New tool could enhance advisors’ reach

“Social media is not a tool that you should necessarily be using to sell, per se,” says Sean Shore, a lawyer in Winnipeg who specializes in securities, compliance and regulatory law. “Rather, [you use it] to enhance your social connections by creating a stronger relationship with the people in your network.”

The new initiative is part of LinkedIn’s attempt to be seen as more than just an online Rolodex; rather, LinkedIn wants to provide greater functionality for its members. LinkedIn Publisher, which originally was provided to only a small group of “influencers,” such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Barack Obama, was first launched in a pilot phase to 25,000 members earlier this year. The tool is being rolled out gradually; currently, about 25% of LinkedIn members worldwide have access to the tool.

LinkedIn has 844,000 members who work in Canada’s financial services sector, 39,000 of whom are financial advisors. A recent survey conducted by LinkedIn found that 57% of these advisors are posting content updates regularly to their LinkedIn profiles.

However, these content updates, which are similar to a Facebook status update or a “tweet” on Twitter, are limited to a small number of characters. Now, with LinkedIn Publisher, users are able to publish posts similar to a blog or a newsletter article – with no restriction on length. Unlike a blog, though, a LinkedIn article has the potential to reach a higher level of readers, prospective clients and peer groups.

Richard Rousseau, senior vice president, private client group, and head of Quebec operations with Toronto-based Raymond James Ltd. in Montreal, began using LinkedIn Publisher last month. Although he isn’t looking to connect with clients directly, he hopes to connect with other advisors who use LinkedIn.

“This is a tool in which I can post material that provides added value to an advisor’s role,” Rousseau says. “After 30 years of experience in the financial advisory business, I have opinions about the business. And I really want to be able to share those.”

Getting a message out doesn’t take long. The interactive Publisher tool notifies a LinkedIn member’s entire network instantly when that member posts an article. Readers are able to comment, “like” or “share” the article among their own networks and, from there, it can be shared repeatedly.

The result, says Gary Fearnall, director of marketing solutions with LinkedIn’s Canadian division in Toronto, could mean a higher level of electronic introductions, as well as a level of engagement that could be hard to accomplish using a personal blog.

You can see the level of engagement your LinkedIn articles are creating by using Publisher’s analytical tool. You also can see how many people have viewed your post, where those individuals are located and which industries they work in. The tool tracks who has liked or shared your article, as well as provide the opportunity to be featured in LinkedIn’s PULSE news feed, the website’s mobile online news reader app.

PULSE articles are widely distributed, as well as being featured in LinkedIn’s e-blast newsletter.

The original content of your post becomes part of your profile page and is displayed on the “posts” section of your LinkedIn profile. Once uploaded, your article is searchable, both on and off the LinkedIn website – if not limited by your privacy settings.

“This new feature is going to allow an advisor to be seen the way he or she wants to be seen on the platform,” Fearnall says, “but in a much more robust way than they could before with limited content updates. And we’re seeing a significant difference in the quality and depth of the information being exposed with this new tool.”

You can still control who can see your posts through your privacy settings. As well, you have the ability to remove derogatory comments made on your posts. (Although, Fearnall says, these are rare because most LinkedIn users are identified professionally.)

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