Social Media Use By Older Americans Has Nearly Tripled Since 2009

How are the older generations using social media?

According to the 2014 Facebook Demographics Report, the biggest population growth for the platform came from the 55+ age group. And, it’s no surprise. Facebook has opened the doors for every age group to connect with friends and family, as well as keeping them in the loop on news and world events.

LinkedIn is another popular social network for this generation, accounting for more than half of all overall users. Many of these users have embraced social media for the power it holds as they shift careers, pursue passions and get industry news.

YouTube attracts a surprising percentage of older users, with the largest percentage in the 45-54 age bracket, followed closely by those aged 55-64.

Twitter has the least number of older users with only 18% reporting to be over the age of 50. Seniors are using Twitter to find health information and follow news / literary publications.

As we know, social media is an easy way to stay connected and up to date on the latest happenings. Older generations report using social media mostly to connect with families, look for news and information, to play games online and to participate in contests. Not only are they highly engaged, they also have a 47 times the net worth of households 35 and older.

What does this mean for financial advisors?

Your 50+ clients and prospects are online and they are searching for news and helpful information! Social media is a great channel to engage with these people and position yourself as an expert. Talk to them, share helpful tips and recent news, and expand your reach.

Brand needs to understand how to market to senior citizens before all of the Boomers retire, because they are a demographic that will be more computer literate than any senior generation before.

The number of seniors who own cell phones has jumped a staggering 57% from 2010-2012 alone (Pew Internet). Because of this dramatic growth and the progression to adopt new technologies, we predict that social usage is bound to continue to grow even more in the coming years.

So, if your firm is using social media to prospect and connect with clients, keep up the good work! You will be noticed. If you have yet to jump on the social media bandwagon, now is the time. Your target audience is present and waiting.

The post How Older Generations (50+) Use Social Media appeared first on Amy Mac.

Managing Your Endorsements

First things first. In adhering to FINRA and SEC guidelines, you are able to have endorsements as long as they are not from a client or related to financial services and your ability to manage money.  (You will need to double-check with your own firm’s compliance policy, however, as some firms have restricted endorsements completely.)  You do have a lot more control over this feature than you may realize.

As an advisor you have a few options:

1. Turn endorsement viability completely off. 

–  Click the “Edit” button at the top of your profile.
–  Click the “Edit” link in the Skills & Expertise section.
–  In the upper-right-hand corner click on the drop-down menu next to the green check mark.
–  Select “No, do not show my endorsements.”
–  Click the “Save” button.

2. Hide endorsements for specific skills.

–  Click the “Edit” button at the top of your profile.
–  Click the “Edit” link in the Skills & Expertise section.
–  Click on the “Manage Endorsements” option above the text box.
–  Select the skill or skills you want hide.
–  In the box showing all your endorsements for that skill, un-check the first box that says, “Show all endorsements for this skill.”  If all the check marks next to the individual endorsements don’t automatically uncheck, go ahead and uncheck each endorsement.
–  Click the “Save” button.

3. Hide endorsements from specific people.

–  After clicking on the “Manage Endorsements” option, select the skill from which you want to hide endorsements from specific people.
–  In the box showing all your endorsements for that skill un-check each box next to the specific user’s endorsements you want to hide.
–  Click the “Save” button.

***Keep in mind, you will still continue to receive endorsements for this skill, so you will need to continuously manage which connections you want to show endorsements from.***

4. Add or delete skills

–  In the edit function of the Skills & Expertise section, add new skills by typing them in the text box.
–  Delete skills you do not want on your profile by clicking on the “X” next to the skill you want to delete.

What Do I Do With All These Endorsements?

LinkedIn has made it incredibly easy for connections to endorse one another’s skills by placing that big blue box at the top of everyone’s profile asking, “Does So-and-So have these skills or expertise?”  The convenience of endorsing a skill results in many endorsements for suggested skills that may not be an expertise of yours.  Or in the case of advisors, endorsements you simply cannot have.

Remember, when you do receive an endorsement you can always accept or decline it right off the bat by choosing the “Add to Profile” or “Skip” buttons.

