When you’re an IFA trying to settle on a financial marketing strategy, it’s easy to feel lost when it comes to social media.
Social media isn’t static. Facebook, Twitter and other social networks constantly evolve and develop. Moreover, new social networks seem to spring up all the time.
Do you set up a Facebook account, or should you focus on Pinterest? What about Google+, or Twitter? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the thought of managing them all.
In this article, we’re going to flesh out the differences between the main social media platforms. After reading this, you should have a better grasp of which social media networks you should focus on within your financial marketing strategy.
1. Twitter
One of the defining traits of Twitter is how concise, fast-paced, and “in-the-moment” it is. Over 175m tweets are produced every day, with each one condensed into a 140-character post. As a result, to market your IFA successfully on Twitter you need to be able to post quality, enticing content on a regular basis that will stop readers in their tracks as they scroll down their newsfeeds.
Quotes, questions and statistics are popular forms of content on Twitter. Also are gifs, polls, photos and short videos. Twitter is a great way to quickly share your thoughts, drive traffic to your website, and build relationships with your followers.
If you decide to include Twitter in your financial marketing strategy, make sure that you use hashtags (#) in your posts, and in your profile bio. This will help you reach a wider audience, and helps ensure that your posts are more likely to appear in relevant search results.
2. Facebook
Facebook boasts nearly 2 billion users, and is unarguably one of the most widely-used social platforms out there. It’s a great place to share general news, updates and photos related to your business with people who “like” your IFA business page.
To be successful in your marketing on Facebook, you need to build a strong following and engage them with interesting, relevant posts. These updates need to encourage people to comment on, “like” and share your content so that they reach a wider audience, and therefore reach more potential clients who are connected to these engaged users.
3. Google+
Google introduced Google+ in order to get into the social media game. In a similar fashion to Facebook, Google+ gives you a platform through which to post videos, updates, gain followers, and receive reviews. You also have the ability to create “circles”, which are segmented lists of followers who only receive the content you want them to see.
Most digital marketers would agree that Google+ isn’t as popular as other social networks. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that lots of people still use it to connect with businesses online. In addition, Google still gives extra weight to brands in relevant, Google search results when they have a Google+ presence.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is often called “Facebook for Professionals.” It’s often used as a kind of online CV, where users can showcase their career experience on their profiles, as well as their professional opinions and thoughts.
LinkedIn should be seriously considered as a part of your financial marketing strategy if you’re looking to establish your brand as an industry authority or thought leader within a professional social sphere.
5. YouTube
After Google, YouTube is arguably the second-most important search engine on the internet. It’s a great way to share videos that show off your company, share company updates, engage subscribers, whilst showing the more human side of your brand.
Videos are often seen as more engaging and shareable than simple text. Google also gives priority to YouTube videos in search results since the company bought the platform in 2006, so that’s another reason to think about including it in your financial marketing strategy!
6. Pinterest
Pinterest is quite different from the other social media networks. This isn’t really a platform where content is posted for your audience to read. Rather, your business posts an image that can be clicked on, and which includes a small caption. It’s very useful for brands which tangible products such as food, clothing and furniture.
