Few can disagree that having a social media presence and strategy is essential, whether you're an independent advisor or part of a large firm. But some, while armed with the best intentions and high expectations, are often disappointed that they don't see immediate results from their efforts.
The secret to social media success is to be steady, thoughtful and purposeful – for both the individual advisor and the company implementing a social business program across the enterprise. For Prudential Advisors, this approach has been key.
"We first launched our social business program with a small group of our existing social media users, then proceeded with a phased implementation," says Birdia Chambers, director of social business strategy at Prudential Advisors. "This approach gave us the opportunity to increase our familiarity and experience with the technology platform we introduced as we increased the number of users. Today, we have close to 1,000 financial professionals and field managers who focus on prospecting and recruiting through social, and we look forward to increasing the number of users in 2016 and beyond."
Frank DeLucia, a Prudential Financial advisor based in Brookfield, Conn., has been with the firm since 2006 and initially just maintained a LinkedIn profile for networking and to have a presence for reactive inquiries. Over time, he's expanded his social media efforts to Facebook as well and is more proactive by sharing useful, educational content and reaching out when his connections and contacts experience key life events.
"Social media is not the future, it's here now and there's no reason to not have a presence," says DeLucia. "I know my efforts are paying off because people are seeing my content and asking questions. I'm also seeing new likes from people I don't know."
