It’s no secret that social media has well and truly taken off in the last decade. As of November 2017, there were over 3 billion active users on social media¹.
Today, social media is about much more than just connecting with friends and family, sharing a picture of your brunch or posting a selfie. It has become a core marketing channel. According to the Sensis Social Media report, 47% of small to medium business and 60% of large businesses in Australia have a social media presence².
Social media allows businesses to expand their reach further than traditional methods, helps to improve customer service and has also increased variation in market offerings.
So, if you do decide to go down the social media rabbit hole, which platforms are best utilised by financial advice firms?Facebook will allow you to connect with your clients in real-time. It enables fast customer interaction, which in turn will grow your brand awareness and ensure that you further your reach.
Facebook is a great channel to help humanise your business. It allows you to be personally connected with you audience and makes one-on-one interaction more viable.
LinkedIn is the best social media channel for B2B marketing. It enables you to connect with your peers and create professional relationships with people in your network.
In the financial services industry, Twitter is an extremely effective method of communication. You can post quick short messages which your audience is able to read in real time. Twitter also allows you to reach a wider audience faster thanks to the way the platform uses hashtags.
YouTube
Many organisations are now utilising YouTube to leverage their brand and create brand awareness. They are starting to understand the power of visible video content to convey their message in a fun and interactive way.
If you’re looking for inspiration on what to do on social media, here are how the big names in finance are using social media well:American Express
American Express’ YouTube channel is full of engaging, entertaining and informative content. They use their channel to humanise their brand. The channel is full of content that always gets the message across, but it’s often more about entertaining and engaging the audience’s lifestyle.
Their YouTube channel includes different sections such as Epic Everyday – including recipes and arts and craft activities all the way through to Small Business Saturday, which showcases the importance of small businesses.
Citibank
In 2012, Citibank and LinkedIn launched an online forum connecting professional females, Connect: Professional Women’s Network. The group of over 450,000 connects women in the finance industry to participate in discussions , build professional networks and share workplace best practises.
By creating this forum, Citibank is able to engage with their audience in a personable and more in-depth way.
Mastercard
Mastercard uses Facebook to raise awareness of their brand and promote themselves through different campaigns. For 19 days in December 2016, Mastercard used a unique Canvas to help position their new Priceless Journeys concept.
They used a 360-degree video recording of the New York City Skyscrapers, allowing their audience to view the city from different angles. They also created short seven second ads covering New York’s famous eating, shopping and arts districts. Facebook allowed Mastercard to segment their audience into people aged 18 and older in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico who were interested in travel, shopping and arts.
By doing so, Mastercard reached over 70% of their audience³ and encouraged them to take a ‘Priceless Journey’.
Starting out may be hard, but here are a few tips on the best way to start:- Decide on a strategy that works best for your organisation
- Find and segment your audience
- Create relevant content
- Participate in conversations and engage with your audience one on one
- Measure results and refine your strategy
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¹ "Marketing: 105 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts", Brandwatch
² "Sensis Social Media Report 2017", Sensis
³ "Social Media Mastercard Campaign", Facebook
