It is essential for advisers to use all avenues for engaging existing clients, and in developing opportunities with prospective clients. The Internet is the most powerful marketing resource for achieving both of these aims. Internet and social media marketing is used to:

• Engage existing clients – build stronger relationships through regular contact where clients are active on-line.
• Have a presence where target clients are – the Internet and social media enable practices to find and reach clearly defined target client niches, whether they are existing clients or prospects.
• Build on-line communities – the practice should have an email database with clients categorised on relevant criteria. In addition, the practice can build on-line communities by having Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers, LinkedIn Connections, YouTube Subscribers, etc. Each of these communities receives content tailored to their needs.
• Build an on-line library of valuable content – when target clients search on the Internet, or searches on a social media network, or visits the practice website, they find a wealth of relevant content.
• Own the reputation of the practice and advisers – if the practice regularly publishes quality content, it has greater control over search engine results, its on-line reputation, and its professional presence.
• Be the experts on chosen topics – authored content positions advisers as experts and influencers.
• Build the practice brand and personal brand of advisers – the Internet allows both the practice and individual advisers to create and build their own distinct brands.
• Develop new referral sources – the Internet provides access to other professionals. The Internet itself becomes a referral source through the publishing of Education Based Marketing items that generate referrals from the practice website, social media networks, and the overall on-line presence of the practice and advisers. The practice uses Influencer Marketing to establish relationships with those individuals who have a large on-line audience matched to the target client profiles.
• Be found in search results by prospects – make it easy for prospects who do not know the practice, to find it. Then engage them with quality content and a professional presence.
• Validate word-of-mouth referrals – as soon as an existing client or COI recommends an adviser, the prospective client checks them out on-line. You control what prospects find.

Example - Accountant presentation. As a service to a financial planner, I did a presentation to the partners of an accounting firm who are a referral source for the practice, on social media marketing. After the presentation, a Partner asked me to have a quick look at his LinkedIn profile. There were over fifty requests to connect. In fifteen minutes, we accepted over thirty Connection invitations, and wrote recommendations for 2 of his top clients. In other words, thirty-two contacts were notified of this activity in fifteen minutes. One of the recommendations wrote an immediate thank you. This is engagement and keeping front-of-mind with clients.

Note: this information is taken from my free PDF download 'Financial Planner's Marketing Blueprint' available from this website.

All professional advice based practices need to fully embrace their clients of today and tomorrow on the Internet. That’s where these clients are active and can easily be engaged.