In a time where it's important than ever to maintain and build existing customer relationships, financial professionals like loan officers, insurance agents, and financial advisors should look to LinkedIn as a primary means of communication and an essential part of everyday communication.

Today, meeting customers where they are means being active on social media. Aptly named "the professional network", LinkedIn is prime territory for boosting thought leadership, crafting an online presence, and creating authentic, lasting relationships that will stand the test of time (and economic ups and downs).

Whether you're just getting started on social media for financial professionals, or you're a seasoned LinkedIn veteran looking to make the most of the network, it's time for financial institutions to take LinkedIn seriously in 2024.

LinkedIn Can Help Build Trust & Credibility

It seems simple to say, but trust hinges on authentic relationships. Today’s customers want to work with real people who connect with them on a human level. That’s why it’s so important to be yourself when using social networks like LinkedIn. Put some of your personality into their social  posts, talk about things that are important to you, or ask your networks questions. (If this keeps you up at night from a risk perspective, know that approval tools like Denim Social can help ensure compliance.)

When people interact with you through LinkedIn, they’ll see how much reliable value you provide to their lives and will be more likely to trust your brand with their livelihoods. Authenticity is even more crucial when it comes to attracting prospects at the top of the funnel who haven’t gotten the chance to meet (and befriend) you yet.

While the current economic climate poses many potential challenges, remember that gaining and keeping customers’ trust is the key to acquiring and retaining clients (even in tough times). Lean on social media networks like LinkedIn to tell the your brand’s story, build thought leadership online, and gain more followers who convert into new clients. Let them get to know your institution and you, and they’ll want to work (and stay) with you for years to come.

LinkedIn Is A Winning Choice

It's hard to hear, but if you aren't on LinkedIn already, you're already behind. In fact, 9 out of 10 financial advisors are using LinkedIn for their business, and other industries see similar usage numbers. The same way that email and text messaging have become routine modes of communication, so will social media like LinkedIn.

You can bet that your audience will be there, too. Over 16% of LinkedIn users log on every single day, and this number continues to grow as the networks becomes more and more popular among the groups that financial professionals target most frequently, like young professionals and business leaders.

Being active and sustaining a regular presence can have some serious payoffs. For example, pages that post weekly instead of just monthly have almost 6 times as many followers.

The future is bright for those that use LinkedIn to their advantage. It's clear that there's no slowing down its momentum as a primary social network!

LinkedIn Can Help You Educate

Are there certain points you are always trying to get across with your customers, or questions you are routinely asked? Look no further than LinkedIn. Use this powerful network to create and share posts that will position you as one of the top expert in your field and in your community.

There are currently over 27 million people that look to LinkedIn as an educational tool. When someone comes looking for an answer to their question, you want to be the go-to source of truth for them.

With LinkedIn, you can share graphics, videos, documents, photos, and more. It's easy to diversify your content to make your profile a wealth of knowledge for your customers and prospects. If you are looking for more ideas on how to make the most of LinkedIn, check out Denim's Social's Best Practices For LinkedIn.

In sum, LinkedIn is basically your new business card. Use it well! Don't let your opportunities on LinkedIn pass you by. Start prepping now to get your strategy in order so you find success on LinkedIn in 2024. Interested in other social networks, too? Try downloading our Social Selling Playbook for Financial Institutions. Happy posting!

When trusted relationships are the bedrock of the industry, most smart financial services marketers see the opportunity in social media. A corporate social media presence is the norm, and many brands are investing in paid social media campaigns — but that’s only scratching the social media surface. For teams looking to transform social media into a sales tool, it’s time to start social selling.

Social selling is so much more than encouraging your sellers to have a social presence. Having a company page on Facebook and a LinkedIn profile are table stakes. If Instagram, Twitter, or even TikTok make sense for your business, it’s important to be there, too. But social selling is so much more than just “being there.” Financial services marketers who embrace social selling empower their teams of intermediaries, such as agents and loan officers, to create lead-generating content that builds trust. Brands that get social selling right can expect to see a 45% increase in sales opportunities and a 51% higher chance of hitting sales goals, according to LinkedIn.