When you receive an endorsement, relevant or not, you may be thinking, “Am I supposed to reciprocate?”  Not necessarily.  The general etiquette is to endorse a skill of a connection only if you can attest to that recommendation 100%.  Think quality, not quantity.

You can go one step further and make the endorsement an opportunity to build your relationship with an existing connection.  When you receive an endorsement, take the time to send him or her a personal message.  This adds value to an otherwise off-hand click of the mouse and creates the opening for a conversation.

David Gratke, a Principal for Gratke Wealth in Beaverton, Oregon, sent us this response he uses as an explanation for removing his connection’s endorsements:

Greetings ‘first name’,

I would like to thank you for your recent endorsement of our services here on LinkedIn. Thank you for the heart-felt appreciation of our work.

However, I will need to remove all my LI endorsements as the regulators forbid testimonials for investment advisors, and construe LI endorsements as such.

I would love to connect with you to learn more about your interests and needs with respect to my services you endorsed. I believe there are a number of ways we could help one another. Would you be free for a brief chat in the near future?

Looking forward to connecting soon.

Thanks, David

The general metaphor in the social media world is that LinkedIn endorsements are akin to the “like” button on Facebook.  They have the potential to turn into a lot of meaningless clutter, which could be harmful for advisors.  But, if you know how to manage these settings, you’ll be able to control the way endorsements add value to your business.  If you have any more questions about using LinkedIn endorsements as an advisor, don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Moore Communications Group

The post How to Manage LinkedIn Endorsements for Financial Advisors appeared first on Amy Mac.

While you can’t always expect this type of success using social media overnight, you can expect to increase your network, gain new clients, and grow your brand’s awareness in due time. Do you have your own social media success stories? We would love to hear them! New to the game? Let Moore Communications Group help get you started so you can write your own story.

(image source – www.learningDSLRVideo.com )

The post Why Advisors Need To Get Social: 3 Social Media Success Stories To Convince You appeared first on Amy Mac.

Have you been wondering if your target demographic is using social media?  Can you reach them?  Do they want to interact with a financial professional on social sites? The answer is YES!  Not only are more boomers, seniors, and affluent consumers using social media, they’re engaged and sharing information.  If you’re not on the social media bandwagon yet, you should be and here’s the evidence to prove it!

Your Target Demographic is Using Social Media

– Two thirds of American adults with an investment account have profiles on Facebook LinkedIn, or Twitter. (Crewnetworkhttp://bit.ly/11PgTiK)

– The 55-64 age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on Twitter. (Business Insider http://read.bi/1aXmSYN)

– More than half of investors over the age of 50 access Facebook regularly. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/15poLYO)

– 75% of Senior Corporate Executives watch videos on business sites every week.  65% go on to visit a vendor’s website after watching a video. (Earnest Agency http://bit.ly/PmMulV)

– 71% of advisors say their target clients are active on LinkedIn.(LinkedIn http://linkd.in/YaTQuf)

– 60% of boomers and 40% of seniors say watching online video on sites like YouTube has become an important part of their day.  75% of boomers and 68% of seniors report taking some sort of action after viewing a video. (Media Post http://bit.ly/1evgLrb)

– 41% of seniors were encouraged by an online video to share a link of the video to someone. (Media Post http://bit.ly/1evgLrb)

 Affluent Consumers are Using Social Media

– 70% of millionaires have profiles on one or more platforms. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/169b7I3)

– The average household income of a LinkedIn user is $109k. (Advisor Websites http://slidesha.re/bOu0Dz)

– The share of millionaires using social networking has doubled since 2010.  55% have Facebook profiles in 2013 compared to 26% in 2010. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/169b7I3)

– More than two-thirds of millionaires 47 and younger use LinkedIn. (Think Advisor http://bit.ly/15tWKOE)

– Of all working professionals, Senior Corporate Executives are the most active Twitter users.  45% check their accounts 2-5 times/day. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/175hSez)

