Social media: It's not a trend or a fad, but a collective of online communication channels that can help you get better marketing results. If you want to build brand awareness, generate more leads and grow your business, social media can help.

Social media has changed the way businesses are marketing today and they are integrating these online networks as a core element of their overall marketing efforts. Among financial advisors, it has become an important business tool and many firms using social media report it has increased their marketing effectiveness.

One of the most effective social media platforms for advisors is LinkedIn. It's the most popular social network for professionals with over 347 million users. This platform can be a great source for building an online community, connecting with clients, prospects, and colleagues and researching businesses.

It can also help you generate leads. If you're not doing much with your LinkedIn profile, you're ignoring a productive marketing channel that could help you increase business.

Where do you start? Here is a five step action plan to get you started.

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Keep your profile current

LinkedIn is an entirely different site from your firm's website. It's a chance to establish rapport with your connections, potential clients, and prospects. Consider updating your profile every 60 – 90 days to freshen up your content. Add new skills you've developed or educational conferences or courses you've attended as well. LinkedIn rewards users that stay active. When you update your profile, you show up in your connections news feed as well as the weekly digest email. This keeps your name and company at the top of your connection's minds.

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Post updates

Your followers are active on LinkedIn because they want to be successful professionals. If you have an informative blog or if you're thinking of writing one, LinkedIn is a great place to push your content out to your connections and provide a status update. You can also post industry insights or company news as well as links to interesting financial or business articles. These updates are sent automatically to every connection in your network. Just make sure you run your content by your compliance department for approval. Remember, keep the content relevant, lighthearted and social. DO NOT give sales pitches, but be helpful and transparent when you share on LinkedIn.

Manage your time

Posting updates and viewing your connections can eat up your day if you're not managing your time. Be disciplined about using LinkedIn to ensure your social networking time is used effectively and efficiently. Manage your inbox for unread messages and invitations to connect on a daily basis. Invite new contacts to your LinkedIn community and browse through the group discussions and contribute your financial expertise on a weekly basis. Consider setting aside and hour or two a week to work on LinkedIn.

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Join groups or create your own industry group

LinkedIn is a terrific way to find and connect with professional groups. Therefore, you should consider joining a few groups. The trick is not to join the obvious groups in your industry, but to join groups outside your industry. For example, if you're targeting attorneys as clients, you could join the American Bar Association or one of your local attorney groups. This will give you access to many attorneys.

Review the search function

If you're looking to expand your prospect list, LinkedIn's search and advanced search function can help you jump-start the process. This search engine allows you to search for prospects by location, profession, company, or industry. However, the search limits you to 100 names unless you pay for the premium membership. But 100 leads should more than keep you busy.

Special Reports /

5 techniques to generate more LinkedIn sales leads

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