9 things that advisers can post on Facebook to keep their target audience engaged.
Handling a Facebook account has now become an integral part of marketing and business strategies. Experts say that Facebook is one of the effective marketing tools which help advisers to prospect for new clients.
Shifali Satsangee of Funds Vedaa makes a strong pitch for Facebook. According to her, an independent research study has shown that the average Facebook user has 130 friends, spends an hour a day, leaves 25 comments a month, becomes a fan of 4 pages and joins 13 groups a month.
Some financial advisers also feel that advisers need to plan a separate strategy for managing their FB account. They believe that an adviser should spare at least 1 hour daily in managing their social media affairs.
Cafemutual spoke to some leading financial advisers to get their perspective on building an effective content strategy for FB.
Opinion polls and quiz - Vishal Dhawan of Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors feels that the opinion polls should be based on topical issues. He feels polls like ‘Do women make financial decisions better than men?’ or ‘If you are a young professional, where should you invest - mutual fund, insurance, share market, gold or real estate’ etc. “Such polls generate interest and will create a major impact”, he adds.
Shefali Satsangee endorses this view. “Interaction with people through regular contests is a good idea. Keep it short and brief. Brevity is the magic word,” she proclaims.
Updates and article sharing- Experts believe that updating people about new mutual funds and insurance products and their important features will help people to make their investment decision wisely. Experts also believe that sharing articles related to personal finance through FB increases engagement.
Ahmedabad based Jigisha Shah believes in updating her Facebook friends with the latest news and trends of financial market and personal finance articles. She also posts articles of Jago NRI which caters to NRI investors.
Product comparison and charts - Many advisers says giving product comparison and charts related to asset allocation of scheme, investment trends etc. is a good idea. However, do keep in mind that heavy charts may create problems for FB users who access it through mobile phones. Instead, experts suggest posting URL (web link) of these tables to help mobile phone users.
Financial quotes - Financial quotes from investment gurus like Warren Buffet and Suze Orman inspire people. Jigisha says that likes on her Facebook account have increased after she started posting financial quotes.
Blog link with attractive headlines - In India, many people use smartphone to access their FB account. Keeping in mind the compactible size of mobile phone screen, it’s better off to provide blog link with attractive headlines. Vishal admitted that sharing blog link through FB has worked out well for him. He says “Headline of your blog link should create curiosity among viewers.”
Educational videos - Facebook can be an effective means of communication to spread financial literacy among people. Vishal says “Advisers should try to put short videos on their FB account explaining financial jargon in simplest way so that people could easily understand it.”
Adds Jigisha, “Sharing videos of news, talk shows and interviews on personal finance will help you to increase your FB visibility.”
“Connect Visually. Different types of posts carry different weights. The maximum weightage is given to visuals and then to links. Visual connectivity catches the eye of the audience more when you post a link”, feels Shifali.
Chatting and Online solution – Chatting with FB friends will help advisers to connect with their clients. Advisers can also provide an online solution for problems related to personal finance through Facebook.
Shifali Satsangee of Funds Veda adds “You can facilitate a more interactive Facebook marketing campaign and get an engaging conversation going between you and your target audience. Try to keep the conversation interesting.”
Sending greeting – Padmanaban Balasubramanium of Fortune Planners, Chennai says sending greeting on special occasions like birthday, anniversary and festivals will help building relationship with the people.
Promote Photo tagging – “Encourage your followers to tag themselves in the photos you upload. Every time someone tags them in your photos, it’s shown to their network of people through their newsfeed and therefore is a good way to get new eyeballs on your brand”, advises Shifali.
