We live in a new world – COVID-19 has forced many of us to think about how we connect with others and find new ways to engage with family, friends, co-workers and clients. Undeniably, the digital era is now upon us and finding success may be the difference between embracing technology versus thwarting it.
As an advisor, it’s crucial for you to have and maintain an active online presence in order to promote your business and showcase who you are and what you stand for. But how do you build the RIGHT network of followers – that ideal group of clients who are interested in what you have to offer and are willing to engage with you? Here are a few guiding principles to keep in mind:
Know Your Audience
It’s imperative that you understand your client. Who are you speaking to? What are their fears and goals? What keeps them up at night? In order for you to swoop in and provide your financial expertise, you first need to understand what problem your client is trying to solve. Once you have a better understanding of your target client, you will be able to speak to them in a relevant manner and provide them with the valuable solutions they are seeking to their problems.
Engage and Build Relationships
Just as you would at a networking event or during a face-to-face conversation, it’s important to actively engage with your audience online. Yes, it’s an online connection, but it’s still a relationship that needs to be nurtured, encouraged and strengthened on an ongoing basis. Your online audience needs to feel like they know you, like you and trust you enough to come to you with their insurance or investment needs. Be sure to engage consistently with your online audience in order to make them feel both heard and understood.
Provide Value
Today, we are bombarded with online information and messaging – it’s overwhelming and quite noisy! This means it’s up to you to cut through all that noise and provide potential clients with useful content – content that is informational, educational, valuable and reliable. This makes you indispensable and that is exactly where you want to be – an indispensable expert in your field ready to provide real solutions to your clients’ problems.
Be Proactive
You cannot expect your audience to come to you; unfortunately, it just doesn’t work this way on social media. Instead, you are going to need to reach out and engage with your ideal client audience where they are on social media. Find out where your audience is active on social media (rule #1 – know your audience) – you can do this in a variety of ways including on their profile, within similar interest groups or by searching relevant hashtags that they may be following. Meet your audience on their platforms, dazzle them with all of your interesting and useful content (don’t be afraid to get creative), then gently nudge them towards your online business platforms. Once your ideal audience is active with you on your social sites, it’s much easier to communicate, build on relationships and ultimately get those sales!
For a similar article on social media, read and share Content is King and if you have any questions relating to your online presence, contact PPI’s Digital Enablement Specialist Team.
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How to Build a Strong Social Media Network