A new social media study suggests that financial professionals looking to forge deeper digital connections with prospects need to open up and share the knowledge.
Hearsay Systems has released its 2022 Social Selling Content Study, continuing its annual analysis of the social media activities of more than 200,000 advisors and agents from 100 global financial services firms on the Hearsay platform.
Hearsay, which develops digital communication tools for firms, examined more than 15 million texts and 14 million social media posts for this year’s probe. Of the social media posts studied, the largest portion — about 3.6 million — came from wealth managers.
The texts and posts amassed more than 16 million engagements across Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Content from asset management, banking and insurance industries was also studied.
“One of the things that we see year to year is just maturing. And it’s at both a firm level and an individual level. And the individual, I think, is the most interesting,” Leslie Leach, chief marketing and strategy officer for Hearsay Systems, told Financial Planning.
She notes that at the beginning of their social media journeys, most professionals stick to traditional, conservative content focused on their business or based on their organization’s marketing guidelines.
“But there’s only so much that tells you about what it would be like to work with this person,” Leach said. “Over time, we see them evolve their content to be higher quality, more personalized and more about what’s unique about them: ‘Here’s what I care about, and here’s what it is like to work with me.’”
Leach said in some ways, 2021 was “the year social selling grew up.” She said financial services professionals are experiencing greater returns by getting more personal on their profiles and sticking to a quality-over-quantity approach.
The reason, Leach said, is the hunger for authenticity. She then described a client of hers, an advisor that Leach described as a “very strong social seller,” who went on a similar social media quest and saw the transition to more personalized content pay off big.
Leach said in the past two years, this advisor was able to more than double her assets under management, and she attributes much of her quick rise to the large number of referrals she received on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn once she started sharing content that struck a chord with prospects.
“She started to share information about causes and interests she was involved in, and those were the things that resonated the most,” Leach said. “And when she first talked to people, they knew so much about her, they had a sense for what she’s all about and what it’s like to work with her by the first meeting.”
But there is still a lot of growing to do, and a clear preference for the more traditional, business-minded end of the social media spectrum. Facebook and LinkedIn remain dominant forces with 88% of all posts published in the Hearsay network originating from one or the other.
The study finds that these are also the most mature social outlets for financial professionals as they’ve been in place the longest and have well-established best practices for compliance. On Facebook and LinkedIn, Leach said there was a noted shift toward more targeted, higher-quality posts.
Instagram, meanwhile, is seen as an up-and-comer channel for financial services and serves as an example of why quality and personalization matters. Despite representing just 1.4% of all posts, the study finds that Instagram yields levels of engagement higher than LinkedIn and Facebook combined.
Leaders of the study said that’s because the content shared to Instagram reflected the empathy and authenticity clients and prospects are looking for. Instagram is also seen as a conduit to reach younger audiences who are more likely to seek out financial content in places other than LinkedIn and Facebook.
The 2022 Hearsay study finds that content related to financial education pays dividends. Because clients and prospects turn to advisors for guidance, and they want to feel like the financial professional or organization guiding them possesses deep knowledge.
As a result, feeding followers a steady diet of financial education was effective in establishing credibility. The study finds that this kind of content had the highest suggest and publish rates. But for it to work, it is important that financial pros aren’t just regurgitating similar messages handed down from corporate marketing teams or seemingly lifted from their contemporaries.
It’s a message that Jonny Swift, vice president of marketing firm Impact Communications, delivers to advisors that he works with on a regular basis.
Swift, who is also Impact’s director of social/digital strategy, said the right mix of personal, educational and corporate brand content can add great value to an advisor’s social media page.
“But it’s always better to lean toward providing educational content, resources and other valuable material to your audience rather than just consistently promoting your own company and your own brand too much, which can turn people off a little bit,” Swift said.
And while it wasn’t highlighted specifically in the study, Swift said another thing that resonates strongly with prospects is “personal character, culture and behind-the-scenes” content. He said potential and current clients want to see the people who power the firm more than the firm’s latest earnings success.
“They want to know that these are real people who have real lives. They want to know that advisors have kids and grandchildren and travel and take vacations and volunteer in their communities,” Swift said. “Even just going to different conferences, now that conferences are backing up and running around the country. Photos of advisors at conferences are getting tons of engagement and likes and comments.”
But finding the right balance of how much of the “real you” and the “corporate you” to put online takes time, and a great deal of trial and error.
Swift said because the pandemic forced personal and professional lives to collide in unexpected ways, general audiences are more understanding of content previously deemed unprofessional and, in fact, crave it.
It goes back to delivering authenticity and providing prospects a complete picture of what kind of advisor, and person, you might be offline.
“We used to always preach credibility marketing and that being the most important … obviously that’s still important, but equally as important is authenticity marketing,” Swift said. “In terms of how much to share, I think it depends on the advisor and knowing your audience. It’s about determining what kind of people you’re targeting, knowing your ideal prospects and knowing what your current clients are like.
“It all builds that authenticity, and it makes people feel like they know you on a different level. You’re not just their advisor, but you’re also their friend and confidant.”
This year’s study also highlights how content unrelated to dollars and cents can forge greater connections between advisors and clients. Leach said much like last year’s analysis, the 2022 study finds that principles-based messaging focused on ESG, DEI and women drove the highest engagement rates.
However, principles-based content still lagged in terms of actual presence.
According to the study, wealth management social media administrators in 2021 prioritized financial education at 30% of total suggested content followed by corporate brand at 24%, and corporate product promotion and news claiming 13% of suggested content respectively. Principles-based posting was the least-suggested type of content at just 3%.
The study says these findings “reinforce the ongoing preference of clients and prospects for brands that can articulate what they stand for.” Researchers said purpose-driven companies who are successful gain a competitive edge while those who fail miss a huge opportunity to connect in more meaningful ways.
Other key takeaways from the 2022 study include the importance of pairing the right content for the right platform. For wealth management, the study said the biggest winner was text posts on LinkedIn, which had an engagement rate of 6.7. That was followed by text-only Facebook posts at 5.9, and Instagram posts with a video at 3.5.
“Text-only posts generally tend to be original posts that reflect the advisor’s unique perspective or insight, so it’s not surprising that LinkedIn and Facebook posts with text only outperformed other combinations,” the study says. “Even absent a link or image, this type of authentic, personal content tends to be rewarded with likes, comments and shares.”
The analysts also touched on why fully completing your online profile matters. The study found that among financial professionals, fewer than 45% of LinkedIn profiles had a background photo and just over 75% of profiles had a summary. More than 52% of Facebook profiles lacked a description.
While it might not seem like a big deal, Leach said something as simple as a complete profile is the first step toward creating a memorable personal brand and building authenticity online.
“Another thing that can be overlooked is not just posting, but reacting to what other people say and responding to comments,” Leach said. “When we look at those very sophisticated users, they’re using direct messaging. They’re responding to comments. So they’re not just growing their network. They’re increasing the depth of the interactions through social as well, and that is like the super power that takes a while to develop.
“Get the conversation going. This is social selling, it’s not social posting. And selling doesn’t happen unless you’re in a conversation.”