– 98% of affluent social site users ($100,000-$1million) agree that Facebook is for social rather than professional interaction compared to Twitter (84%) and Linkedin (78%). Ultra-high net users ($5million +) are more likely to see LinkedIn as a social, rather than professional site over other income groups. (Think Advisorhttp://bit.ly/15tWKOE)

Social Media Users are Interacting with Financial Institutions

– 90% of affluent consumers ($100,000-$1million not including primary residence) use social media. 44% of these users engage with financial institutions specifically. (ClickZ http://bit.ly/12t9iCP)

– 54% of Ultra High Net Worth ($5million-$25 million not including private residence) investors between the ages of 55-64 use LinkedIn for financial communication and research. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/13Jndtr)

– 45% of Mass Affluence ($100,000-$1million not including primary residence) investors consider Facebook a source for investment and financial needs, while 42% would go first to LinkedIn. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/15poLYO)

– 63% of mass affluent consumers take action after using social media to learn about financial products and services. (Think Advisorhttp://bit.ly/1cgktcx)

– 45% of online US adults who have a Twitter account are interested in interacting with financial services firms via Twitter. (Social Media Governance http://bit.ly/eO5fki)

– Of the US consumers who opened a full-brokerage account last year,40% researched their choices online. (CrewNetworkhttp://bit.ly/11PgTiK)

– In 2012, 62% of advisors on LinkedIn were getting new clients.  (Think Advisor http://bit.ly/19QbpcC)

– Of that group, 32% used LinkedIn to bring in $1 million or more in assets under management. (LinkedIn http://linkd.in/YaTQuf)

– Slightly more than one-third of US online adult Twitter users agree with the statement, “I often recommend financial products and firms that I like to my friends and acquaintances,” compared with 21% of US online adults overall. (Social Media Governancehttp://bit.ly/eO5fki)

The evidence is staggering!  Social media is giving financial advisors access to a pool of affluent, potential customers in your target demographic.  Even more importantly, social sites are creating the context and platforms for financial conversations and information sharing to take place.  I’m not sure what’s more astonishing, the stats or the possibilities. Don’t get left behind, contact Moore Communications Group to get on board!

The post 20 Astonishing Social Media Statistics for Financial Advisors appeared first on Amy Mac.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “a scrapbooking site for financial services?”  Well, yes.  While Pinterest is generally known to cater towards woman looking to scout out recipes and crafts, this is a good thing!  It’s estimated that by 2019, females will make up 2/3 of America’s wealthy population.   Pinterest presents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with these potential clients on a very personal, and viral level.  So far this year, Pinterest has been the third most used social network in the U.S.  If this isn’t enough of a reason enough to consider adding Pinterest to your social media plan, here are some more facts that might change your mind: 

– “80 percent of Pinterest users are women, while 50 percent of all Pinterest users have children.”  Pinterest gives advisors access to this untapped market and their families.

– “28.1 percent of Pinterest users have an annual household income of $100,000.”  These users have assets to invest and manage.

– Over 1/5 of Facebook-connected users, more than 2 million members, are on Pinterest every day.  These users are connected, engaged in all social media platforms, and they have made it a part of their lifestyle.

– “Pinterest hit 10 million U.S. monthly unique visitors faster than any independent site in history.”  Pinterest is only going to continue to grow.  As it does so, businesses will figure out new ways to use this platform to their advantage.

– “25 percent of Fortune Global 100 companies have Pinterest accounts.” (http://huff.to/U5s8v0)  BNP Paribas has an extensive collection of pins with more than 600 followers: http://bit.ly/10wWeQ9.

So, now that you know a little more about Pinterest, here are some ways you can use the site for your financial business.

Get visual.  Infographs are a great way to share financial information that is also engaging to look at.

Share your interests. Pinterest allows users to connect to one another on a deeper level of shared hobbies, aspirations, and values. Consider pinning popular images that you also like.  Did you find a quote that you find inspiring?  Pin it and I’m sure others will agree.

Show the “ideal life” (or retirement).  Users pin pictures of the ideal lifestyle that they want to have.  Imagine you’re writing a story for your customer and using images from Pinterest and around the web to illustrate what their story looks like. 

