How Do You Attract Prospective Clients Online?

You’re ready to take your marketing to the next level. That’s why you signed up for Bamboo! But when it comes to jump-starting your marketing efforts, you might not be sure where to start.

Where do you begin? Start with your marketing plan.

Our Getting Started with Bamboo guide covers how to set up your marketing platform and create a marketing plan. So take a few minutes to read through the guide and devise your strategy (…we’ll have a coffee while we wait).

Now that you have your plan in place, it’s time to execute! In this post, we’ll show you how. Let’s start with attracting new clients. We’ll use our sample marketing plan as an example.

In our example marketing plan, our goal is to “Add 5 New Clients Per Quarter.”

Our strategy is to “Strengthen (our) digital presence and thought leadership to appeal to potential prospects” using four core tactics:

• Create social media accounts
• Determine topics and curate content
• Create a social media posting schedule
• Identify compliance requirements

So let’s walk through how you can use these tactics to execute your marketing strategy and achieve your goal.

Create Your Social Media Accounts

The first step to promoting your brand through social channels is to build your profiles. The most common social media platforms for advisors are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Remember, the more information you include, the more searchable you become, increasing the likelihood you’ll be found by prospects!

While each platform includes different information, there are a couple basic questions your profile should answer.

1. Who are you? Every profile should include your profile picture, name, and a short summary about what differentiates you. Use an updated version of your elevator pitch or mission statement to tell people what you and your business represent.
2. How do I contact you? How do you want your audience to connect with you? This information is public, so consider if you want to create a new contact number or email to share.

For each platform, you can customize things like your URL for Facebook, and your Twitter handles to align with your brand.

Once your profiles are complete, you can create your social media plan around the content you want to share. For even more social media best practices, download our Advisor’s Guide to Social Media.

Create Your Content Plan

Your social media plan should help you generate awareness. Bamboo has built-in campaigns that align with the different types of clients you may want to attract.

Each campaign has a video and associated content so you don’t have to search for and compile content items that work together – that part is done for you. The videos are best shared to social channels to grab your audience’s attention. Don’t forget, each campaign item also includes pre-written social posts.

Choose one of our featured content campaigns that appeal to your target market, or build your own plan from the articles, infographics, and videos in your Content Library.

Then as you begin to execute your content plan, remember to engage with prospective clients and influencers on your social media platforms. It’s just as important to engage with content others share as to share your own content.

We recommend using a social media strategy like the 4-1-1 rule (4 original pieces, 1 retweet, 1 industry news piece) or the rule of thirds (1/3 of your content promotes your business, 1/3 promotes sources that align with your business (news stories, articles, or infographics), 1/3 engages directly with followers or influencers) and try to create a process that works for you.

Here are some additional resources from around the web to help you think about your social media strategy.

• The Art of the #Hashtag
• What “Works” In Digital Marketing And Social Media Advertising For Financial Advisors
• Lots of likes won’t cut it — next-level social media for advisors
• Advisors Are Making a Big Social Media Mistake

Create Your Social Media Calendar

Once you have your content and a basic strategy in place, it’s time to start creating your social media calendar. Whether you’re starting your first marketing initiative or have several in motion, a content management calendar can help you keep your marketing efforts on track.

Automation tools can help keep your posts consistent with your firm’s brand messaging and ensure you’re FINRA compliant. So, look into options that help you schedule content, archive posts, and provide analytics on your social presence.

Stay Compliant

Throughout this process, remain compliant by adhering to the SEC and FINRA guidelines on social media and digital communications:

• FINRA – Social Media and Digital Communications
• SEC – The Most Frequent Advertising Rule Compliance Issues
• SEC – Guidance on the Testimonial Rule and Social Media
• Financial Advisors: 15 Tips To Use Social Media (Compliantly)

Now you’re ready to get started! Stay tuned for Part Two of this series where we discuss how to take the next step and turn your prospects into clients!