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Five Ways to Grow Your Social Media Followers

Engagement is key to social media marketing success. But if you don’t grow your followers, who will you engage with? Keep reading to learn how to grow and engage your followers.

With each new follower of connection you earn, that’s one more person getting to know you and your brand.

- Sarah LeBlanc

If a tweet falls in the forest, and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? Participation on social media is critical to success, but without a following, the impact is limited.

How do I grow my followers?

In an effort to answer this common conundrum, here are five tips to help you build an audience:

1.    Invite your clients

One of the primary purposes of a financial advisor’s social media presence is to continuously engage with current clients. This creates top-of-mind awareness to aid with retention and inspire more referrals.

Search for your clients on the social media sites you’re using for business and invite them to connect. Not sure which sites they use? Ask them in a survey or during in-person meetings.

Pro tip: LinkedIn allows you to sync your contacts to quickly grow your network. Look for this feature under “My Network.” Click “Contacts” on the left sidebar, and then “Manage Synced Contacts.”

2.    Follow others

  • Social media is a two-way street. To get love, you’ve got to give a little. On Twitter, follow key individuals you’d want to have following you back. Here are a few categories to consider:
  • Influential members of the local or national media, and journalists who write about the financial services industry
  • Community leaders (e.g. professionals who sit on boards, or run charitable organizations in your area)
  • Centers of influence, such as CPAs and attorneys
  • C-suite executives at local companies

3.    Use hashtags

All social media sites employ hashtags to group similar posts together into a conversation. By including strategic hashtags in your posts, you’re giving your content more opportunity to get discovered by people interested in the topics you’re posting about, which can lead to new followers. Sample hashtags might include financial topics, trending content, or timely news. Here are a few examples: #retirementplanning, #estateplanning, #WednesdayWisdom, #Brexit

  • A few best practices:
  • Include no more than five hashtags in your LinkedIn and Facebook posts, and no more than three on Twitter
  • Research hashtags before you use them to get a sense of how popular they are and what other people are saying about these topics to ensure it’s a conversation you want to be part of for your practice
  • Pay attention to which hashtags earn the most engagement and new followers when implemented, and incorporate them more often

4.    Add icons to your email signature

Reminding your email recipients about your social media presence can inspire them to follow you while they’re already on their computer or mobile device, and just one click away from your profiles. Need help adding them to your Outlook signature? Use these instructions from Microsoft Office.

5.    Socialize your presence

Hosting a seminar or client appreciation event? When giving your remarks to the crowd, mention your social media presence.  Better yet, take out your phone and hold it up high. Ask your guests, “Who has Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?” And invite them to follow you right then and there. Are there prospects in attendance? Even better!

Remember—growing a meaningful following takes time, so be patient. With each new follower or connection you earn, that’s one more person getting to know you and your brand. Now when you share valuable, interesting content, their engagement will spread awareness to new audiences and generate more opportunity to grow your business.

Find out more about financial advisor marketing strategies from LPL marketing consultants.

If you're already an LPL Financial advisor, get exclusive marketing, branding, and social media marketing tools and trainings on the Resource Center.

You should consult your compliance department for information about the rules and use of social media.
 

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Sarah provides custom marketing and social media consultations for LPL Finanical advisors and investment programs. In this role, she consults with and supports clients in effectively marketing their business in today's increasingly competitive environment. View full bio.