Show your personality.  Share the inner-workings of your office.  Did someone bring in cookies for the staff?  Share it!  Does your business have a charity cause?  Have a board dedicated to literacy, animal rescue, or whatever it is that your business supports.

Use Pinterest for Business.  Just like Facebook, a business account allows you to tracks pins and usage with analytics.

The best way to get started with something new is just to dive in.  The more you start exploring and pinning, the more ideas and connections you will generate.  Pinterest will help you continue to grow your online presence, establish your brand, and you might even find something delicious to make for dinner along the way!

BY AMY MCILWAIN – JUNE 27, 2013

SOURCES: Huffington Post, AdvisorToday, ProducersWEB, Reuters

The post 5 Easy Steps to Start Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business appeared first on Amy Mac.

• Companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not.
• Businesses that blog at least 20 times per month generate 5X more traffic and 4X more leads than those that only blog a few times per month.
• About 46% of daily Internet users read more than one blog every day.

A recent study by the Spectrum Group found that nearly one-third of investors with a net worth of $5 million or more say they either read or would read blogs published by trusted financial advisors.  If that isn’t enough to get your full attention, let’s look at some of the benefits that indicate blog writing is just a logical choice for financial advisors:

Your Blog Will Distinguish You From The Competition
Let’s face it; consumers are doing online research to make an informed decision on just about anything, including financial advice.  Many financial websites are nothing more than boring templates that seem to provide little information other than advertising.  A blog allows you to actually speak to your prospects and current clients.  A blog with relevant and continual fresh content not only builds trust and credibility, but also it allows you to be just a little different by doing some important things your competition may not be doing.
Your Blog Will Increase Your SEO
A good financial blog could actually serve as the heart of your website.  By publishing content to your blog on a consistent basis, you can greatly improve your search rankings on the subject of financial planning.  Anytime you add text-rich pages to your website, you’re giving Google more content to index. More content means your website will show up for more searches. As the number of blog viewers increase, so does the possibility of having more visitors to your website and hopefully more phone calls.  Want your site to show up in specific searches, use the topics and tag feature of your blog to select specific terms that potential clients would be searching for.  ”401(k) rollover” anyone?  Or how about “Wealth Transfer Investing”?  Wouldn’t you like those people finding you?
Your Blog Can Be A Source Of Referral
Most people make buying or investment decisions based on trust.  Consumers are tired of advertising and want to conduct business with companies who are totally honest and transparent about the products or services being offered.  As more and more consumers understand that you are providing valuable information in your blog, they will have no problem sharing that information.

Major corporations are very active in business blogging.  Why?  Because they all understand how important a blog can be in not only promoting a brand, but more importantly, it is one of the best ways to establish credibility in the minds of consumers.  Whether you are a seasoned financial advisor or just starting out, a well designed blog will expand your reach and help build a community of loyal clients.

Effective blog writing has the capability of shaping the business and marketing worlds of financial advisors into something completely different and exciting.

The post 3 Reasons Why a Financial Blog Will Help Your Business appeared first on Amy Mac.

I recently attended a conference that had created a mobile app for the advisors to use to engage with the presentations, presenters, and each other.  The first morning of the conference, I was disappointed to see that there were only a handful of advisors who had even downloaded the app, and even fewer that were engaging with it.  During the first session, the presenter mentioned the app, and there was little movement and a few grumbles from the crowd.  Then he mentioned that there was a contest based on who used and engaged with the app the most, and the advisors would be ranked and winners announced at the end of the conference.  I haven’t seen as many phones whipped from pockets faster than in that moment, with everyone suddenly needingthat app.  Why? Because it had just become a competition, and no one likes to lose.

Gamification has been used since the beginning of time to motivate people to participate and engage, and that’s exactly what Klout has done in the social space.  Despite how little people understand about Klout, they throw around their number like a Heat fan throws out Lebron stats: haphazardly and with something to prove.  To be honest, I didn’t even know my number until yesterday (I happen to be at a respectable 51) No matter the score, it’s safe to say that Klout scores will continue to be used as arsenal within the social world, so it’s time we take a look at both the good and evil of this little number.