So, why haven’t all financial services marketers launched social selling for their institutions yet? For one, many marketers are hesitant to jump into a process that involves monitoring and amplifying social media content for dozens, hundreds, or thousands of intermediaries. Even for seasoned marketers, it can seem intimidating. (Spoiler alert: With a platform like Denim Social, it’s much easier than it sounds!)

Social selling also takes time. Organic social media growth ramps up over time, no matter how many social sellers a brand activates at once. But just because you might not see an immediate jump in KPIs doesn’t mean you’re not moving the needle. With patience and investment in the right social selling tools, social selling can transform your institution’s marketing strategy and results.

You’re ready to launch social selling for your brand, but where do you get started? Check out these helpful tips from our team of experts at Denim Social:

1. Identify internal social selling champions.

Social selling needs widespread buy-in between marketing, sales, and other key departments. The most effective way to encourage buy-in is to get influential players in these groups on board with social selling. Explain to them how social selling works and its social media reach potential — and how to use the right social selling tools to protect compliance.

By cultivating cheerleaders within your financial institution, these motivated individuals can be an example for their peers and showcase the value of social selling. The more buy-in you can get to your overall social selling program, the faster you’ll be able to demonstrate how valuable social selling is as a marketing strategy. Have patience and stay the course; your determination will pay off as you earn the support of more internal champions.

2. Pick a solid social selling platform.

Managing a social selling strategy could be your full-time job as a marketer, but it doesn’t have to be. The right social selling tech solution will help optimize your efforts without tossing another burden onto your team. We designed our platform to meet these needs with extensive compliance features, a library of preapproved content, and streamlined workflows that make publishing as easy as clicking a button. A social selling platform should make life easier for all its users; if it doesn’t, it’s not the right platform for you.

When evaluating social selling tools, keep a few critical questions in mind: Does the vendor understand the nuances of the financial services industry? What kind of compliance coverage does the platform offer? How will you create content, and how will the platform help you do that? Asking these questions will point you in the right direction so that you can find a social selling platform that works best for your institution’s needs.

3. Spend time training your social sellers and their support teams.

The loan officers, agents, advisors, and other producers who will become your social selling team might or might not be familiar with how to be present on social to grow their business. Even if they’re active on social media personally, they might not understand the concept of social selling or how to make it work for them. It’s your job to teach them (you’re the expert, after all!).

Keep in mind that social selling isn’t only the responsibility of your localized producers. It’s important to loop in anyone in your organization who supports your sales efforts. This means sales executives, regional sales leaders, and even marketing leadership. As part of your social selling launch, take the time to train your broader social selling support group, regardless of their department. 

Broadened education and buy-in mean stickiness and support for the folks your organization is relying on to drive business at the local level: your true social sellers. Start with social channel basics and regular organic posting. Then, you can teach them how to feel comfortable generating their own content and engaging with their social networks. Does this mean all your employees need to become social media experts? Not even close. But a deeper understanding of social media in general lays the foundation for successful social selling as your teams get comfortable using it every day.

At Denim Social, we’re passionate about helping your financial institution drive business results with social selling. Not only have we designed our platform to make administering a social selling program easy, but we also provide strategic support from day one, helping you educate and support your sales teams.

Our platform offers several essential features that will help drive your ROI: (Hint: They can also help you implement the above three steps.)

• Customized Onboarding and Team Training. Onboarding onto a new platform shouldn’t be a cookie-cutter process; every team and marketer is different. Tailoring our onboarding and training means that your team (and execs) know they’re getting a bespoke experience for the institution’s specific needs. When you’re getting started, Denim Social can help craft vital internal communication to encourage adoption, leaving no questions unanswered. Once you’ve got the basics down and your first champions are ready to dive in, you can check out our train-the-trainer sessions or our online academy to further grow your team’s expertise. From start to finish, you’ll have an invested partner.

