To Refresh Your Brand, Be 'Personal First'

The lesson for advisors is the same — maybe even more important. Money is so personal and your relationship with an advisor is personal.

People are not necessarily interested in the number of years you've been in business or the amount of your assets under management. But they do want to see how you demonstrate your personality, your values and your emotive side. 

This generates something emotional that people can connect to and "vet you before they've met you." Video can be an important way to show off your personality.

What advice would you give advisors and industry leaders who tend to be quieter or more analytical than emotive? 

Be yourself. It's got to be authentic. You can't pretend to be someone you're not, and no one should. 

How can they best balance the personal and professional on social media?

I always tell people that when it comes to social media and having a personal brand, there's no right or wrong.

Each individual can determine where the line between personal and professional feels the best. And with digital/social media, you can A/B test it and see what resonates with your audience.

A social media post should give others a connection point to you that goes beyond you saying, "Here's my white paper, please read it." 

In social media, and all communications, it's important to be client-centric and highlight the benefits of engaging with your content. 

Similarly for bios or really anything public facing. For example, in my website bio, I say that I grew up in Detroit, and I included a childhood photo. The idea is to put some personality into this and give someone a way to begin a conversation that is beyond just professional.

After 15 years in my own business and many years in business, I can safely say that people do business with people they like.

What's your view on adding personality for more traditional firms in the advice business, both publicly traded or those owned by private equity? 

You still want to be true to your brand. For firms, they need to be true to their own DNA. For individuals at that firm, there is probably a bit more latitude. Your own personal brand should represent you but still stay within firm guidelines.

It's all a balance of coming up with something that makes you look fresh and new but also differentiated and true to yourself. This approach is indicative of the work we do at The Rudin Group, and it's why you need to work with an outside firm.

Otherwise, you'll rely on inside people, who tend to do the same thing over and over again and can't think differently about the things they do every day.

What's some content that is best to avoid posting online? 

It's better not to include anything on social, digital or other media associated with your brand that's about politics, religion or anything that can be polarizing. 

Content that is posted should be a turn on and certainly not a turn off. If you feel like people are going to look at a topic and there is potential to be turned off, don't post it. 

Try to be as inclusive as possible, because, "People will vet you before they've met you." They search for you online and go to your website.

If your social/digital profile and content aligns with who they think you are and it resonates with a reader, they're potentially going to reach out and make an inquiry. Otherwise, you will not know about those missed opportunities of people who were turned off.