The Good:

• Measure of Influence: Klout can be valuable tool to identify not only who, but what the target market is listening to on social with is ability to name topics of user influence.  In other words, it tells you what thought leaders are saying and what their audience likes hearing. It can help to identify those all too important centers of influence in the industry with its ranking system and for the most part encourages quality posts over sheer quantity.
• Ranking Factors: For the most part, someone’s score can be indicative of a lot of great social metrics: audience size, audience response, reach of message, and (that ever elusive) virility of posts.   These are all good things to strive for, as long as their function lies within a bigger picture.
• Motivator: I will always be a fan of something that motivates people to use, understand, and ultimately find the value of social media.  The bottom line is this: Klout is the gateway drug to getting advisors online and walking down the path of social media, which we know is the path toward future success in the industry.  In this case, the end easily justifies the means.

The Evil:

As many of us immersed in social media would agree, Klout scores are to social prowess as golf club price is to your handicap.  It’s one factor within a much, much bigger picture, and it’s a factor that can be easily manipulated.  Back in my college soccer days we used to have situational drills with all sorts of passing restrictions and boundary areas and point systems that girls always tried to outsmart, and if you tried hard enough, you could easily win every drill by playing terrible soccer.  The same thing happens with social media and Klout scores.  By manipulating the game, (i.e. spamming posts, getting retweets from completely irrelevant sources, buying fans, blasting to a market far from your target, engage only with users that have a high score themselves), it’s possible to boost your Klout score, but you can still find yourself far from successful with your social media marketing efforts.

So, just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a social influencer by their Klout score.  Despite the deceiving name, someone’s “Klout” isn’t necessarily their “clout”.  I’m not saying Klout isn’t a fun addition to the social space, but at the end of the day it’s more important to foster engagement with your target market, build quality relationships with potential clients, and become a thought leader and resource for those eventual clients, than to try to boost your ranking on the Klout scoreboard.  Your Klout score is never going to pay the bills. At the end of the day, it’s number like website visitors, leads generated, and conversion rate that will matter a lot more to your business.

But keep in mind… Klout may only be a game, but just as in any competition, it’s only the losers who don’t keep score.  Game on folks!  Who’s got me beat?

The post Klout: I’ll Tell You Mine If You Tell Me Yours. appeared first on Amy Mac.

As a financial advisor, you’re already ahead of the game! Why? Because creating a successful SEO strategy is not much different than creating a successful financial plan for a client—the same principles apply.

Below are some typical strategies and strengths that financial advisors have that can be directly applied to SEO campaign development.

Determine Goals

Good financial advisors have processes for determining their clients’ financial needs. When creating SEO strategies, the same principles apply. Take time to first determine what specific needs or goals you want your SEO campaign to achieve. Distinguishing your target audience is a great place to start. To do this, I recommend looking at where a majority of your business or profit is generated. Once you determine your audience, research keywords that are specific to that demographic. Like determining specific financial goals, you should also determine specific SEO goals as well.

Good SEO goals often consist of ranking higher on search engines. At Moore Communications Group, we pick specific search terms like “social financial advisor” and strive to be the first link on Google search results by using that term recurrently on our website and blog. As always, it’s important to cater your goals to your business.

Play Well With Others

Although financial advisors work with data and numbers, they often possess the skills of building relationships and valuable interactions with people. The internet requires the same type of skill and attention. Search engines regard backlinks as a major factor in their results. By creating and fostering online relationships, you can generate connections needed to improve your SEO. One way of doing this is by linking content to your Facebook site, actively commenting on professional forums, or being a guest author on other blogs.  Links and interaction are key in SEO just as they are in the financial world.

Aim to connect with other thought leaders and online publications in your industry. Create content partnerships and continually pitch content to editors. Do as much as you can to spread your content to other credible publications.

Patience and Informed

Being patient and well informed are two very important assets in a financial advisor. Let’s face it: nobody wants an advisor who panics and diverts from well thought out strategies. The same patience applies to creating SEO strategies. It takes time for a new SEO campaign to gain traction, and you should be willing to stick with a strategy for at least 6 months while you monitor and gauge its effectiveness. It takes time and an informed effort to make a SEO campaign successful.

