If you are looking to recruit more female clients, consider integrating Pinterest into your practice, says Kristen Luke, president and CEO of Wealth Management Marketing Inc. in San Diego, Calif.
“Pinterest appeals to women,” Luke says. “If you are looking to market to women, it is a good social media site for advisors.”
Recent research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project says that women are about five times more likely to use the popular social media scrapbooking site than men.
And it has become one of the fastest-growing sites on the web.
Pinterest works on a pinboard concept. Users “pin” images to “boards” they create based on a topic or theme. Clicking on these photos will link visitors back to each image’s originating website.
Like other social media tools, Pinterest can help drive traffic to your website. But, Luke says, Pinterest is much more visual than those other tools.
Luke offers the following advice on how you can integrate Pinterest into your practice:
> Go beyond finance
Like Twitter and Facebook, Luke says, Pinterest offers a way to help you build relationships with your prospects and clients.
While the primary focus of your “pins” should be about your business, you should include other topics that help clients in their personal lives. For example, you could include the occasional “pin” about fitness, nutrition or travel.
“A lot of advisors want to keep it all business on social media,” Luke says. “But a lot of social media is about the personal side of things.”
The most effective users of social media, she says, are able to balance the professional and the personal.
> Register as a business and as a person
Like Facebook, Pinterest gives you the option of creating a brand page as well as a personal page.
Luke recommends creating one account of each type, to maximize your reach; Pinterest users are more likely to follow individuals.
> Plan ahead
In order to maintain variety in your “pins,” Luke suggests, plan a content strategy for your boards.
She suggests: book lists to boost your clients’ financial literacy; infographics to help them visualize complex concepts; videos or podcasts you have produced.
As part of your strategy, be sure to include a plan on how often you will be “pinning,” to help you become a hub of interesting information for your clients.
This is the third and final instalment in a three-part series on incorporating visuals into your practice. Click here for the first and second instalments.