Social media has changed the way businesses find customers.
It may seem like social media and financial services don’t mix, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many financial services companies – from cryptocurrencies to banks to financial planners – are using social media to reach new audiences.
So, how can you make social media work for your financial service company?
Compliance
Financial services are bound by many rules about how to do business, how to keep records, and what language to use, among other things.
Making sure your social media presence is compliant with those rules, plus the rules of whatever social media platforms you use, needs to be your top priority. Social media platforms can limit the reach of your content or even shut down your account if you do not comply with their policies.
You know best which policies your financial business needs to follow, so take the time to refresh your memory of these policies and see if they have any specific rules about social media.
Most of these policies involve having an archive of all communications between your business and your customers and saving that archive for at least three years, though the time varies depending on the policy. There are some software or online services that will archive messages for you, or you can do it yourself.
You will also need to make sure your accounts are very secure. Use different passwords for every account, and make sure those passwords are different from the ones you use to log in to anything else. Passwords should be changed regularly – every three to four months is standard – or when someone who knows the password leaves your team.
In order to keep your social media presence consistently compliant with the various rules and policies you need to follow, put together a social media policy. The policy provides a convenient reference for the rules you need to follow and will allow your team to ensure that all their posts and interactions are compliant. Your social media policy should be updated any time the rules you follow are changed.
Content
Once you know who your audience is and where you will find them, you can start thinking about what kind of content you will use to get their attention. Most people write off financial stuff as being “boring” so you need to find a way to make your content exciting or interesting to get noticed.
When you create your content, don’t be afraid to “give away” information. Sharing good financial advice builds value for your customers and makes your business more credible in their eyes.
Video content is on the rise on all social media platforms, so embrace it. Remember that old content can be recycled, as long as it’s still correct. Something that started as a blog post can become an infographic and later a video, or maybe you start with a video and later make a blog post or an infographic for it.
Constantly posting things that feel like ads aren’t going to win you any long-term followers because it seems spammy and untrustworthy. Occasional posts highlighting a particular service or a sale are okay, but try to focus on building up your credibility and reputation more.
People want to follow other people on social media, so making your business more personable can do wonders for your follower count. Share photos of you and your team in the office or at work events so that people get to know the people who might be helping them with their finances.
Share aspirational content about what good financial advice can lead to. Don’t make false claims, but remind people that budgeting well can allow them to save for future purchases or retirement and things like that.
You can also ask previous and current clients to write a review or share a testimonial about what it was like to work with you and how their financial situation changed for the better. While it’s always important to have reviews posted online to build your credibility, making those reviews into social media posts can build credibility for your social profile and fill in your content calendar.
Engagement
Your social media content strategy should be more than just posting and logging off. Encouraging engagement on your posts can help grow your reach and help you gain followers.
One good way to encourage engagement is to ask questions or use the interactive features built into many social media platforms. This prompts your audience to respond and gives them an easy way to do so.
Remember that your account should engage with other posts, too. If you see a question you feel like you have the knowledge to answer or simply someone looking for encouragement respond to it. People will see your comment and might visit your profile to learn about your financial services.
It can take a lot of creativity to come up with social media posts about your financial services, and a lot of careful consideration to comply with the regulations that rule the finance industry. The work is worth it, though, because a good social media presence can increase your audience and bring in new business.