SM Playbook For Services

Welcome to Social Studies.

Social media playbook for professional services:

My friend just became a financial advisor.

He asked me for social media advice.

He’s with one of the big firms that has strict rules about what they can say on social.

The canned content they can use reeks of corporate.

If I was him, here’s how I’d differentiate myself from the bazillion other advisors.

1. Don’t be an advisor.

My buddy started, grew, and exited a lawn care company that dominated the small town market.

Talk about that as much as possible.

Tell the story about the time your employees were skinny dipping in the customer’s pool.

Don’t forget about having to fire your lovable, but accident prone employee who couldn’t stop breaking your stuff.

How did you keep your books?

What massive tax mistake cost you 10 grand?

Where were you putting your money?

Where SHOULD you have been putting your money?

All of this is just his personal story, but over time will attract the person who is in the (grass stained) shoes that he used to be in.

2. Don’t shut up about yourself

Take a picture from behind the drums as you play in the worship team at church.

Afterwards, snap a pic of your sermon notes.

Then pose for a photo of you and your wife grabbing lunch at the local Mexican restaurant after.

The business backstory content attracts an audience, but this content is how the audience (and potential clients) get to know you.

People do business with people they like, know, and trust.

This is the content that earns the trust.

3. Follows/Connections

You can probably guess the angle I’m going here…

We’re not “another financial advisor.”

We’re “an entrepreneur who has lived in the trenches and is now giving the help that he wished he had.”

So… find people in that spot.

Small local business owners in a 50 mile radius.

Follow them/Connect with them.

DO NOT SELL.

Just send a message that says,

“Hey! Saw you’re building an ABC business in XYZ. Love following other local entrepreneurs doing dope stuff. Cheering for you!”

Is that going to make you money today?

No.

Tomorrow?

No.

But if you do that 20 times per day for 5 years?

No doubt.

We’re not selling in the DMs, we’re making real connections with people we have something in common with so that when they decide they need a financial advisor…

They’ll go with the person who has been in their shoes…

they trust…

they have a genuine connection to.