The digital world is constantly evolving and navigating it presents a challenge for financial professionals. Advisors are asking themselves, how can we stand out amongst others? How can we humanize ourselves on digital platforms? How can we deepen our relationship digitally with clients? How can we incorporate AI and other emerging technology to our benefit?

At SIFMA’s 2024 Social Media & Digital Marketing Seminar, we uncovered some key findings on how financial professionals can set and achieve goals to stand out in a digital landscape. Marketing and communications experts, compliance professionals, financial advisors, and leading names in technology, social media, and regulatory bodies gathered to explore innovative opportunities to engage clients, including the latest tips, trends, research, and case studies.

Three key takeaways arose from our far-ranging discussions:

1. Custom content is the best way to go, especially when it’s educational.
2. Take advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
3. LinkedIn continues to be the platform of choice for financial professionals.

Custom content is the best way to go, especially when it’s educational

Custom content is original and authentic content that financial advisors create on their own. Leslie Leach cited findings from Hearsay’s forthcoming “7th Social Selling Content Study” which found that custom posts perform the best and get 10 times more engagement than corporate-provided posts. When advisors create original content, it humanizes their digital brand. “It’s about humans and this humanizes advisors and bankers,” says Matt Repking of LinkedIn.

This is particularly true for content that promotes less and educates more. Educational content helps investors and can be an extremely useful tool to attract new clients. “If we are being helpful, and we’re showing our expertise over time, then we’re top of mind when the time comes, and we already have that credibility when the consumer is ready to reach out and get some help,” explains Leach.

“Educational content helps you build a better brand, helps you build deeper relationships with customers, and ultimately can bring you more assets under management,” says Owen Donley, Chief Counsel, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, SEC. “So, it’s win-win.”

Another key finding was that video content has increased 287% across all lines of business between 2019 and 2023. “Video is the most powerful means of communication, and your advisors have access to many different options,” says Joseph DeRoss, Executive Director, Head of Field Marketing, Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley.

Even though just plain message posts had the highest engagement rates, video continues to be the most used. “I think video will continue to be dominant for top of the funnel,” says Kevin Darlington, Vice President and General Manager, Broadridge Advisor Solutions. This format allows the advisor to tell clients the story behind who they are. It can help financial advisors be more personal and deepen relationships with clients or prospective clients.

Take advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools

It can be difficult when creating custom content from scratch – and that’s where AI should come in!

Advisors should be actively encouraged to take advantage of AI tools. AI can start drafts for video scripts, storyboarding, blog ideas, social media prompts, and many other things. It cuts down the time it takes to produce content and therefore makes the marketing process for advisors more efficient. It also can help them create compliant content. Advisors should start to incorporate and exploit this technology to their benefit.

Whether advisors realize it or not, their digital advertising already uses AI. “The AI has gotten incredibly powerful in terms of being able to put the right message in front of the right consumer at the right time,” says Darlington. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn have algorithms that have gotten incredibly good at getting the message to the right audience, and this has really helped advisors with top-of-the-funnel advertising which is all about creating awareness. AI also has the potential to help advisors manage more business while maintaining strong relationships with clients. The “winners,” says Darlington, will be those advisors that “can manage larger and larger books of business and still make their client feel like they’re the only client.”

LinkedIn continues to be the platform of choice for financial professionals

After a sea change in recent years, LinkedIn continues to be the primary social platform that advisors use and attest to the most success. “51% of all posting for our industry is happening on LinkedIn, followed by Facebook, at 40%,” says Leach.

LinkedIn has a high level of perceived trust. This is where prospective clients do their homework on financial advisors, so it’s important to be active, consistent and thoughtful with posting. “They tell us that they do their homework on advisors,” says Repking. “They tell us that they access your thought leadership and research. They tell us that they want higher touch experiences and part of a higher touch experience is actually you being on platforms like LinkedIn.”

With millennials being the largest demographic on the platform, LinkedIn presents an important opportunity to target the next generation of wealth. Millennials are 124% more likely to share information on LinkedIn, giving advisors the ability to learn more about prospective and existing clients and helping them to build better relationships. “Biggest demographic cohort: millennials. So, what does that tell us? It tells us actually that there’s opportunity for you to grow relationships with these folks, but also grow their value over time” says Repking.

Another key advantage of the platform for advisors is that its users are high-income earners.

Drew Morin, Senior Financial Advisor with D.A. Davidson shares what he believes are the top three benefits of using LinkedIn:

1. A continually growing network
2. Increased awareness
3. Glorified drip-marketing campaign

LinkedIn offers a variety of tools that advisors can use to their advantage: searching for individuals in a target market, facilitating cold outreach, reigniting past connections, and extending invites to webinars and events. “That’s actually where I gained the most clients from LinkedIn,” attests Morin, “using it as a way to communicate with people about events that I was hosting.”

Check out these #SIFMAsocial posts on LinkedIn:

• Drew Morin on outstanding advisors who are doing some amazing things in their practices
• Karen Coyne on surmounting the challenges to using social media
• Susan Theder on top takeaways from her pages of notes and perspective as a CMO

A huge thank you to all of our participants, speakers, and sponsors – FMG, Yext, Hearsay, SOCi, Denim Social by Capacity, and Smarsh. It is always our pleasure to gather this exceptional group of professionals. To keep up to date with us and the latest news and trends in wealth management, sign-up for SIFMA SmartBrief: Wealth Management Edition.

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Melissa MacGregor is Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for SIFMA.

John Maurello is Managing Director, Private Client Services for SIFMA.

Related Resources

• Event

  Social Media & Digital Marketing Seminar

• Committee

  Private Client & Wealth Management