Many financial professionals have said to me over the past several years, “My clients don't use LinkedIn or Facebook so I don't need to be on it” or “I don't need to use social media for business as I get all of my clients through client referrals.”

Is social media for every financial professional in the industry? The answer is no, but for the vast majority the answer should be: “Yes, social media is for me”. Even now, top financial professionals are beginning to realize the power and the impact social media can have on their professional brand.

The next time you go to your local coffee shop look around: you will probably notice that very few people are holding a newspaper or a magazine. Instead they are looking at a screen. Twenty years ago, you would have noticed more magazines or newspapers at that same coffee shop.

So, what happened? Did the coffee shop attract new younger customers? No, they didn't replace their old customers with new younger customers — their customers adapted to technology.

Technology doesn't care about age or gender or how things have been done in the financial services industry for the past 100 years. As a financial professional, this shift in consumer behavior is hugely important for you to understand in terms of how your clients and your future clients are using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter today to consume information.

If you are not actively participating on these sites, you are missing out on an opportunity to provide value to your clients and your future clients.

Yes, we know that the financial services industry is highly regulated and those regulations do create some challenges, but remember that your competition is playing in that same sandbox as you.

Here are some ideas to help you market your practice like its 2016 and not 1996:

1. Establish your professional brand – Go from résumé to reputation on LinkedIn. Leverage your LinkedIn profile to tell your story and unique value proposition.

2. Get connected – Connect with all of your clients and prospective clients on LinkedIn and invite them to “Like” your Facebook business page if you have one.

3. Define a content strategy – Don't just share content to share; have a purpose when sharing.

4. Share content on a daily basis – Sharing content once a week isn't enough as today's newsfeeds are constantly being updated with new content.

5. Provide value – Be sure your content brings value to your audience because, if it doesn't, consumers will tune you out.

6. Engage with your connections – Remember, it's a two-way street, so be sure to comment on your connections' content as well.

Just remember to refer to your organizations' social media policy prior to engaging on social media.

We're on Facebook, are you?

Special Reports /

Time to start marketing like it's 2016

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