LinkedIn For HIGH NET WORTH.BILLIONAIRE CHRONICLE SOCIAL MEDIA
Kim Peterson Stone, LinkedIn Visibility Expert, gives her insights into how to use LinkedIn in the most efficient way when it comes to managing wealth.
LinkedIn is the most trusted social platform for financial services companies to engage with High Net Worth Individuals when they are in a professional mindset. LinkedIn saw HNWI numbers run from 10% in 2010 to 31% in 2013. They’re gradually making their presence known. Moreover, now over 50% of active HNWI social media users rely on this platform.
Some interesting facts about customer journey on LinkedIn
• One-third of HNW millennials use the social media profiles of potential wealth advisers as part of their evaluation process, compared to only 10% of HNWIs of all other age groups,” the LinkedIn study says
• When considering a new wealth manager, millennials rate their adoption and use of social media in investor relationships at 62% in terms of importance, compared to only 28% for Gen X and 20% for baby boomers.
• It also says that half of HNW millennials look at an adviser’s posts on social and that social media and electronic information are essential among those with total investable assets over $10 million
• HNW investors “look to their wealth advisers to keep them updated on what’s going on in the market and for recommendations on what they should do next.” Advisers should act like a “human filter” LinkedIn says, alerting clients when an economic event should matter to them.
Billionaire Chronicle wants to take this opportunity to offer guidance to all our frequent LinkedIn user readers so that they can have a deeper insight into the world of the algorithm of this compelling platform through the skilful eyes of LinkedIn Visibility Expert, Kim Peterson Stone.
BC: Over the years, what trends have you been encountering with the increased number of influential users present?
KPS: At each stage of the financial decision-making journey, HNWIs in the U.S. find value in social media. According to statistics accumulated by LinkedIn, 25% of them who turn to social networks for financial purposes are focused on the following:
• Keeping up-to-date with current economic trends
• Gathering preliminary information about commercial products policies or institutions
• Seeking advice or gathering information to help make a financial decision
That said, the majority of U.S. based HNWIs use LinkedIn as a discovery tool in searching for information and following updates from financial services companies. Of those HNWIs in the U.S. turning to social channels, 40% are on LinkedIn – and 62% of them access LinkedIn weekly.
The vast majority use LinkedIn to connect with and read updates or posts from business colleagues. However, they also use it for job-or industry-related updates, networking or job searches, joining with elite circles on an issue, or posting updates about their job or industry.
U.S. HNWIs place more trust in the branded content on LinkedIn than on other major social media networks. As a result, they’re far more likely to access this content on LinkedIn than on just about any other primary social platform.
For marketers looking to improve brand perception and motivate HNWIs to take action, providing relevant content in a trusted context proves you can be a strategic partner that understands their needs. This trust can lead to relationships that impact the bottom line. Almost a third of HNWIs surveyed said they had taken action as a result of reading financial content on social media.
When looking for specific types of financial-related information on LinkedIn, U.S. HNWIs primarily seek “bigger picture” financial information followed by new product info:
• Market and economic commentary (42%)
• New product information 33%)
• Expert reviews and testimonials (31%)
• Finance events (30%)”
BC: Social media, LinkedIn, improves brand perceptions. Companies describe themselves as “innovative,” “a leader in the industry,” or “on the cutting edge” but do they use social media tools correctly?
KPS: Most individuals and organizations are missing the boat when it comes to present themselves on LinkedIn accurately. When someone does a Google search on your name, generally speaking, LinkedIn will pop up in one of the top three results position. If you have a content distribution strategy in place, you can create brand awareness, a corporate narrative or drive initiatives. You can also profoundly impact what pops up when you or your organization are Googled by building a substantial presence on LinkedIn. This is something that very few HNWIs are taking advantage of.
LinkedIn has a global reach, billions of dollars behind the technology and is not being utilized to its fullest potential by most users.
While there are currently over 600,000,000 users on the platform, only 1,000,000 are now sharing content. This offers a tremendous opportunity to grab market share for those individuals and organizations who have a solid content distribution strategy in place.
BC: With over 90% of High Net Worth participating in social media in some form, an integrated social media marketing strategy is necessary for relevance and results. In your experience, is it sufficient to post timely updates, show increased transparency with real-time interaction and conversations to achieve results?
KPS: Consistency is critical in terms of establishing a stable position on social media and LinkedIn in particular. While “going viral” with a post is excellent, it often winds up being a by-product of delivering information that is helpful, informative, thought-provoking or problem solving to your readers regularly.
BC: High Net Worth Individuals are 65% more likely to value financial content and information and engage in professional discussion on LinkedIn compared to other social platforms. When it comes to displayed information, such as market and economy trends, new product information, updates of performance, case studies, and various leadership pieces, in your opinion, which is the most effective way to attract attention? How can they make their message more salient which will have a positive impact on their brand overall?
