Smarter Linkedin For Financial Advisors

Take Your Linkedin Value to a New Level

By: D. M. Thérèse Byrne Client Partner - Digital Strategist & Marketer

You’ve Heard It All Before

•  Accenture: Social Media Helps Financial Advisors Retain Clients and Increase Assets Under Management …digital and social tools "offer Financial Advisors unprecedented opportunities for more frequent interactions with their clients, helping them forge deeper, stronger relationships.”

•  Among the Financial Advisors surveyed: –  60% have daily contact with clients through social media –  77% affirm that social media helps with client retention

–  74% agree that social media helps them increase assets under management

–  73% say it has led to an overall increase in client interactions

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You’ve Heard It All Before cont’d

•  Linkedin: Affluent Investors use social media, primarily Linkedin, to research financial decisions.

•  Linkedin Mobile: Linkedin expects 50% of its unique visitors will come via mobile devices in 2014, a jump from 38% of unique visitors today (US). Users who visit LinkedIn via mobile are 2.5 times more active than their desktop counterparts.

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Where are you on the Social Selling Spectrum?

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•  Weak Online REPUTATION •  NOT Gathering INTELLIGENCE •  Reactively Building NETWORK •  NOT Contributing INSIGHTS •  NOT Using Social Selling SOLUTIONS

Low

High

•  Strong Online REPUTATION •  Gathering INTELLIGENCE •  Proactively Building NETWORK •  Contributing INSIGHTS •  Using Social Selling SOLUTIONS

“Laggards”

“Tip-Toers”

“Leaders”

Today’s Agenda

Smarter Linkedin for Financial Advisors

Towards bringing your Linkedin value to a new level, today we

want to give you some important

•  Insights

•  Premise: You have, minimally, followed the step-by-step wizard to set up a simple

profile.

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Linkedin Insights

1)  Profile Must-Dos: A Powerful Profile is Your Brand Equity: It starts with your key-word optimized headline and wraps up with your privacy settings.

2)  New Rules of Social Rule: If you build influence, you won’t have to sell! Status updates are the most effective way to get discovered, engage and drive consideration.

3)  Referrals: VCP: Visibility + Credibility = Profitability Every new connection is an opportunity to grow your visibility, expand you influence and become a new client.

4)  Open Publishing Platform: You don't have to be anointed as an "influencer" by anyone to become one! LinkedIn Publishing Platform now open to all LinkedIn members.

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Insight 1: Profile Must-Dos

•  First consider your keywords: Use your main keywords in your headline to showcase what you do and whom you serve.

•  Note location and vertical

•  Upload a professional photo •  Write your summary in first person, as

it will come across as being more personable!

–  List Specialties using key words

•  Fill in contact information including customized “Vanity URL”, Twitter link

•  Note current employer and at least 2 previous employers plus education

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To provide value and differentiate from competitors, you need a dynamic profile.

Your Linkedin profile is a dynamic and evolving digital asset. You will want to be

updating and upgrading it regularly

Insight 1: Profile Must-Dos cont’d

•  Be visual: click the icon next to any section of your profile to add your videos, illustrations, photography, presentations and awards.

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Insight 1: Profile (Privacy Settings) Must-Dos cont’d

1.  First hover over your account and go to “Privacy and Settings”

2.  Select what you want others to see, e.g., you may only want your 1st degree contacts to see your connections and not your competitors.

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Insight 2: New Rules of Social Rule

Potential prospects use Linkedin to: Ø  Discover: Learn about

financial trends, companies, products, or accounts and/or

Ø  Consider: Seek advice or further information to evaluate what they’ve learned in the Discovery process. Ø  60% plus who use for Both

are driven to action.

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Direct solicitations don't work, as well as sharing insights of interest to your target and engaging in discussion.

Insight 2: Rules of Social Rule ~ Share & Engage

Marketing is evolving. It’s less about one off interactions and more about building trusting relationships

through relevant content. Status updates are the most effective way.

