Voices

Analyze This!

There’s been this guy staring at me in my office. Turns out, he’s a psychological communication expert who specializes in the financial services industry. Oh boy.

It also turns out he’s embedded in a publication put out by the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants - The Register - that has been open to that page since it crossed my desk a few weeks ago. Michael Lovas, the co-founder of AboutPeople, wants to tell me all about the role of social media in business. And I want to listen to him. Really.

Despite throwing a jab to marketing departments everywhere by saying social media “is the perfect solution to the out-dated, over-priced marketing programs we see in this industry” and talking reaaaaally slow to the Baby Boomers who read that pub, he makes some good points, most notably referencing the importance of likeability and credibility in making social networking work successfully:

“The first step is to show that you are safe to deal with, that you won’t try to manipulate people. The second step is to demonstrate that you are likeable and the third step is to demonstrate your expertise is relevant to whomever you are communicating with,” wrote Lovas.

Yeah, that’s good.

But then he makes this statement:

“You’ve probably heard about Twitter and Facebook. I suggest you do not spend time with either one of them. Go to where the action is  - go where your targets are right now. That’s LinkedIn.”

Now we know, many CPAs are on all three – and are having success on all three – is it the same for financial advisors? Finance people, chime in. Is LinkedIn the place to be? And is there a difference in how financial advisors and CPAs use their social media?

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