Marie Swift, the president and CEO of Impact Communications, presented to a room of advisors at the T3 Conference in Florida on how they can maximize their online presence by effectively using social media.

The two main reasons to use social media is to deepen existing relationships and to acquire new clients. 

The Social Media Landscape

Sixty-one percent of all adults use social media (a number that might now be outdated).  Even baby boomers are using social media, with 50% of younger boomers and 43% of older boomers using social networks.  Maybe the most powerful stat of all is that Facebook is the most visited site in the United States.

Although advisors are behind the norm, with only 35% of them using social media on a professional basis, those that do have higher revenue growth and increased numbers of clients.  Of the networks advisor use, LinkedIn has the highest use, followed by Facebook.

A quick show of hands proved that advisors have lots of room for improvement when it comes to an online presence.  Of the attendees in the room, 100% have a website, but only 10% felt they are strong users of social media.  With the assumption that the average T3 attendee is more tech savvy than the typical advisor, that paints a weak picture for the rest of the industry.

"Advisors who are not learning about and engaging targeted groups through social media will get left behind," Swift said. "They need to realize social networking online is a perfect compliment to their traditional business networking and marketing efforts -- especially when coupled with a good PR and media relations strategy."

Why Use Social Media?

There were many benefits discussed, from being able to be found online to giving prospects validation that they are making the right decision when choosing an advisor.  By being active in this space, advisors can create a positive buzz around themselves and their firms.

"Cross-linking is a very important component of building a strong online presence," Swift said. "Think of your website as the hub -- your virtual lobby, which may indelibly shape the first impression of you and your firm. Now imagine spokes and threads coming out from and into your hub, creating a virtual spider web effect online. The more digital assets you cross-link to, the stronger your web. Couple your spider web marketing approach with a good keyword strategy and you can generate some really good 'Google Juice.' Google Juice is overall search engine strength. It's what makes you more visible online when people are searching for you by name or by other related keywords such as 'independent financial advisor."

Gathering marketing intelligence is another useful application of this medium.  There is a lot one can discover by tuning in to see how others communicate.

Of all the benefits, building rapport and engaging clients might be one of the best.

Tools of the Trade

Smart Phones.  These mini computers make is possible for advisors to communicate away from the office.

Google Alerts.  This is a free service from Google that allows advisors to track any internet mention of a particular term of interest.  Advisors should have alerts set up for their names to be able to keep an eye on what is being said about them.  Also, they can follow their firm name, competitors or even an industry phrase like ‘fiduciary standards’ to stay in the know.

Google Analytics.  Another free offering from Google that allows advisors to see how many visits their websites are getting, the sources of those visits, what pages visitors are viewing, and much more.

Social Media Dashboards.  It is helpful to be able to schedule tweets, monitor online mentions and more.  HootSuite and TweetDeck were two companies listed.

Automated Messaging.  AWeber was suggested for its ability to be an auto responder, allowing for automatic messages to go out via email, at set times, when predetermined requests come in via the advisor's website. 

"You can set up a whole series of email messages, things that will build share of mind and position you as a trusted resource, with an AWeber account," Swift said. "It's a great way to conduct permission-based email marketing."

Other Networks.  There are more options outside of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. YouTube is, for instance, a great way to publish your own video clips.