Digital presence: How to upgrade and evolve your online persona

What comes up when you Google Search your name? Hopefully it is nothing bad, but the best-case scenario would be for a comprehensive online presence, full of quality blog posts, social media accounts, a professional website and more. The Internet is a resource now more than ever, and financial advisors can leverage this tool to gain an edge in the industry.

Today, professionals have to win the battle for clients online as much as offline. However, it isn't enough to simply be online. Advisors have to create an engaging experience on the Internet in order to attract and retain clients, from the initial conversation through a multi-year relationship.

Crafting a skilled digital persona has three distinct elements:

• The blog
• The social media profiles
• The client experience

How you can improve your blogging
One of the best and most effective ways to get your name to the top of a search engine like Google is to blog. The more your name is attached to quality material online, the better chance you'll have to get noticed.

Your blog can be an independent website, but the best option is to have it attached to your professional site or the website of your advisory firm. This way, readers will already be on your site when they're done checking out the blog.

A quality blog also includes several key elements:

• Value
• Keywords
• Call-to-action

The first, broad element of a good blog is value. You can't blog about any old topic - it needs to relate to your skills and your profession. When thinking of topics, consider the problems often faced by your clients. What do they want to know? What do they need to know? Answering common questions through your blog is an easy, effective way to provide immediate value to your readership.

The second element is the keywords. Having the right search terms in your blogs will help rank them higher on social media. Examples of useful keywords include "financial advisor," or "retirement planning." Keep the keywords relevant to your content in order to draw in the right audience.

The third element is the call-to-action. This is the part of your blog that inspires the reader to take action. In this case, it would be to either reach out to you for more information or to simply hire you. Including a brief CTA in your blog will help convert readers into leads and eventually clients.

How you can get better on social media
Social media is another valuable tool for your online presence. In addition to a blog, having social media accounts across the big sites will help bring in clients and spread the word about your industry expertise.

The sites you should focus on first are: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you are new to social media, you may want to first experiment with a personal account before going professional. This will buffer your business from early social-media faux pas and let you learn about the various resources provided by the big three. Once this is done, you should create professional accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here is how you can use social media to your advantage:

• Value - Value is, once again, the most important step. Don't tweet out your lunch for the day. Do tweet out a link to your blog or a quick update on the stock market. Providing value to your followers is the best way to keep them around.
• Variety - Variety is also critical. Don't use social media as the only way to sell your services. Do use social media to network, advertise, sell and prospect. Given the sensitive nature of the industry, you should also save financial guidance for a more private setting.
• Education - Many clients are unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of your guidance. They need a bit of an education on the subject, and you can use social media for this purpose. If you keep topics broad, you can share posts, tweet or blog about investment advice, retirement strategies, new regulations and many other critical topics.

How you can improve the client experience
The final third of your digital presence is the client experience. This is how they interact with you and your business - and it needs to be optimized for the best results. You want to be able to interact with your clients quickly, securely and easily, all online.

Today, clients want a variety of ways to connect with you online, including:

• Email
• Video chat
• Text chat
• Client portal

Best of all, these methods of communication can all be recorded and stored for both quality assurance and review on your part. Being able to reach you quickly and conveniently is beneficial not just for current clients but for prospects as well.

Your website should also have a secure client portal. This is a private website that lets your clients check their personal information, review their current strategies and research management tools. A client portal is the ideal way to share data with your clients. Portals can even go mobile, utilizing a specific smartphone application so clients can have access on the go.

Overall, the client experience should be streamlined, convenient and easy to use. With a variety of options, you'll be able to please more clients and keep them engaged with your business.

Find the right balance
The right online presence for you takes some balance. For example, social media may not be your thing - or it could not be the best option for your target audience. In that case, you may want to rely more heavily on blogging and the client experience.

To get started, you can try to experiment with these options. Google search your name, see what comes up and figure out what you can do to improve. Then, focus on creating valuable, engaging and fun content across a variety of platforms. Most importantly, remember to inject a bit of your personality into your digital persona.

To learn more on this topic, register for our Certified Wealth Strategist program.

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