. A Web site is in the center, and an advisor's goals are to build as many other connecting webs to the Web site as possible. The more Webs with activity, the more ways to build awareness.
How to put this into practice: The more places an advisor is online, the more opportunities for the public to become aware of an advisor's services.
7. It demonstrates expertise. When prospects are shopping around for an advisor, they are looking for an individual who knows what he or she is talking about. Advisors actively using social media will have many more opportunities to illustrate expertise.
How to put this into practice: Using social media gives an advisor the ability to be seen as an expert on different topics. The likelihood of getting quoted by the media also increases. Just think about it. If a reporter is under a deadline, which they often are, do they bounce around making ten phone calls to find a source or do they do a quick search for an expert online?
8. It allows for interactions. Social media activities allow an advisor to build relationships before an e-mail is ever sent or a phone call is ever made.
How to put this into practice: A Facebook page can let your brand's personality and core values shine. Pictures on Facebook can humanize an advisor. Posting videos can also be powerful.
9. It generates more client communications. Most advisors do not have a significant client retention problem, so the question becomes how to convert clients from loyalists to advocates. Meetings, phone calls, newsletters and e-mails are necessities. Social media just adds another layer of communications that clients might appreciate.