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How to Use COI for your Marketing Strategy

Networking is one of the most beneficial ways to grow your financial practice and your center of influence (COI). Learn the ways you can grow both.

Leveraging COI’s is another avenue to build, create and maintain relationships to help your business grow.

- Mattie Boone

As a financial advisor, networking is one of the most beneficial ways to grow your practice, and one way to have a great network is to have centers of influence, or COI for short.

What Is a Center of Influence?

Centers of influence are well-connected people or groups that can enhance your credibility through referrals, testimonials, and word-of-mouth. A strong partnership with a center of influence allows both of you to expand your networks, grow business, deepen existing client relationships, and continue gaining momentum.

COI’s are important to establish because they allow you to strengthen and expand connections to clients and prospects in your area. A center of influence in an area holds trust within that community, and when you gain the confidence of a COI, your network could multiply.

Ideally, you should be in the network of several centers of influence to enhance your marketing outreach.

Who Should You Choose?

Think of your ideal client persona. Now think of those professionals in the community who are interacting with your ideal client on a regular basis.

Types of centers of influence for financial advisors can include:

  • Accountants
  • Real estate agents
  • Bankers
  • Life coaches and personal trainers.
  • Attorneys
  • Insurance Agents

How Can You Gain Centers of Influence?

Leveraging COI’s is another avenue to build, create and maintain relationships to help your financial business grow. To grasp if a person or organization is a good COI for you, make sure their brand is one you would want aligning with your brand. Take a look at their mission statement, does it align with your own goals and beliefs? What is their role in the community? Can they help benefit your practice? Are they trustworthy or easy to work with? All important questions when finding a COI for you.

You could also connect with them on Social media. They are able to see you and your brand, which will allow this person or group to recognize who you are, what you do, and some of your mission. To take that a step further you can tag your COI in your social media posts, once you have established a connection. Tagging partners will show that content to their followers as well and get more traffic on your page.

When you connect with someone on social media, it’s like the new version of a handshake or opening the door to your office. What your connections on social media see from the moment they connect with you is what your brand stands for and who you are, or, at least what your share on social media about you.

This is why it’s important to use social media to connect with influencers in your community. Consistent interaction between both parties will strengthen the influence they will have on your brand and help build trust for clients, it will also get them to recognize who you are. It’s a good idea to interact with their content as well, even participating in in person events like holiday parties or monthly client events.

How Can You Maintain Strong Relationships with Centers of Influence?

Marketing doesn’t always have to be virtual. It’s great to meet through events, no matter how big or small. When seminars or client events are coming up, invite thought leaders — the centers of influence in your community.

You could try pairing up with CPAs or local attorneys, because they are working with people who could connect you with new centers of influence.

Follow-up conversations are one of the most impactful/useful piece of prospecting that you could possibly do. Whether it’s through email, a handwritten card, or a phone call, you should be following up to nurture those relationships.

You can also check out LPL Financial's tools and resources for client-facing material ready for you to use on social media pages, emails, and websites.

Questions and Consultations

If you have questions or would like to schedule a one-on-one consultation, or if you’d like to subscribe and receive email alerts when new articles become available, contact LPL Marketing Consulting at (800) 877-7210, Option 9, Option 5, Option 1, or email Marketing Consulting.

If you’re interested in a digital marketing strategy that is executed on your behalf, please visit LPL Business Solutions Discover Marketing to complete the form, and a member of their team will be in touch with you directly.

Consult your compliance department for information about the rules and use of social media and the review of all advisor marketing materials.

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Mattie helps to guide advisors and administrators on how to easily and effectively market their practice, and ensure that the goals and integrity of the practice is maintained. View full bio.