• Content-Rich, Customized Libraries. How will you keep up with content just for your social sellers? Denim Social works with you and UpContent to develop an extensive library of ready-to-use content for your social sellers’ unique needs and interests. Your teams will always have something to say on social, keeping them top of mind with their networks — with the peace of mind of staying compliant.

• Scalable Paid Advertising. Though the foundation of your social selling strategy starts with empowering your intermediaries with organic social content, the most robust social selling programs also integrate localized paid advertising. Although the organic content you cultivate through your individual champions will work to add nuance and humanity to your brand, putting your ad dollars behind your producers will reach consumers looking to connect with real, local humans who can guide them through their next financial decisions. We recommend that marketers drive this side of the social selling strategy, and our platform makes it easy. With Denim Social, one marketer can launch and scale tailor-made paid social campaigns delivered on behalf of your local producers to their local communities.

• Compliance-Focused Features. When you work in financial services marketing, you’re guided by numerous rules, regulations, and laws. Denim Social is engineered to find and flag compliance-related issues before any content goes live. This robust filtering proactively recognizes potential problems so you can sleep better at night.

As part of our compliance-driven culture, our platform provides continuous compliance training through constant feedback. As your team notices which posts are approved or unapproved, they’ll gain valuable insights into the nuances of social media compliance for the industry. Plus, your team can rely on the curated, preapproved content within your Denim Social library, so you can be sure everything posted is compliant (and compelling). An added upside to our compliance feature is that our social selling platform tracks and records all published content, so it can be used for audits whenever you need it.

Are you curious and looking to level up your digital marketing strategy? Or maybe you’re ready to dive in head-first and experience the benefits of social selling firsthand? Either way, social selling is a great way to get started empowering your team and increasing your reach.

Check out Denim Social’s comprehensive social selling guide to learn more!

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As a financial marketer, you know that the past 12 months have been a prime time for social selling. Social media usage has been on trajectory to rise 7.8% in 2022, with steady growth expected to continue over the next five years. This growth is fueled by consumers increasingly consulting social media for help making decisions — a habit that offers big opportunities for financial institutions.

As the new year rapidly approaches, it’s a great time to plan your future social selling strategies with the latest social media trends in mind. Wondering what’s popular on social networks? How should trends inform your social selling strategy in the coming year? Here’s what you need to know as you plan for 2023 and beyond:

1. Video content is taking over.

Videos, particularly shorter clips, are having a major moment on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. Social users are increasingly consuming short-form (call it “snackable”) content, even on legacy social networks. For example, bite-sized videos earned 57% of YouTube views in the second quarter of 2022, versus just 21% the year before.

Many of these videos attract viewers by seamlessly blending education and entertainment. Financial concepts are perfect for the “edutainment” treatment, too. Think about it: With more than 89% of TikTok users actively trying to learn more about finance, it only makes sense to add financial video “edutainment” into your social selling strategy.

That said, not every social selling post needs to contain a video, and not every video needs to be a highly produced affair. Easy-to-consume content is the name of the game, so think short and concise. Quick, pithy videos such as selfie commentaries or quick tips from your social sellers can make your content feel more authentic. No matter what video style you pursue, short clips will stop scrollers and make them more likely to engage with your intermediaries’ posts.

2. Financial advice influencer culture opens up social selling opportunities.

Social media probably seems like the last place most people would turn to for advice about money, yet finance-focused influencers are attracting lots of interest, particularly from younger social media consumers. Gen Zers are five times likelier than older Millennials and Generation Xers to get their money management suggestions on social media. With consumers seeking answers to their business and personal questions via online influencer personalities, you can’t afford not to put your intermediaries on social media to engage these audiences thirsty for (and often unable to find) credible information.

If you haven’t already, plan to empower your producers (agents, loan officers, financial advisors, and other rock stars at your organization) to share their expert advice on social media. When they do, your social sellers’ audiences can build up their financial literacy with insights from qualified professionals. Those prospects’ and customers’ lives will improve, and their loyalty will grow.

Note that your social selling team members don’t have to become superstar influencers for this strategy to work, either. Micro-influencers in their communities also gain plenty of loyalty — and sales as a result. Because social algorithms favor individuals over brands, it’s time to get more of your brand representatives to highlight their expertise on social channels.

