The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors: How to Use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to Build and Grow Your Business

Praise for The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors

"Matt Halloran and Crystal Thies have written the preeminent book for advisors looking to leverage social media. This is a must–read for each and every financial advisor that wants to grow their business in the 21st Century."
Matt Ackermann, Online Editor in Chief, SourceMedia

"A social media ′turn–on.′ The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors is not the typical guide to social media with a staggering number of tedious pages to wade through and sold by the pound. Crystal Thies and Matt Halloran have created an easy–to–read, informative resource filled with setup for beginners, proper guidance for everyone, and real–world examples that will help every independent financial advisor looking to benefit from using social media both those just starting and those knee–deep. Not a social media inhibitor but a motivator to fully implement LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter into your advisory practice."
Barry A. Weinstein, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Advisor Products Inc.

"I have worked with Matt Halloran for years, and his enthusiasm for helping others to succeed knows no bounds. Here he takes a topic, social media, that most financial advisors regard with a mix of fear, loathing, and misperception, and makes it approachable. Any FA even remotely curious about the power of this tool, be it for raising visibility, communicating with clients, prospective clients, peers, or the media, will appreciate this book."
Jason Lahita, MBA, Director, Cognito Los Angeles

"Financial advisors seeking a comprehensive strategy on how to increase exposure through social media need this book. Crystal′s command of the topic is second to none and her specific strategies showcased here work; I′ve used them."
Ned Van Riper, cofounder, JoinaFirm.com

