Facebook Advertising for Financial Advisors – Tips to Follow

Facebook often gets a bad rep as a source of misinformation; however, don’t discount it just yet. Facebook is also one of the most affordable and effective advertising platforms out there. Not only can you create a free page for your business, you can advertise only to targeted demographics in your area.

If you are a financial advisor who is looking to grow your client list through affordable advertising, then you may want to consider utilizing Facebook.

What Makes Facebook Advertising For Financial Advisors So Effective?

In the world of advertising, it is very important to have a target market or a niche. Facebook collects demographic information about its users, it can easily target ads towards groups that are most likely to require your services. Facebook also has the highest CTR (click-through rate) on ads posted on the site – even more than Instagram and Audience Network. This means that your ads are much more likely to effectively engage your audience, leading to more leads generated and a greater number of conversions for your business.

Benefits of Facebook Advertising for Financial Advisors

• Ads aren’t hard to create; you can even do it yourself. Facebook allows you to promote your posts and show them as ads. You also have the option to create different types of ads that can promote your website, your whole page, certain posts, or promote a call-to-action button

• They are ideal for generating leads on people who may be interested in your services. When you first start advertising, it is about taking small steps. Someone may not schedule a consultation right away, but you can use ads to expose them to your brand.

• Facebook can build brand awareness to make conversions. This is when a prospective client is aware of your brand, then finally takes the plunge to book an appointment and inquire about your services.

• Compared to other types of ads, Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive and can be more successful than other forms of advertising that are more expensive. You really don’t need to pay for TV ads, mailing campaigns, or billboards – not when Facebook ads will do that for you digitally with an audience of millions of people per day.

• Targeted advertising is overall more fruitful than general advertising. Not everyone is going to need your services, so they shouldn’t need to see your ads either. Because ads cost money, targeting your market demographic is the best way to get maximum exposure for your buck.

• Organic reach on any social media platform has its limits. The only guaranteed way to put content in front of the people who need to see it is with targeted ads.

• Facebook offers a variety of options for creative, interactive ads. These include images, slideshows, carousels, collections, canvases, videos, gifs, and more. Simple images or blocks of text aren’t engaging, so people will scroll right past it. However, things like brief, fun videos and canvases will draw in a user’s attention and expose them to your brand.

• Facebook also offers metrics so that you can measure your success and adjust your ad campaign accordingly

How To Get Started: Creating a Great Facebook Page

A beautiful, informative, well-made Facebook page does not just appear overnight, but a quality Facebook page is a must for financial advisors. Not only can you showcase your professionalism through your page, it will also be the jumping off point for all your ads.

1) Getting Started

The first step is to create a business-oriented Facebook page with 2-3 initial posts, a banner image, a professional profile photo, and all the information filled out. The key is that this page should have cohesive branding, while you remain personable and approachable.

If you need help with branding, Mediaboom can help!

This means that you will also need to keep a close eye on what you post on your business page. As a financial advisor, it will be beneficial for you to show your personality and have some photos of yourself on your page. Being personable can help draw in clients; however, you will need to find a balance between being approachable and being unprofessional.

2) Setting Goals

The first step of every advertising campaign is to set goals. However, these goals have to be realistic and doable. How fast you want to grow your Facebook presence and your client base will inform how many ads and posts you do. If you want to grow faster, then it will also cost more money in advertising.

In general, it is best to start small with one platform.

If you are running your own Facebook ads, then it is best to master Facebook before you try to advertise on other social media sites. You should also start with 1 or 2 ads to test out what works with your target audience. The truth is that it is hard to know what will land with people. Sometimes people will click on anything with the word “free” in it, other times a smiling face is the best way to generate clicks. Once you know what works, then you can start putting out more ads.

However, if all this Facebook advertising for financial advisors sounds like a lot of work, that can be where MediaBoom comes in. We can handle all your Facebook advertising while you focus on what you do best: helping clients manage their money.

3) Build the Right Audience

Your target audience will depend on what you specialize in.

For example, if your niche is retirement, then it really doesn’t help you to advertise to college students. Once you decide on your target demographic, Facebook can put ads in front of people who match that demographic. This can mean targeting certain neighborhoods, age groups, genders, races, or professions.

Facebook can also target people who have liked certain pages recently, say a page about real estate investing.

Even when you are not advertising explicitly, building an audience can be done in other ways.

