One of my guilty pleasures is scrolling mindlessly through my local Facebook group.

Someone is always asking whether anyone knows why there’s a helicopter flying overhead, while someone else is desperately trying to find the owner of a lost cat, and three people are locked in a heated debate about the local post office.

But among all the chaos, there’s another type of post that always catches my attention: people asking for recommendations for local services.

These posts can present an incredibly valuable opportunity for local businesses, including financial advisers.

After all, when someone needs a financial adviser, they want someone they can trust. A recommendation from a friend, neighbour, or fellow dog-walker can carry a lot more weight than finding a stranger through a Google search.

Introducing your firm to your local community, sharing useful information, and keeping an eye out for conversations where you might be able to help can make you a familiar face long before someone even realises they need your services.

Local Facebook groups could help you reach a completely new audience

We’ve recently started putting this into practice for one of our clients, and the early results have been promising.

Over the first 90 days of their Facebook group strategy, their posts received nearly 9,000 views, an increase of 549% compared with the previous 90 days.

Perhaps even more interestingly, 87% of those views came from people who didn’t already follow their Facebook page.

That’s a lot of new eyes on their content from local people who may otherwise never have come across their business.

So, how can you start getting your firm in front of more people in your community?

1. Find the right local Facebook groups

The first step is to find Facebook groups where your potential clients are already spending time.

Try searching for groups based around:

• Your town or city
• Local businesses
• Community events
• Your wider local area or county
• Specific communities you specialise in working with.

Don’t automatically assume that the group with the most members will be the most useful, either.

A smaller group with regular conversations and an engaged community could be just as valuable as one with tens of thousands of members where your post disappears down the feed within an hour.

It’s also worth checking each group’s rules before you post.

Some Facebook groups don’t allow businesses to promote themselves at all, while others have specific days for advertising or restrictions around what businesses can share.

Basically, read the rules and don’t make the admins mad at you!

2. Introduce yourself to the community

Once you’ve found a handful of relevant groups, resist the temptation to immediately start advertising your services.

Spend some time looking at the group first. What do people post about? Which posts attract comments? Are businesses regularly sharing content, and if so, what performs well?

Then, when you’re ready, introduce yourself.

You could share a friendly post explaining who you are, where your office is based, and the types of people you usually help. A team photo or selfie can make the post feel much more welcoming than a corporate graphic, too.

The aim at this stage is simply to make more people aware you exist.

In fact, for one of our clients, an introductory post generated more views and interactions than any other post so far.

3. Share useful information rather than constant adverts

One of the easiest ways to make people switch off is to constantly beg them to get in touch with you.

Instead, give them a reason to want to hear from you.

If you’ve recently published a blog post answering a common financial question, for example, you could share it with a relevant group.

You could also share news from your business, such as:

• An award
• A new qualification
• A five-star client review
• An upcoming local event
• Photos of your team getting involved in the community.

Think about what somebody who doesn’t know your business would find interesting, helpful, or reassuring.

During the first 90 days of our client’s posting strategy, their engagements increased by 1,250% compared with the previous period.

The people reacting to these posts might not be ready to contact a financial adviser yet. But they are seeing your firm’s name, engaging with your content, and will remember your name when they need you.

4. Keep an eye out for questions you can answer

Sharing your own posts is only half the job.

It’s also important to spend some time looking through your groups to see what other people are talking about.

If somebody asks:

• “What should I do with my old workplace pension?”
• “Does anyone know a good financial adviser in the area?”
• “Can anyone recommend someone who can help with investments?”

That could be your opportunity to join the conversation.

Briefly introduce yourself, answer their question where appropriate, and offer to have a longer conversation if they would like more help.

5. Don’t just post and ghost

Joining a Facebook group shouldn’t mean dropping your scheduled post once a month and disappearing until the next one.

The reason this strategy is so unique is that it helps you build a real sense of community… as long as you engage with other people in return.

Answer someone’s question, congratulate a local business on an achievement, or recommend another company to someone who needs one, so you’re contributing something meaningful to the group other than your own posts.

Trust is particularly important for financial advisers, as you support people with some of the most important decisions they’ll make about their money and future.

Becoming a recognisable and helpful member of your local community can give potential clients more opportunities to get to know the person behind the screen before they ever consider becoming a client.

We can help you become part of your local community

Finding the right groups, keeping an eye on conversations, writing posts, and responding to comments can quickly become another tiring thing on your ever-growing to-do list.

That’s where our social media team can help.

We can help you build a social media strategy that goes beyond simply posting on LinkedIn, from creating engaging content to helping you connect with potential clients in the communities that matter to your business.

Get in touch today at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk to find out more about how we can help you.