LinkedIn can be an incredible resource for your business, helping you to build a network of peers, keep in touch with clients, and nurture prospects who aren’t quite ready to buy yet.
But just like many social media platforms, LinkedIn can be noisy – there are lots of businesses and individuals trying to reach the same audience as you.
So, how can you make the most of the opportunities available on the platform and create scroll-stopping posts that allow you to stay front of mind for your ideal clients? Read on for five simple ideas that could help.
1. Include personal photos rather than stock images
Personal photos are always more eye-catching than stock photos, so this is a no-brainer when it comes to creating content that will stand out. Including a photo of something relevant to your post is intriguing, as it’s something your followers won’t have seen 100 times before. It also adds an additional talking point for those who choose to engage and comment, which can only be a good thing.
What’s more, personal photos help your followers put a face to a name, building trust and making it more likely that they’ll recognise your posts in the future.
2. Mix up your post formats by including carousels, videos, and polls
On a recent call with one of our clients, we noticed that the carousel posts we’d published for him had led to an increase in engagement. This might have been because these types of posts encourage interaction – it’s satisfying to click through the slides and “complete” the carousel.
Relevant, high-quality polls are a similarly helpful way to encourage interaction from your followers – and the results could inspire future posts, which is a win-win.
Another post format that seems to be growing in popularity on LinkedIn is video. If you’re confident enough to create videos of yourself answering the questions your audience often has, you can position yourself as an authority and help your followers to build trust with you and your firm.
Experimenting with different post formats can help you understand which are most effective for you, while also offering plenty of interesting content for your followers to engage with.
3. Experiment with different hooks to draw your audience in
As advertising giant David Ogilvy famously said: “When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
On a social media post, this relates to your hook – the couple of lines at the start of the post that followers will see first, and that hopefully encourage people to click “Read more”.
Personally, I’ve found that being as specific as possible can help to capture attention and avoid people scrolling past. Rather than “How to save for retirement”, try “5 simple ways to boost your pension fund today and increase your retirement savings”. Other ideas include sharing a personal anecdote, starting in the middle of a story, or including a hard-hitting stat that is hyper-relevant to your target audience.
Just like your post formats, experimenting with different types of hooks can help you to notice what your audience typically responds to. When you know this, you can do more of what works.
4. Focus on the benefits of financial planning rather than the features
One of the traps we see a lot of planners fall into on social media is getting caught up talking about the features of financial planning rather than the benefits.
While there is certainly a place for educational posts about topics such as tax planning, investing, saving for the future, and other more technical topics, these should be accompanied by posts that talk about the deeper fears that your prospects are likely to be having – the questions that keep them up at night.
Examples might include “Will I ever be able to afford to retire?” and “How would my family manage financially if I fell ill and couldn’t work?”. Acknowledge these fears and offer your wisdom. In doing so, you’ll show your prospects you understand and are here to help with the difficult topics that others may not be talking about.
5. Don’t be afraid to talk about yourself
If you needed to hire a solicitor, and had to choose between two equally well-qualified professionals, but only one of them shared your interests, which would you likely choose?
I’m guessing you’d choose the person you have something in common with. Just like those photos I mentioned above, personal stories and anecdotes help show prospects your personality and your values. It’s another way of subtly attracting the sort of people you’d love to work with.
This doesn’t mean sharing everything with your LinkedIn followers – it’s about selecting the stories and interests you’d like to promote. It could be to do with work, or it could be a hobby or passion you have outside of your vocation, such as charity work or a sports club you’re part of.
When you share your interests and hobbies, you create talking points in your posts that encourage more people to comment. Moreover, you’re likely to stick in someone’s mind if the topics you post about really resonate.
Get in touch
Here at Yardstick, we love creating social media campaigns for financial planners that showcase your expertise and position you as an expert. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you, please get in touch. You can email us at social@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.