My recommendation is to create reports and conduct analyses on your SEO efforts. Google Analytics is a great platform for doing this. Many high-end inbound marketing platforms like Hubspot also provide detailed analyses.

Stay Educated

To be successful these days you cannot remain static. Good financial advisors continue their education by not only earning degrees and certifications but by attending conferences and educating themselves to stay current. Search engines are living organisms, constantly tweaking algorithms and criteria. Much like financial advisors stay up to date with the current market and procedures so should you with your SEO. To be successful, a SEO campaign needs to adhere to the latest rules or catering to the new requirements.

Make sure you stay up to date on SEO strategies and trends to ensure your efforts are as valuable and effective as possible.

Although SEO seems like a complicated and technical endeavor, it requires the same exact skills as being a great financial advisor. By implementing your existing strengths into your online efforts, you’ll undoubtedly see results.

Do you have any questions about SEO? If so, leave a comment!

The post Financial Advisors Should Be Good At SEO. Here’s Why. appeared first on Amy Mac.

As financial advisors you understand what a good investment can do for you and how to maximize your investments. You should look at creating content for your audience as an investment into your customers and your business. With all the time, money, and research that you have invested to generate great content you might have forgotten to maximize the return on that investment.

You can always publish your content on partner blogs or post as a guest author as a way to make your content work harder for you but you may be overlooking some easy ways you can re-purpose and re-tool those awesome blogs or whitepapers you’ve already created!

Written Tools

• White Papers: Take an inventory of what blogs have been popular, or what comments or discussions have been getting traction and parlay those successes into a whitepaper that can be used in other areas of your online marketing campaign.
• Blog Post: Do you have an e-book, white paper or presentation that’s popular? Think about turning chapters of your e-book into the topic for a blog or series. Write a blog to generate interest for that great white paper you just finished. You can reform almost any sort of data or content you have created or collected into a great blog, since most blogs are approximately 500 words they are a great way to casually divulge information and create interest.
• E-book: Content in your books or e-books can be fitted for white papers or blogs so can a great blog topic or series be the basis for a great e-book. Granted with this method there is usually some further content creation that is needed.

Graphical Tools

• Charts: By taking information discussed in blogs or data gathered by research and providing simple or even complex charts helps engage your audience visually without it being a presentation. This is also a great way to graphically tell a story that might be harder to illustrate through its written counterparts.
• Infographics: Infographics are great tools when posting data on social media platforms. Like charts, infographics visually depict data gathered from research. Unlike charts (which are included in infographics) infographic utilize a storytelling process and illustrate a variety of data to support conclusions.

Video Tools

• Youtube: Just as most content can be adapted to a blog, blogs can be geared up as a short YouTube video or presentation. Turning a blog or a white paper into a video presentation or overview is a great way to provide further depth of a subject or engage your audience visually.
• Webinar: These are great ways to engage your audience and utilize content or research you have gathered into an educational setting. A blog series turned into short webinar topics are a great way to start, once you gain familiarity with what works and what doesn’t you can delve into more specific research you have, books you have written, white papers that have traction etc.

Audio Tools

• Itunes: Convert some of your presentations into mp3’s or audio tracks that be listened to on itunes or on your webpage. Audio tips are also a great way to increase the lifespan of shorter content sources like blogs by taking small pieces of information from that and creating short daily or weekly audio content.
• Audio-Books: This may seem obvious with most books also being provided on CD these days but most professionals who take the time to create great e-books fail to utilize the potential of gearing that e-book toward the auditory learners and turning the e-book to an audio-book.

When working on re-purposing content you should always consider the goals that you wish to achieve with the content and the audience you are trying to reach. Different members of your audience may respond better to different mediums of delivery. No matter how you deliver your content always remember to make it easy to find and understand leaving your audience with a way to act on what they have learned or share your content. By repurposing your content in any of these ways you can greatly increase the lifespan of your content and maximize the return your investment.

The post Content Repurposing for Financial Advisors appeared first on Amy Mac.