For example, inviting people to like your page. You can also join groups, including groups for business owners, groups with other financial advisors, or groups for your area. Joining groups and being a part of the online community can help generate free and genuine attention, as well as traffic to your page. Once you have a following of people who are interested in your services, you can easily put out content to encourage them to book a consultation with you.

Overall, the more followers in your audience, the better. But it is best if these followers are in your target demographic and in a position to utilize your services.

How Content Creation Can Help Financial Advisors

Facebook advertising for financial advisors is not just about creating and paying for ads.

There are other ways to utilize the platform and reach your audience for free, including by creating content. If you are active on social media, you probably know what good content looks like. Think about what you stop and read when you are scrolling through your personal Facebook feed.

Here are some tips for creating quality content:

• Provide useful information – As a financial advisor, you probably have lots of tips and tricks that lay people don’t know. Share some of that wisdom! Post fun facts, tips, and explainers about your area of expertise.

If information is useful to someone, they will usually take the time to read it and share it with their friends. Shares are essentially free advertising. The key is that the information has to be useful to make an impression and be shared.

• Make sure your content is entertaining – This can be hard as a financial advisor because many people’s brains will turn off when they try to think about finance. This is where you can utilize videos, images, gifs, and even memes. Of course, it is important to be professional at the same time, but changing the format of your content is a great way to spice it up for your audience.

• High-quality content is the key – Whether it is posting high-quality headshots along with brief bullet points of your general advice for the public or writing well-worded posts. If it isn’t high-quality, then it is a guarantee that no one will finish reading it or engage fully.

• Invite questions and participation – Facebook is, first and foremost, a social network. Even when you are trying to advertise, interaction can help. The best way to do this is in the comments section. Feel free to invite people to ask questions on your posts, then answer them in the comments. This is also where you can invite people to schedule a consultation with you if they have further questions.

It also helps show off your expertise and gives potential clients a sense of how you can help them. The added bonus of comments is that more comments mean that the Facebook algorithm will make your post more widely seen.

How Financial Advisors Can Utilize Facebook Ads

Ads are one of the best tools for Facebook advertising for financial advisors. You can create quality content and build a following all day long, but ads are the icing on the cake when it comes to brand exposure and getting conversions.

There are two things to keep in mind when you do Facebook ads; these can make or break your advertising campaign.

The first is ad frequency

This is the average number of times that users see your ad, and it is important that you know how many views it takes for users to notice and ad and take action. Many people think that the more times someone sees the ad, the better. However, this isn’t the case. For example, have you ever seen the same ad over and over again to the point where you get annoyed by it? Exactly. You don’t want your ad to be the one that evokes that reaction in people.

In traditional advertising, the ideal ad frequency was 3 times; however, in Facebook advertising this number is 1 to 2. The reason is that Facebook ads are interactive, so they can make a greater impression with fewer views. It is also an option for users to hide ads and give feedback on them; if a user sees your ad too many times, they may hide it.

When this happens or when someone gives you ad negative feedback, your relevance score will plummet.

When you are using Facebook advertising for financial advisors, you may be competing for the same demographics as other professionals in your area. This competition is why your relevance score is important. The higher that score, the more likely your ad is to be shown over other similar ads to your demographic. Not only will this undercut your competition, it will give you a broader audience.

The second IS target audience

Defining your audience is the best way to get the most impressions for your dollar. You can target an audience by the following factors:

• Location – This can include communities that match your target demographic’s income level

• Behavior – This is based on prior purchases and device usage by users. If you specialize in real estate or financial planning for small businesses, certain behaviors can help target demographics that need help in these areas.

• Demographics – This includes age, gender, education, job title, and more. While Facebook will never share identifiable information with you about your audience, its algorithms can ensure that the right people see your ads.

• Connections – You can choose to include or exclude people who are already connected to your Facebook page. If your followers have a low conversion rate, then including them in ads may encourage them to finally book an appointment with you. However, if you are seeking new audiences, then it will be best to exclude your current followers.

• Interests – This can help you find people who are in need of your niche services. You can target people with certain interests and hobbies, from yoga to fishing to Fantasy Football.

Sound Complicated? Speak to a Specialist

There is a lot to think about when you are considering facebook advertising for financial advisors.

You probably have a lot on your plate already, so why not let Mediaboom take over the advertising so that you can focus on helping your clients.

Learn more about our services for financial advisors or contact us if you have any questions.