Foreword xiii

A Perspective on Social Media xvii

Introduction xxiii

PART I: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA

CHAPTER 1 Compliance 3
Crystal Thies

Compliance and FINRA Licensed Advisors 4

Compliance and SEC Licensed Advisors 6

What Should I Do if I m Not Allowed to Use Social Media? 8

How Does This Work? 9

Final Thoughts 11

CHAPTER 2 Creating Rapport Online 13
Matt Halloran and Crystal Thies

The Three Cs 13

Final Thoughts 23

CHAPTER 3 Lessons Learned from Social Media 25
Matt Halloran and Crystal Thies

Lesson #1: People Can Only See Words 26

Lesson #2: Social Media is More About Listening 27

Lesson #3: To Be Successful, You Must Be A Social Media Giver 28

Lesson #4: Keep Sales Messaging to a Minimum 29

Final Thoughts 30

CHAPTER 4 Give Something for Nothing 31
Matt Halloran

Internet Resources 31

Final Thoughts 35

CHAPTER 5 The Disciplined Approach 37
Matthew Halloran and Crystal Thies

Streamlining Use of Social Media 37

Managing Time 39

Social Media Dashboards 43

Final Thoughts 46

PART II: TWITTER

CHAPTER 6 Why Twitter? 49
Matthew Halloran

Texting and Tweeting 50

Setting Up Your Account 51

Final Thoughts 63

CHAPTER 7 Marketing on Twitter 65
Matthew Halloran

Regulations and Restrictions 65

Twellow 66

Two Recommended Tools 70

Unfollowing and Blocking 75

Tweet Scheduler and TweetDeck 77

Self–Marketing Tweets 78

Final Thoughts 79

CHAPTER 8 Getting Leads from Twitter 81
Matthew Halloran

Twitter: A Driving Force 81

Final Thoughts 86

CHAPTER 9 Public Relations on Twitter 87
Matthew Halloran

Tweet Grader 88

Muck Rack 88

Making News through Twitter 89

Final Thoughts 90

PART III: FACEBOOK

CHAPTER 10 Why Facebook? 93
Matthew Halloran

Statistics 93

Building Your Page 95

Working with Your Home Page 101

How Control Settings Help Your Marketing Plan 104

The Power of Advertisements! 107

The Facebook Fan Page 108

The Company Page 111

Timeline 116

Final Thoughts 118

CHAPTER 11 How to Advertise on Facebook 119
Matthew Halloran

Facebook Insights 119

Advertising on Facebook 120

Final Thoughts 132

CHAPTER 12 Facebook Applications and Tools 133
Matthew Halloran

Advanced Facebook Applications 133

Video Apps 135

Creating Events 139

More Facebook Apps 143

Final Thoughts 144

CHAPTER 13 Public Relations on Facebook 145
Matthew Halloran

Making Use of the Groups Platform 145

Be Proactive 148

Final Thoughts 150

PART IV: LINKEDIN

CHAPTER 14 Why LinkedIn? 153
Crystal Thies

You Can Control Referrals 153

LinkedIn Members Are More Affluent 154

Financial Advisors Are Having Success With LinkedIn 156

Final Thoughts 157

CHAPTER 15 Setting Up Your LinkedIn Account 159
Crystal Thies

Joining LinkedIn 159

Final Thoughts 164

CHAPTER 16 Building an Effective LinkedIn Profile 167
Crystal Thies

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 169

Experience 172

Education 176

Adding Certifications, Designations, and Licenses 178

Name 180

Industry and Location 184

Headline 186

Photo 187

Websites 190

Twitter 192

Summary 193

Recommendations 196

Additional Information 200

Personal Information 200

Skills & Expertise 201

Special Sections 203

Applications 209

Final Thoughts 216

CHAPTER 17 Building Your LinkedIn Network to Create a Self–Referral Machine 219
Crystal Thies

Networking Philosophy 219

Who Should Be in Your Network? 220

Adding Connections 220

Sending Individual Invitations to Connect 225

Final Thoughts 227

CHAPTER 18 Finding Prospects Using LinkedIn: Creating Your Self–Referral Machine 229
Crystal Thies

The LinkedIn Advanced Search: Free versus Premium 229

Developing Good Searches 231

Finding 401(k) Rollover Opportunities 232

Small Business Owner Search 235

Connecting with the Prospects 239

Final Thoughts 240

CHAPTER 19 Using LinkedIn Groups for Visibility and Prospecting 241
Crystal Thies

The Opportunity in LinkedIn Groups 241

Two Types of Groups Open and Closed 242

Choosing the Right Groups 242

Salesperson Groups 244

Searching for Groups 244

Posting in Groups 247

Joining Others Conversations 248

Connecting with Group Members 250

Final Thoughts 251

CHAPTER 20 Gaining Visibility on LinkedIn 253
Crystal Thies

Working the News Feed 253

Company Status Updates 255

LinkedIn Polls 257

LinkedIn Events 261

Final Thoughts 264

PART V: NEXT STEPS

CHAPTER 21 The Future of Social Media 267
Crystal Thies

There s Much More than the Big Three 267

Staying Up To Date 268

About the Authors 269

Index 271

Matthew Halloran first became interested in social media when Myspace was the place to be. With over 80,000 Twitter followers with a 99 percent effectiveness rating, 1,000 LinkedIn connections, and 700 Facebook fans, he knows how to gain followers to help build business. Having coached and consulted hundreds and spoken to thousands of financial advisors, Halloran knows how financial advising practices work, and believes that social media is the new marketing frontier for transforming the prospecting aspect of any financial services practice. He is the Director of National Development for GIVE Strategy, a mission–driven company that focuses on helping connect financial advisors, CPAs, estate planning attorneys, clients, and planned giving directors to redirect $1 billion to charity, and the founder and President of Top Advisor Coaching.

CRYSTAL THIES first learned of LinkedIn while deciding to return to financial planning, an industry she left for almost a decade to focus on charitable giving in the nonprofit sector. Thies saw LinkedIn and social media as the way to quickly reignite her financial planning practice while combining her two key knowledge bases of financial planning and charitable giving. The call of social media won out, and Thies started Crystal Clear Buzz, LLC. For more than three years, she has helped small and large businesses, sales teams, and sales professionals use social media for sales and business development. Because of her experience and expertise as a licensed financial planner, Thies′s clients include many RIAs and financial advisors, in addition to major broker–dealers, wirehouses, and banks. Thies is known as the "LinkedIn Ninja" a title given to her by her clients and followers.