Get Discovered and Engage to Drive Consideration •  Post updates to your activity feed •  Promote updates from your connections

by sharing with your network •  Introduce and connect others within your

network •  Leave thoughtful comments on what

your connections share •  Thank someone for sharing your updates •  Congratulate someone on a recent success •  “Mention” one of your connections in one

of your updates •  Publish and Comment in LinkedIn groups

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Insight 2: New Rules of Social Rule ~ If you Build Influence You Won’t Have to Sell

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•  Make your status updates valuable and memorable:

–  Help someone solve a problem –  Help someone get smarter –  Help someone achieve more ***“Helping is Selling”***

•  Be consistent to be memorable •  Invest in dialog •  IT’S A PROCESS

–  Fact: Your prospective clients are savvier and more informed than ever. •  Most buyers are 60% through their decision-making process before they engage with

a brand. •  Using valuable, targeted content can actively influence purchase behavior and convert

prospects into customers. –  VCP: Visibility + Credibility leads to Profitability

Insight 2: New Rules of Social Rule ~ If you Build Influence You Won’t Have to Sell

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•  Building influence increases views of your Linkedin Profile

•  Linkedin Profile Views Lead to: –  More connections and followers

–  More exposure for your status updates

–  Referral traffic

–  Business opportunities

Insight 3: Referrals ~ Every New Connection Builds Influence •  Your  exis%ng  clients  are  your  most  important  asset  and  the  primary  source  for  

referrals.    Look  especially  at  your  top  advocates  -­‐  they  “love”  and  value  your  service  and/or  have  provided  referrals  in  the  past.    

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Existing Clients

1st Degree Connections

2nd Degree Connections

Reach and Influence

New Clients

Linkedin

•  Enhance  client  rela=ons  

•  Look  through  your  best    client’s  connec=ons  

•  Research  selected  prospects  and  request  an  introduc=on  

•  These  are  connec=ons  to    whom  you  are  connected  via  your  1st  degree  connec=ons.  

•  Research  for  poten=al  prospects    and  referrals  

•  Be  consistently  visible  and  credible  

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Insight 3: Referrals ~ Gather Intelligence Be prepared for every interaction by researching contacts and companies

Insight 4: Open Publishing Platform

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The Opportunity: Initially made available to 500 influencers, the platform is rolling out to all members to publish long-form and multimedia content. •  Publish PowerPoint, Keynote presentations, PDFs, white papers, infographics

and embed videos from YouTube and more. Akin to publishing a blog.

•  Repurpose your blogs, whitepapers, presentations, etc.

•  Create a bio section within post and add a link back to your blog or website.

•  Gauge performance in real time!

Publish, Grow a Following, and Build Your Influence

Insight 4: Open Publishing Platform

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•  Your posts will be showcased under your Linkedin headline above the fold.

–  Like Reid Hoffman, Linkedin founder above!

–  Make your posts very visible by including an image in every post!

•  LinkedIn will tap into its understanding of users’ industry and interests to better target your posts to the right people.

Demonstrate and illustrate your expertise, and get in front of a very active and engaged audience.

Summary Takeaway: Daily 5-Minute Marketing Plan

1 Minute Accept connection

requests

3 Minutes Check who has viewed

your profile

3 Minutes Share a piece of content and

submit it to the Linkedin Today editor

3 Minutes Send thank you message to

new connections

2 Minutes If you have written a recent blog, add it to your profile

1 Minute Comment on the status or

content shared by a person in your network

1 Minute Connect with 1 new person

per day

1 Minute Organize a catch up with one

of your contacts

Source: Bluewire Media

In summary, if you turn these insights into a consistent series of actions (see “Daily 5-minute Marketing Plan” below), your online influence and

ability to gain quality referrals will grow.

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Thank you!

D. M. Thérèse Byrne

Client Partner - Digital Strategist & Marketer REVENUE ARCHITECTS

24 Federal St | Boston, MA 02110 www.revenuearchitects.com | Twitter | LinkedIn

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