3. Social networks as search engines enhances discoverability.

Social is the new search engine. Almost 40% of Generation Z searchers go to apps such as Instagram and TikTok first for search capabilities. In other words, they bypass Google in favor of social networks. That’s huge. And we at Denim Social think this online behavior is sure to catch on across generations. We also think the best way to make use of this trend is to have social sellers active on social media. When more of your employees are on social networks, you’re more discoverable.

Another surefire way to take advantage of the social search trend is to make sure your social selling strategies include both organic and paid tactics. When organic and paid elements work together, you can be where consumers need you at the time they need you.

Otherwise, optimizing for search on social isn’t much different from any other SEO work you’ve encountered. A fast way to enhance the discoverability of social selling copy is to ensure that it incorporates strategic hashtags, including nods to trending topics. Remember, it’s fine for social posts to include numerous hashtags, as long as they all make sense. SEO keywords can also fit nicely into social selling content and ad copy, just as they do in website copy and blog posts. All that optimization drives the social media search engine, ensuring users find your content when they’re seeking information that could lead them to decisions.

Social media has changed the game for marketing and has made person-to-person communication (and selling!) an essential strategy. As with any social media strategy, being up to date on trends is critical for social selling success. Guiding your intermediaries to add short videos, credible advice, and search-boosting features to content will strengthen your social selling strategy for 2023.

A financial conversation is already happening online, and your institution needs to be part of it. It’s time to launch a social selling program if you haven’t already. And if you have, let these trends be a clear sign that it’s time to expand your efforts. People are choosing to work with financial professionals they find on social media, and your intermediaries can meet them there. Want more insider knowledge about applying social selling techniques? Download our exclusive 2023 Denim Social Trend Report today.

Smart financial marketers know social media and social selling are essential  to effectively reach and build trust with today’s consumers. But how does your digital marketing strategy measure up against competitors?

Denim Social is here to help. We collected social media data from 177 institutions across banking, mortgage, wealth management and insurance to help you get the pulse on the social media performance. Take a look and see how your institution stacks up.

Ready to learn how you can adopt these trends? Book a demo to learn more.

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People buy from people. That fundamental truth is the cornerstone of the insurance industry and is holding true even as the insurance value chain becomes more and more digital. But in a world where customers increasingly avoid in-person interactions — McKinsey’s 2020 U.S. Insurance Agent Survey saw a 65% drop in face-to-face conversations in 2020, with a slow recovery — how do agents adjust? The answer is to meet customers where they are - online.

Insurance professionals likely view social media as a necessary evil, but social media can be a powerful sales tool, putting agents right in the path of their clients and prospects. It’s more than just posting content into a digital void; it’s taking what agents have done for decades to build their business and bringing it to life within the social media landscape. Consider this: GWI research suggests online consumers around the globe spend almost 2.5 hours scrolling through social sites daily.

Putting energy into social media as a sales tool means attracting those eyes and winning more chances to interact with prospects and customers. But where do you start? Here are a few things to consider before leaning into social selling.

1. Learn exactly what social selling is (and isn’t)

Social selling is using social media to showcase thought leadership and industry expertise, build relationships and, ultimately, connect with new prospects while maintaining trust with existing ones. But a social selling strategy requires much more than having a Twitter account; it requires the same attention as any sales methods do. It’s taking social beyond simply posting regularly. It’s using social as a connection point to identify life events and points of connection with your community. And the good news is, you should see the returns. LinkedIn’s Social Selling data notes that 78% of social sellers outshine their peers who aren’t using social media as a sales tool.

2. Take stock of your social media accounts

If you hope to capitalize on social selling, you must first take stock of your existing social media accounts and look for opportunities to strengthen your overall social presence.

