The financial services industry took 10 years to embrace LinkedIn, but it’s now an integral part of networking for many professionals, ThinkAdvisor writes. And advisors who fret that they don’t get use out of the social media platform probably aren’t using it to its full potential, according to the publication.
Raising Visibility and Growing the Network
For starters, advisors need to acknowledge they’ll have to spend some time on LinkedIn to make it work, ThinkAdvisor writes. The average LinkedIn user spends just 17 minutes a month on the platform, and that’s simply not enough, according to the publication.
It’s also important to complete your profile — people with professional photos are likely to get 14 times more views than those who don’t, ThinkAdvisor writes. And doing research into the keywords people use to find a financial advisor should drive what’s included in the profile description, according to the publication.
Advisors also shouldn’t blame compliance for avoiding adding posts, liking others’ posts and commenting, according to the publication. Most firms have a list of pre-approved article links, ThinkAdvisor writes.
It’s also important to use everything LinkedIn has to offer: its emails about who views your profile or posts comments, for example, provide useful insight, while adding first-level connections gives you access to their close networks, according to the publication.
Joining groups and posting links into them, meanwhile, may seem tedious, but it opens up opportunities to make further connections, ThinkAdvisor writes. And engaging with the network of first connections, by commenting or even sending a work anniversary congratulations, keeps the conversation going, according to the publication.
After you’ve built a sizable first-connection network, it’s time to prospect, ThinkAdvisor writes. Here, the publication suggests getting on the phone and asking whether those people would feel comfortable making introduction to their close network.
Commentary on ThinkAdvisor article by Bryce Sanders
Posted by: The Wealth Advisor
