LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for financial advisors looking to grow their client base. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn provides access to a massive pool of potential clients. However, simply having a LinkedIn profile is not enough to attract new business. Advisors must employ targeted strategies to connect with prospects and convert them into long-term clients.
Build a Robust LinkedIn Profile
The first step is optimizing your LinkedIn profile to showcase your skills, experience, and services. Your profile should highlight your credentials, target clientele, specialties, and successes working with past clients. Share details on your investment philosophy, planning approach, and what makes you stand out from other advisors. Show personality by adding photos, background images, videos, and content that brings your profile to life.
Include informative descriptions under each experience listed. Demonstrate the value you provide through measurable accomplishments like “Grew AUM by 40% over 2 years” or “Achieved 90% client retention rate”. You can also publish long-form posts to establish thought leadership and link to external websites or portfolios for more content.
Expand Your Network
The foundation of LinkedIn is professional connections. To maximize your reach, focus on building a robust network. Some strategies include:
- Connecting with existing clients and centers of influence who can refer prospects
- Following companies you want to work with and connecting with employees
- Joining relevant LinkedIn groups based on location, specialty, profession, school alumni, etc.
- Connecting with other financial advisors who may refer or collaborate
- Following and interacting with prospects you want to convert
Always customize connection requests and follow up promptly. Nurture connections by engaging regularly through comments, likes, and shares. Aim to build quality over quantity in your network.
Attract Clients Through Content
One of the most effective ways to attract clients on LinkedIn is by consistently publishing helpful, relevant content. Consider creating and sharing the following:
- Industry insights: Commentary on market trends, economic analysis, explanations of financial concepts, and reactions to industry news.
- Educational content: Guides, cheatsheets, and checklists to help prospects with financial planning and investing.
- Thought leadership: Share your perspective on relevant topics like retirement planning, taxes, estate planning, etc.
- Client success stories: Case studies detailing how you solved problems for clients (with permission).
- Behind-the-scenes content: Photos, videos, and posts that give transparency into you and your business.
Promote your best content through your profile, groups, hashtags, and paid LinkedIn ads. Content that delivers value builds authority and keeps you top of mind with prospects.
Participate in LinkedIn Groups
Joining relevant LinkedIn Groups lets you connect directly with your target audience in an organic way. You can participate in discussions, ask and answer questions, and establish credibility through insightful commentary. Avoid blatant self-promotion. Instead, focus on being helpful by:
- Commenting on other member’s posts and questions.
- Contributing valuable insights based on your expertise.
- Sharing advice, resources, and articles.
- Creating polls and discussions on hot topics.
- Recommending other experts, products, or services if relevant.
Relationships take time to build. Consistent, helpful participation in Groups lays the foundation for group members to become clients.
Utilize Targeted LinkedIn Ads
In addition to organic content and engagement, LinkedIn ads allow advisors to get in front of specific prospects actively looking for services. Some options include:
- Sponsored content: Promote relevant published posts.
- Sponsored InMail: Directly reach prospects via targeted emails. Highly personalized.
- Text ads: Display relevant text ads to users based on criteria like location, industry, job role, etc.
- Display ads: Graphical banner ads ideal for branding and awareness.
The benefit of LinkedIn ads is the extensive targeting options available. You can define your ideal customer profile through parameters like age, income, education, employer, job title, skills, interests, and more. Then display relevant ads specifically to these prospects. With a clear target audience and compelling creative, LinkedIn ads can be very effective for advisors.
Host or Sponsor Events
Events are opportunities to meet many prospects at once while demonstrating your expertise. As a financial advisor, consider:
- Hosting online webinars or in-person seminars on relevant topics.
- Sponsoring local community, networking, industry, or charity events.
- Arranging meetups or mixers for existing clients to refer friends.
- Organizing a pro bono financial clinic to give back to your area.
- Collaborating with other professionals to hold cross-promotional events.
Promote any events broadly on LinkedIn, through your network, and via other outreach channels. Follow up promptly with attendees to convert event connections into clients.
Request Recommendations and Endorsements
Prospects looking for advisors often check LinkedIn profiles for social proof like recommendations and endorsements. Make it easy for satisfied clients to endorse your skills and provide written recommendations.Tactfully ask happy long-term clients if they would be willing to write you a recommendation. Offer to return the favor.This social validation helps you stand out.
Focus on Referrals
Referrals should be a core part of your LinkedIn strategy as an advisor. According to research by ReferralCandy, referrals have a 37% higher retention rate than non-referred customers. Some ways to boost referrals through LinkedIn include:
- Connecting clients with each other to expand your referral network.
- Educating clients on their networks and who may benefit from your services.
- Asking satisfied long-term clients directly for introductions to prospects.
- Creating referral programs with rewards or incentives.
- Forming strategic partnerships with centers of influence who refer clients.
Referrals require consistently exceeding client expectations. Their positive word-of-mouth offers the credibility needed to attract new business.
Utilize LinkedIn’s Lead and Contact Generation Tools
LinkedIn offers built-in tools to help identify and engage prospects. Options to consider include:
- Lead Gen Forms: Get contacts by offering gated content like guides or checklists.
- InMail templates: Customizable outreach messages to prospects.
- Contact targeting: Use filters to identify prospects based on role, company, location, etc.
- TeamLink: Let employees or contractors engage prospects under your account.
- PointDrive: Share presentations to keep prospects engaged.
These tools make executing campaigns and outreach more efficient. Test different options to see which generate quality leads for your business.
Provide Excellent Client Service
Ultimately, the best strategy to get more clients through LinkedIn is simply providing exceptional service to existing ones. If current clients are completely satisfied, they are more likely to:
- Remain loyal long-term.
- Refer family, friends, and colleagues.
- Write recommendations and endorse skills.
- Engage with your content and amplify your brand as fans.
Prioritize delighting the clients you have, and growth through referrals and retention will follow.
Conclusion
With a documented LinkedIn strategy incorporating several of these tactics, financial advisors can establish a steady stream of qualified prospects online. Consistent nurturing and follow up is key to building relationships that eventually convert leads into long-term clients.
The most successful advisors on LinkedIn focus on serving their existing clients exceptionally well first. This loyalty and trust leads to referrals, content sharing, recommendations and 5-star reviews. By combining this excellent care of current relationships with targeted organic and paid outreach to ideal prospects, financial advisors can prosper on LinkedIn.