Whichever social channel mix you’ve decided is right for your business (it’s OK not to be on every social platform!), you always want to make sure your brand is consistent and robust across each channel. That sounds easy, but there are a few things to consider to ensure that your identity is clear and consistent:

• Profile images: Whether it’s a professionally taken photo, a well-lit high-resolution image taken on a smartphone or your company logo, make sure your profile images reflect how you and your company look today. (For example: Don’t use your headshot from 15 years ago.)
• Cover images: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all have a space for a cover or background image. Be sure you have a cover image that is consistent with your brand and that you have the rights to use that image.
• “About” sections: Today’s consumers use social media for information searches like they use Google, so your bios and “about” sections pages are more important than ever. Sections can vary across social channels, but your information should be accurate and reflect your business on each channel. Pay special attention to your business description, location information and hours of operation.

Rather than jump right into the heavy stuff, it’s important to get these social media ducks in a row first.

3. Make a plan for posting, engaging and amplifying.

After your social accounts are up to speed, it’s important to have a plan. Regularly posting content is only the foundation of social selling, but it will help keep you top of mind with your followers and give you a place to interact with them. It also sets you up well when you’re ready to start putting money behind your posts with paid social advertising.

Beyond posting, it’s important to keep an eye on those who interact with your posts. Comment back, connect with them or, better yet, give them a call. Social selling really comes to life when you can weave social into your everyday sales practices. Either way, prioritize social just as you would other crucial facets of your business. Post regularly and have a plan for responding and engaging with your existing and potential clients. Then turn those engagements into sales opportunities.

4. Leverage your resources.

You’re not the only one flexing your social selling muscles, so look to others – even insights from competitors - for help. A good way to begin is to look at the social accounts of others in and out of your sector. What are they writing about? What posts seem to engage followers? How are they branding themselves to be trustworthy experts? Use the information you gather to help you plan your own social selling and content strategy.

The question shouldn’t be if you should start social selling, it’s when. Your existing and potential clients are there, waiting for you. You only must give social selling the time and energy it deserves. As someone in a profession built around risk, you’ll find that social selling is a safe bet.

This article was originally published in Insurance Newsnet.

In today’s origination and refi environment, most mortgage loan officers are finding it’s no longer fish in a barrel. That means every loan officer needs to consider their competitive edge. And when bargain-basement rates are no longer the decision driver for prospects, relationships matter more than ever.

Everyone knows a successful sales strategy is focused on building long-term, trusted relationships, but today, that means building relationships online. Social media has long been regarded as a brand builder, but the real power of social is using it as a sales tool. It’s called social selling and it works.

Social selling is just what it sounds like: using social media to sell a product or service. It’s leveraging social to build personal relationships, showcase thought leadership, engage with prospects, interact with existing customers, and ultimately build trust and rapport that will eventually lead to deals.

An active social selling strategy can not only help build ongoing relationships, but keep you top of mind with contacts when opportunities open up – and in this rate environment, that can be short-lived.

Social selling requires continual care and management, but it’s worth the investment of time, and effort when you’re using social to drive business results. A daily social selling routine helps loan officers in so many ways and managing a program doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s where to start:

Optimize Your Profile

Before you even get to posting, it’s important to take a look at your profiles to ensure your brand is consistent across channels. Ensure you have a current and easily recognizable profile picture. If you haven’t already, upload a cover image and update the about section to be your descriptions, location and hours are current.

Post Meaningful and Relevant Content

It’s not only important for you to be posting regularly, you need to be posting with purpose. Your social profiles should be an extension of who you are in real life. Authenticity always wins in social media.

There is no magic formula for how often you should post, but consistency is key. Successful social selling programs offer a variety of organic content. The mix looks different for every loan officer, but commonly a healthy and informed mix includes brand, industry and most importantly, personal/community content.

Interact with the Community

Social media is a two-way conversation and that means you need to be interacting with followers. In other words, don’t post and ghost. Social selling is about listening, responding and engaging. It’s a conversation, so you should be promptly responding to comments and direct messages, showing connections that their inquiries and concerns matter.

When every deal matters, so does every relationship. If you’re looking to build trust and connection with customers and prospects alike, make sure your profiles are up to date, post regularly and interact with your followers. A social selling strategy can help you make the most of social media opportunities in a competitive environment.

This article was originally published in MBA Newslink.

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