PLANADVISER - January/February 2020 - 39

" dig into prospective clients and
get a pulse on their decisionmakers
and more, " Sheppard says. " You can
go only so far on a client's website
toward understanding who is the
leadership of a given company-who
is making the big benefit decisions. "
Griffin and Sheppard agree that,
with some clients, social networking
platforms exceed the efficacy of
email messaging, which can at times
feel like noise due to oversaturation.
" As you work on your social media
outreach, you will often find you have
a second- or third-level connection
with any given prospective client, "
Sheppard observes. " When I see that
we have mutual connections, I don't
hesitate to pick up the phone and ask
our existing clients for more information
or even to make a connection.
People are happy to do this. "
Building Connections
David Kulchar, managing director,
retirement plan services, with Oswald
Financial, in Cleveland, emphasizes
the importance of networking-not
only with existing and prospective
clients but also with peers, service
provider partners and even competitors.
To this end, his firm has built
a dynamic database of cross-referenced
centers of influence in the
firm's geography.
" Over time, we get to know every
Know Your Audience
LEAD-GENERATION and marketing-automation firm Snappy Kraken LLC recently
conducted, and published, an analysis of financial advisers' 2019 and 2020 socialmedia-marketing
strategies: " The State of Digital Marketing Financial Adviser
Online Marketing Report and Benchmarking Study. "
Robert Sofia, CEO of Snappy Kraken, in Palm Coast, Florida, says the analysis
considers more than 9 million data points and asks which strategies most inspire
prospects and clients to take action after viewing social media content. The
report also enumerates some critical marketing mistakes for advisers to avoid.
Snappy Kraken finds that the heaviest concentration of click-through traffic
reaching landing pages occurs on Tuesdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and on
Thursdays between 10 a.m. and noon. One takeaway is that a Monday afternoon
or Thursday morning is a good time to send an email blast or launch a new
campaign on social media. And because traffic is split across desktop (35.8%),
tablet (11.9%) and mobile (52.3%) devices, it makes sense to optimize emails,
social posts, ads and landing pages for a variety of screen types and browsers.
The report recommends that advisers consider supplanting their organic
social media reach with paid advertising. Social platforms have made this easier
than ever, and there are many step-by-step guides available, Sofia says. Also
important, when advertising online, advisers should make sure their ads or posts
point back to a simplified landing page that is focused on conversion; this is more
effective than linking to a website home page, which is unlikely to convert well. A
" conversion " happens when a landing page visitor provides his contact information
in exchange for something offered such as a PDF download, 15-minute phone
consultation or other item of value.
" Prospects can require several interactions before they convert, " Sofia
explains. " Rather than blasting random or disconnected pieces of content, use
properly timed, multi-step campaigns coordinated around a single theme to
gradually nurture people toward the desired outcome. "
Another takeaway from the report is that social-media or email-content
service provider partner our clients
have, and we populate a customized
database accordingly, built on RedTail
technology, " Kulchar says. " We have
built the system so that we can dig in
and cross-reference these centers of influence, to get a really
clear picture of who in the network knows each other and
in what capacities. For advisers thinking about growing their
referrals, that's where I would start, with a database. "
Kulchar also notes how his firm works with many
nonprofit clients. He has found it useful to get to know
their boards of directors, and to establish a rapport with
entities such as the Better Business Bureau. The effects
of such networking are cumulative and subtle, becoming
powerful over time.
Indeed, Sheppard says social media connections rarely
lead to immediate investment from new clients, but that
misses the point.
" Off the top of my head, I can't pinpoint whether a
single specific connection from a referral through LinkedIn
resulted in a direct sale, " Sheppard says. " Making social
quality is important, but appealing headlines and subject lines are the only way
to get a prospect or client to engage in the first place. As Sofia points out, what
performs best for emails and social media posts are thought-provoking subject
lines that arouse curiosity. On platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn especially,
posts perform best when accompanied by a high-quality graphic-design image
with text overlay corresponding to the content or campaign. -JM
media connections is more about building your understanding
of the network and cultivating relationships. From
there, once you become known to a potential client, you
then have the chance to enter into the whole sales pipeline.
Right now, I can think of 10 prospective clients we've been
getting to know over several years where LinkedIn absolutely
helped to drive that initial contact. "
He adds that this social media network is partly why
his firm can thrive without having to do the kind of blind,
cold call outreach that was once common in this industry.
" We don't have a young adviser making cold calls, " he says.
" Those days are well behind us. We don't use any sort of lead
services or call people to scare them about plan compliance.
That doesn't get you anywhere in 2020. We gain our new
clients through warm referrals, and many of these involve
making digital connections. " -John Manganaro
planadviser.com January-February 2020 | 39

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