KPS: Your industry, message and overall objectives come into play when determining which type of content to create. This will be based on overall impact desired. Getting an apparent understanding of your potential client avatar, their habits and how they prefer to consume content (video, case study, articles, infographics, interviews, podcast) will give you a place to start. From there you post, collect engagement data, then proceed to improve the process as you move forward.
LinkedIn will track visibility and engagement so that you can quickly determine which efforts are generating the best results.
BC: When it comes to the long-term rewards of building relationships and earned trust via a social platform, why would you say that LinkedIn is a platform that has become part of the final decision-making process?
KPS: The individuals and organizations who take the time to map out a strategy and build robust networks for their key players can build relationships in a broader reaching and cost-effective way. This benefit alone can be priceless. The objective is generally to create an online relationship with the intent of eventually bringing it offline. Unlike other forms of social media, you get to keep the network you build on LinkedIn.
An individual can get a perfect feel for the professional career of a LinkedIn network connection. People buy from people they know, like and trust. LinkedIn offers the ability to share information and connect in a way which builds trust and respect. You are also able to stay engaged with people you meet at events by joining on LinkedIn as well. This makes keeping yourself or your organization ‘top of mind’ much more accessible than in years past.
BC: If we compare, for example, Walmart, JP Morgan, Apple, and Johnson & Johnson, what are the different types of audience-specific strategies when it comes to attracting new buyers?
KPS: Every business has different objectives and target audience models. A broad-brush overview, which works well as a foundation for content creation on LinkedIn, as seen by the experts at Hootsuite, can be found below.
Identify Customer Pain Points
What problems or hassles are your potential customers trying to solve? What is holding them back from success? What barriers do they face in reaching their goals?
One fundamental way to find out is to engage in some social listening and social media sentiment analysis. Setting up search streams to monitor mentions of your brand, products, and competitors gives you a real-time look into what people are saying about you online. You can learn why they love your products, or which parts of the customer experience are just not working.
It is also a good idea to check in with your customer service team to see what kinds of questions they get the most. Find out if they can help you identify patterns about which groups tend to face different types of challenges. You could even ask them to collect real customer quotes that you can use to help give your audience personas depth.
Identify Customer Goals
This is the flip side of pain points. While pain points are problems your potential customers are trying to solve, goals or aspirations are positive things they want to achieve. Those goals might be personal or professional, depending on the kinds of products and services you sell. What motivates your customers? What is their end game?
These goals might be directly related to the solutions you can provide, but they do not have to be. This is more about getting to know your customers than it is trying to match customers exactly to features or benefits of your product. Even if your personas’ goals do not relate specifically to your product’s features, they can form the basis of a campaign, or they might merely inform the tone or approach you to take in your marketing.
Social listening can be an excellent way to gather this information, too. Also, just as your customer service team was a good source of insight for pain points, your sales team can be a good source of insight on customer goals. Your salespeople talk to real people who are thinking about using your product, and they have a deep understanding of what your customers are trying to achieve by using your products and services. Ask them to collect real quotes that embody customer experience. You can also ask them for any key strategies they use to overcome buyer objections when selling your products or services.
Understand How Your Brand Can Help
Now that you know your customers’ pain points and goals, it’s time to create a clear picture of how your products and service can help. As part of this step, you’ll need to stop thinking about your brand in terms of features and dig deep to analyse the benefits you offer to customers. It can be hard for marketers to get out of the feature mindset—which is one reason buyer personas are so important. They help you flip your thinking and consider your products and services from a buyer’s point of view.
Remember: A feature is what your product is or does. A benefit is how your product or service makes your customer’s life easier or better. Ask yourself one question for each of the pain points and goals you have collected: How can we help?”
BC: What is your advice to LinkedIn users on how to build a brand for the next generation?
KPS: Millennials love Meaning. Notably, a brand that has it. Today, there is much research suggesting that Millennials care about social issues, have a global mindset, and appreciate diversity. They engage with brands on a personal and emotional level. Also, they like brands that have a strong vision and who act on more significant issues.
If you can convey your message in a way that touches the hearts and minds of the younger generation, then you will position yourself and your organization for future success. LinkedIn is proving itself to be the platform of choice when it comes to reaching the current and future, global community.
Kim Peterson Stone’s passion, purpose and follow through helps to differentiate her clients in a crowded global marketplace.
She has authored hundreds of articles, attracted hundreds of thousands of “Followers” & generated millions of content views on LinkedIn. She has survived the wild ride of creating an eight-figure startup only to have to rebuild after its fiery demise close to a decade later (the 20-million-dollar education). She is now the Creative Mind and CEO of Linkability.us, a strategy and consulting firm which specializes in helping dynamic professionals make a major impact using the global connectedness of LinkedIn. Kim is an expert at helping others tell their story online, maximize their reach, and turn visibility into opportunities.
