LinkedIn is easily the most popular social media platform for financial planners.

It naturally contains many users who fit the ideal target client, after all. Business owners, senior managers, entrepreneurs and more. It is often, rightly, known as “Facebook for business people”. Yet, how can you market yourself effectively on there?

LinkedIn is not an easy nut to crack when it comes to marketing. There is lots of content published on there every day which you need to compete with, and cut through. Convincing people to “connect” and “follow” you is also a challenge.

Even if you can build a strong audience, how can you get it to convert – e.g. produce inquiries, PDF downloads and event bookings?

In this post, our marketing team at CreativeAdviser will be sharing 5 ideas to help financial planners get more out of their LinkedIn marketing. We hope this is helpful to you, and we invite you to book a free, online consultation if you’d like to discuss your own marketing strategy with a member of our team.

 

#1 Build an excellent company page

What does your LinkedIn business page look like? Does it make a great first impression and entice the audience to delve into it?

Many financial planners do not invest in a strong LinkedIn page. Yet doing so can be well worth it. Remember, people tend to want to spend time around excellent design, content and branding. Your financial firm is no different.

Consider taking time to craft an excellent business description and invest in compelling imagery. Not only should your logo look comfortable and sharp in the profile area, but the background image for your business profile is also a great opportunity to convey professionalism and excellence.

Be careful not to neglect the “recent updates” section of your LinkedIn business page. Here, you should try and make your content as clickable and conversion-focused as possible. That means taking time to devise great headlines, topics and opinion pieces that people will be intrigued to read.

Want a great example of how this can be done? Check out the Hubspot company LinkedIn page. It’s a visual masterpiece!

 

#2 Invest in your human image

People like to connect with people. Yet many financial planning LinkedIn company profiles feel very cold and impersonal.

With such a personal service like financial planning, it is even more important that your social profiles feel human. This means sharing team photography (so people can “see the people behind the brand”) and posting regularly from the director(s).

You can also create a more personal touch by including a balance of humour in your LinkedIn content.

Also, showcasing client testimonials and reviews is a great way to show the direct, emotional impact that your work has.

 

#3 Use video marketing

Did you know that users engage with video content up to three times more than they do with “static” content?

On LinkedIn, moreover, video is still underutilised by financial planners as a way to attract and retain audiences. This may partly be due to many financial planners being too shy to get in front on the camera. Or, it may be due to the perceived high investment of video.

However, if you can surmount these fears, video marketing can be a great tool on LinkedIn.

You do not necessarily need to create a “pre-recorded”, high-end presentation. Video marketing could also take the form of a webinar, where you provide a “live Q&A” for attendees.

Whatever route you take, make sure that the first 3 seconds of your video are captivating and exciting. This will help capture your audience’s attention and keep them interested to the end. Also, make sure you include an appropriate, effective call to action (CTA).

 

#4 Host events and podcasts

Once your LinkedIn profile is more established, you can start pushing out invitations to attend online events.

Many users on the platform are interested to attend helpful, free events which can help them in their financial goals, business ambitions or personal growth. By offering events which tap into these needs, you help establish yourself as a thought leader.

As more people attend, furthermore, awareness of your brand will grow and your reputation will expand. You could also consider offering one of two types of podcasts for your audience: audio-only and video podcasts.

Both have their respective advantages. Both, however, can provide a great opportunity to build a community and loyal brand following.

 

#5 Offer industry reports & trends

For many financial planners, their LinkedIn audience will likely include business owners and directors.

These individuals tend to be interested in content that helps them increase their revenues and grow their business. By offering them industry reports – e.g. financial planning insights into the early-stage space – you can help meet that content need.

You could even try pushing out your industry reports using LinkedIn Ads – ensuring that you achieve greater marketing reach.

Of course, you’ll need to think carefully about which reports you’ll want to invest in. After all, there are many potential industries that your target audience might fall into. Here, you can focus your efforts by developing clear Buyer Personas of your business audience.

For instance, perhaps you work a lot with lawyers or doctors. In which case, it might makes sense to develop industry reports on these.

It’s a good idea to keep these kinds of publications fresh. So, you might want to update it once per year to ensure that the content keeps up with the current landscape. Also, make sure the content is really informative and insightful – not just generalistic.

 

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