Your clients are already on Twitter and other social media, so why aren’t you? These are important platforms for prospecting and lead generation, but many advisors ignore Twitter for fear of legal and compliance pushback. There are several Twitter features financial advisors use to build engagement and sales.

Twitter is immediate. News organizations and large companies use it to keep followers abreast of what is going on in their organization and around the world. This right now Twitter feature for financial professionals is critical, and they can use it to build engagement, expertise and sales. Here’s why advisors and wealth managers should embrace the bird!

Build the Perfect LinkedIn Profile

Prospecting – Twitter has more that 330 million users, and it is a valuable source of leads, prospects and subject matter experts. Twitter features for users like Advanced Search, Lists and hashtags make it easier to find the people and information financial professionals want. Follow large numbers of organization, companies and people and 10 – 30% of the people will follow you back. After connecting on Twitter, ask them to connect on LinkedIn.
Website – Social media is a powerful tool for building engagement, but every financial advisor should also have a website. Consistent use of Twitter drives traffic to your website. As part of your social media strategy, provide content that drives people to your blog and website. Your tweets should be a mix of your content and shared tweets from trusted resources.
Relevant – Social media is no longer an option for financial advisors, and Twitter is a great place to start. Millennials and younger generations expect people to have an account and be active. Schedule time weekly to post and share content. Successful advisors maintain a “no-selling” approach to using Twitter. As with most platforms, start the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. After the conversation has started, take it to a different format like emails and phone calls.

3 Twitter Mistakes to Avoid

News – Twitter features an immediate and robust source of news and information. CNN, Fox News and all of the major outlets tweet information as soon as it is available. Set up lists to filter the 500 million daily tweets. Find articles and links to easily share with clients and co-workers
Branding – Senior Executives know how to use Twitter to improve their personal brand. Their expertise is front and center for their clients, colleagues and competition. When you find articles your audience is interested in (e.g. – paying for college, helping an aging parent, tax saving tips, etc.), post them. Consistent tweets around specific topics brand you as a reliable source of information.

As with most social media platforms, don’t set it and forget it with Twitter. Success is the result of the effort you put into it, and it is not going to be immediate. It takes time to build a the right audience and know how to engage with them. Have fun and don’t worry about breaking the internet. Your clients want to hear from you.

Scientifically Speaking, of course…