Financial services companies have long been struggling to harness the power of social media.
The problem is that financial services are regulated industries, and social media platforms are largely unregulated.
This means that financial companies must be cautious about the way they use social media or risk violating industry regulations.
However, there are ways for financial companies to use social media effectively without running afoul of the law.
The financial services brands that begin to focus on their social media posts being compliant will have a significant advantage over their competitors.
In order to be compliant, financial companies need to make sure that their social media posts are accurate and not misleading.
They also need to be transparent about any financial products or services they are promoting.
Finally, financial companies need to respect the privacy of their customers and not share any non-public information without permission.
Financial companies can use social media to their advantage by following these guidelines without running into legal trouble.
Now, let’s dive into some specific ways financial services organizations can use social media to their advantage.
Which social media platforms are best for financial services?
LinkedIn is essentially the most frequently used online platform to offer financial services. Still, smaller platforms have also become increasingly important, including Reddit and Twitter.
Regardless of the platforms you choose, you should focus on creating content that will be valuable to your target audience.
This means creating educational, informative, and helpful content rather than promotional or sales-oriented.
Your goal should be to build trust and relationships with your audience rather than selling them something.
LinkedIn remains one of the leading social media channels in the financial services sectors.
The platform is handy for financial companies because it allows them to share content with a highly targeted audience.
LinkedIn also provides an easy way for financial companies to connect with potential customers and clients.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on Linkedin:
- Creating valuable and shareable content
- Hosting webinars and virtual events
- Sponsoring LinkedIn groups
- Using LinkedIn ads
- Connecting with potential clients and customers
YouTube
YouTube can be a powerful marketing tool for financial services companies, mainly by creating helpful and informative videos.
Videos allow you to showcase your expertise in engaging and visually appealing ways.
What’s more, YouTube is an excellent platform for creating how-to guides and other types of educational content.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on YouTube:
- Creating edutainment style videos
- Optimizing your videos for SEO (Get views years after posting)
- Creating engaging thumbnails
- Posting at least twice a week
- Collaborating with other financial YouTubers
The financial sector also increasingly values transparency, so Facebook can be a good platform for sharing financial news and updates with your audience.
Additionally, Facebook groups can be a great way to build relationships with potential clients and customers.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on Facebook:
- Posting once a day
- Hosting webinars and virtual events
- Creating Facebook groups
- Using Facebook ads
- Sharing original content
While Instagram is not typically thought of as a financial services platform, it can actually be quite useful for financial companies.
This is because Instagram allows you to share photos and videos, which can be a great way to show off your financial products and services.
Additionally, Instagram Stories can be a great way to humanize your brand and connect with your audience on a more personal level.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on Instagram:
- Posting high-quality photos and videos
- Using financial keywords in your hashtags
- Posting regularly
- Utilizing Instagram Stories
- Hosting giveaways and contests
Twitter can be an excellent platform for financial services companies, mainly if you use it to share timely news and information.
You can also use Twitter to drive traffic to your website or blog and connect with potential clients and customers.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on Twitter:
- Tweeting regularly (3 times a day minimum)
- Using hashtags
- Sharing relevant news and information
- Posting interesting visuals
- Hosting Twitter chats
Tik Tok
Tit Tok is a newer option for the financial services sector.
Fortunately, it has evolved from a strictly dancing and lip-syncing app to one that also allows for more serious content.
This makes it a great platform for financial companies that want to connect with a younger audience.
Additionally, Tik Tok offers a unique way to share financial tips in a short, engaging, visually appealing format.
Currently, these five strategies work very well on Tik Tok:
- Posting engaging and visually appealing videos
- Posting 4X a day
- Collaborate with other financial TikTok users
- Go live regularly
- Share original content
These are just a few of the social media platforms that financial services companies can use to reach their target audiences.
Of course, it’s important to remember that each platform has its own unique features and capabilities.
Financial companies should tailor their social media strategies to the specific platform they’re using.
How do finance companies use social media?
Financial services companies use social media to connect with potential customers and clients, share helpful and informative content, and build trust and relationships.
Let’s look at each of these in more detail:
Use social media to build relationships, not to sell products.
Financial services companies should use social marketing strategies to build relationships with their customers rather than using it as a sales platform.
Customers are tired of being sold to, and they can see through most sales pitches.
Instead, financial companies should use social media to provide valuable content and resources that will help their customers make better financial decisions.
That way, when a trigger event happens, they will think of your company, product, or service.
This will eventually lead to more sales and conversions, but it all starts with building trust and relationships.
Use social media to create valuable content.
The term valuable content is thrown around often online, but do you understand what that really means?
Your social media strategy should be focused on creating helpful, informative, and interesting content for your target audience.
It should answer their questions, solve their problems, and entertain them.
You see that nothing about making the sale was mentioned.
Valuable content will eventually lead to sales, but it’s not the main focus.
