Mastering Social Media

Mind your etiquette and attitude. As in any community, there are dos and don’ts when it comes to general etiquette. On LinkedIn, as an example, Gregory recommends reaching out first to the people you know best. “The interesting thing about social media is it’s a give-to-get environment,” he says. “If you come at it with a what-am-I-going-to-take-away-from-this attitude, you are already behind the curve.”

Instead, think in terms of what you can add to the dialogue or the relationships you have. Build a “golden Rolodex” as a way of making yourself more valuable to your contacts and connections. Your Rolodex might include a wedding planner, divorce attorney, local tennis pro, top leasing agent at the Lexus dealership — whoever serves your audience. “Human connections are where these relationships get cemented,” Gregory contends. A cautionary note: Don’t send generic invitations to connect. It can make you look like you’re “shotgunning” everyone. Instead, he suggests, take 10 seconds and remove the doubt by writing something like: “I found you on LinkedIn. Let’s catch up.”

Protect your online reputation. You want your online reputation to match your offline one. Therefore, it’s critical to develop a strong and positive online presence. “The fact of the matter is people will Google you and having a social media presence boosts your credibility online,” observes Marie Swift, president and CEO of Impact Communications in Leawood, Kan.

Also, if someone is badmouthing you on a public discussion board, you want to be the first to know it. Swift suggests using Google Alerts or SocialMention.com, services that will alert you when your name is mentioned on the Web. Your options if you do find out someone is defaming you online: ask the discussion board host to remove the offending comments, file a defamation suit or drown out the negative with a positive such as a search engine optimized press release that salutes your accomplishments and thought leadership.

Two tips from Sammons: (1) Stay away from social media sites when you are feeling emotional. “Intelligence goes down when emotions are high,” she says. (2) Avoid jumping into discussions involving politics or religion.

Keep it compliant. The SEC’s sweeps early this year of social media use by advisors put compliance on center stage but experts say you can steer clear of trouble by paying attention to the basics. For starters, don’t accept recommendations on LinkedIn. They are considered testimonials, a no-no. In fact, Bockius says, you can disable the “Like” or “Recommendations” functions with a software solution. Any “advertisement,” such as your profile, must be pre-reviewed by your compliance department. Everything else must be post-reviewed, an archiving function typically handled by software provided by your broker/dealer. Also: Don’t use words like “guarantee” or “risk” in your posts and never promote products or investment strategies.

Build a blog. If you have the time and talent, blogging is a terrific tool for building your online thought leadership, according to Sammons. “Websites are static. They sit there and often don’t get traffic,” she says. “A blog puts you in the midst of social networking. It allows you to be visible and valuable to your niche market.” A blog can involve mixed media: video, text, audio, images — whatever the advisor is comfortable with. And once you write a post, you can take the link and distribute it for extra mileage on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Sammons recommends spending at least one hour a week blogging. “It doesn’t have to be a 1,000 word article but a 250-word insight here or commentary on a news item there.” The more you blog, she says, the better the result. The ultimate goal: a blog that will draw people to your website — and to you. For a look at successful financial advisor bloggers, Sammons suggests checking out blog.bradpine.com, womenmoneyanddivorce.com, blog.froehlichfinancial.com and ofindependentmeans.com.

Use your time wisely. As Swift bluntly puts it, social media can be a “time suck.” But there are some easy fixes. HootSuite, a social media dashboard, allows you to get feeds from your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts all in one view. Instead of visiting each website, you work from a single interface. Swift also likes the Friday morning peer-to-peer social media discussion board on Twitter hosted by linkedFA, the social networking site for financial professionals. “It’s very useful, a great way to see what other advisors are doing,” she says.

Also, Swift recommends hiring a ghost tweeter or ghost blogger. “Writing is writing. Get someone who can write in your voice. The most important thing is voice and message,” she adds. “The rest can be learned.” Video, audio and podcasts are other digital assets that don’t take up a lot of time. Still, a successful use of social media does require time. How much? Swift says it’s important to use your social networks daily and to mix up the content at each one of them. “You know you’re doing it right when people start to engage with you on whatever the medium is,” she adds. “If it’s not building real connections, it’s a waste of your time.”

Nurture your networks. The bottom line: Use it or lose it. “You really have to show up,” according to Kristen Luke, principal of San Diego-based Wealth Management Marketing. “You can’t be a member of an organization and expect to build business and not go to the meetings. This represents a progression of technology and the way we communicate. This medium is here to stay.”

Gregory’s advice? “You’ve got to be in it to win it.” Don’t create a profile on LinkedIn and let it atrophy. Search among your online connections for life events that are money-in-motion triggers: a job change, a relocation, a retirement, a promotion. “It’s not like you’re dumpster driving in their trash. They’re putting it out there,” he says. “The smart people are using the information that crosses their screen every day to reach out to people and to recognize windows of opportunity while they are open, or even before they open.” Or combine it with traditional methods. Identify prospects in the business pages of your local newspaper and plug their names into LinkedIn to see if a connection path exists. In all likelihood, he says, it will. “It’s incredibly powerful,” he adds. “Frankly it’s jaw-dropping.”