Focus on creating content that is truly valuable to your target audience, and the sales will follow.
Provide digital customer service
Digital first experiences are becoming expected by customers in financial services.
This means that you need to provide excellent customer service on the channels that your customers are using, which includes social media.
If you’re not providing digital customer service, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
It’s far better to have customer complaints on your social accounts that you have the opportunity to address rather than having them go to a review site where you have no control.
As with any brand, customer satisfaction is everything, and social media can help with that.
Humanize your brand
There is a massive opportunity for the financial service industry to humanize the brand or create personal branding experiences.
The financial services industry is often seen as being cold, clinical, and impersonal.
But social media provides an excellent opportunity to change that perception.
This can be done by featuring employees on social media, hosting live Q&As, or creating fun and exciting influencer marketing campaigns.
This is where the relevant conversations happen that can give you valuable insights into your ideal customers.
By humanizing your brand, you will make it more relatable and approachable, eventually leading to more business.
Be transparent about your objectives with your social media accounts.
Utilize social media to make it clear why you are there.
If you strictly utilize a selling technique, you need to let your customers know. Although, this is becoming less and less effective.
The financial services industry is highly competitive, so it’s vital that you’re transparent about your objectives on social media.
Are you trying to build relationships? Provide valuable content? Drive traffic to your website? Let your customers know what you’re trying to do.
Financial services social media marketing strategy
Social media users depend on social media primarily for two reasons: to connect with friends/family and to consume content.
This means that financial services companies need to focus on creating content and building relationships if they want to succeed.
Educate your target audience
The financial services sector needs to understand that social media sites are user-focused.
The algorithms will push your content out to more people if it’s deemed as being helpful or informative.
If you provide valuable and consistent content, you will eventually build trust with your audience.
This trust leads to people engaging with your content by liking and commenting, which shows the algorithm that your content is valuable.
The more valuable your content is, the more it will be pushed out to people, and you are more likely to generate leads and sales.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t be too salesy with your content. People will quickly become turned off if you’re constantly pushing products and stop engaging with your content.
Instead, focus on providing value and letting people know that you’re an expert in your field. If you do this, then the sales will eventually follow.
Create the best posting strategy
Consistency is everything on social platforms. There is no way around it.
Any good digital marketing strategy will always come down to consistency.
Choosing a day, time, and how often to post on social media can be daunting, but if you want to be successful, you need to put in the work.
The general rule of thumb is to post at least once a day, but more is better.
Use tools like Sprout Social or Dripify to help you schedule and publish your content. This will save you a ton of time in the long run.
The finance industry is lacking in this area compared to other industries.
Simply posting regularly and consistently will help you build trust with your target audience and eventually lead to more business.
Engage with other users
Social media is all about building relationships.
This means that you need to be engaging with other users if you want to be successful.
Liking, commenting, and sharing other people’s content are great ways to get started.
You should also be replying to comments on your own posts. Again, this shows that you’re active and engaged with your audience.
Not replying to comments is an easy way to show prospective clients that the relationships you are building on your social channels are one-sided and not a good way to grow your accounts.
Finally, don’t forget about private messages! These are a great way to build one-on-one relationships with potential customers.
Utilize social media ads
Digital ad spending is a smart way to scale up your perceived value.
You utilize social media ads to guarantee views of your social proof, solutions to pain points, and interactive content directly to your ideal clients.
Thanks to the targeting capabilities of social media platforms, you can laser-focus your ad campaigns to make sure that they’re reaching the right people.
Social media ads can be a powerful way to generate leads and sales when done correctly.
Focus on compliance
Compliance can be a challenge in a heavily regulated industry like financial services.
But it’s important to remember that social media is a powerful marketing tool and should be used as such.
This means creating compliant content while still being helpful and engaging.
It can be tricky, but it’s definitely doable. And the benefits of using social media for marketing purposes far outweigh the challenges.
Archive everything
Many financial services professionals don’t think of the benefits of having an archive of already approved content.
This can be a huge time saver down the road.
It’s much easier to quickly create and publish new content when you have a library of content that you know is compliant.
This is especially helpful when something unexpected comes up, like if you need to post on social media right away or have a trip planned.
It’s social media, and there are thousands of posts every hour. On top of that, only a tiny percentage of your followers will see your posts.
That post that was already approved and did well will not be remembered if you post it again three months later.
And if you are consistent and follow the steps outlined above, you will have new followers that have never seen it before.
A good example of this could be your Facebook page. The feed delivers content it thinks is relevant and not in order.
So your post from 3 months ago could be at the top of someone’s feed today while others still haven’t seen it yet.
Final thoughts
Building a successful social media presence in the financial services industry takes time and effort. But it’s definitely worth it.
By being consistent, engaging with other users, utilizing social media ads, and focusing on compliance, you can grow your business and build trust with your target audience.
And don’t forget to archive everything! Having a library of compliant content will save you time and hassle down the road.
