5 Social Trends for 2018

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1 5 Social Trends for 2018 Another carefully prepared whitepaper from the marketing experts at FMG Suite.

2 Who is FMG Suite? At FMG Suite, our business is centered around one simple premise: we love marketing so you don t have to. We know that you are busy meeting with clients and may not have time to roll out the sophisticated marketing strategies you would like. This is why we have created lead generating websites and integrated digital marketing tools for financial advisors. We act as your marketing team and help with automation, , social media, content creation, website design, and more. Our team is a group of experts who combine decades of financial marketing experience to pioneer a unique marketing approach for financial advisors. We ve recruited top talent in video production, graphic design, animation, compliance, marketing, content creation, web development, search engine optimization, and software design in order to break new ground in digital marketing. Everything we do and create is designed to help you accomplish more through your marketing for less time and money. WE BELIEVE FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS DESERVE TO FOCUS ON WHAT THEY LOVE. THEY DON T LOVE MARKETING. WE DO. WE COMBINE REMARKABLE CONTENT AND ELEGANT TECHNOLOGY IN AN INSPIRED MARKETING SUITE. Meet your new marketing team by visiting 2

3 Table of Contents 01 Leverage Influencer Marketing 02 Attract Generation Z Page 06 Page Use More Video Page Encourage Employee Advocacy Page Utilize Ephemeral Content Page 09 3

4 Foreword As we begin this new year, the internet is awash with articles looking at new trends in The problem is a lot of these lists do not seem geared towards the unique position financial advisors inhabit in the marketing world. It could make an advisor feel that it might be better to just ignore the trends altogether. But social marketing is not just a trend, it is an industry necessity and has been accepted as one of the best practices for spreading a marketing message and establishing a brand. Communicating your unique value proposition over social is one of the primary ways you give prospects and current clients the chance to experience your brand. After reading dozens of lists and consulting with our social marketing experts, we have identified five trends that are essential for advisors to focus on in Leverage Influencer Marketing In the world of marketing, there is always one or two phrases that are the buzzwords of the moment. Right now, as the calendar has just turned from 2017 to 2018, the idea that is on everybody s lips is influencer marketing. That may be because statistics say that companies make $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. The concept of tapping users with large followings on social platforms makes a lot of sense. Instead of traditional advertising, influencer marketing allows you Americans consume over 100,000 digital words every single day but 92% say they want businesses to tell stories amongst all these words. 4

5 01 Leverage Influencer Marketing In the world of marketing, there is always one or two phrases that are the buzzwords of the moment. Right now, as the calendar has just turned from 2017 to 2018, the idea that is on everybody s lips is influencer marketing. That may be because statistics say that companies make $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. 1 The concept of tapping users with large followings on social platforms makes a lot of sense. Instead of traditional advertising, influencer marketing allows you to not only access larger audiences but also leverage their willingness to act on the recommendation of their influencer. The result is an exponentially powerful marketing platform that can help your message cut through the noise to deliver a powerful signal. While financial advisors may not be looking for the average YouTube influencer, connecting with influential thought leaders in different verticals can be a great way to drive traffic to blog posts, announce promotions and get introduced to new audiences that might not have ever found your message otherwise. 1. Adweek, 2015 Companies make $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. 5

6 02 Blogging Remains the King of Content The generation coming up behind the Millennials makes up 25% of the US population and enters the job force in That means that this new group of consumers needs to be marketed to, but hardly anyone knows exactly what to say to them. There are significant differences between a member of Generation Z and a Millennial, though precisely what constitutes those differences is still becoming clear. One thing that is for sure is that reaching this new generation takes much more effort than launching a single Facebook ad now and then or hoping that one of your tweets go viral. Gen Z looks for immediate engagement in the form of ephemeral content, chat applications and artificial intelligence augmented experiences. The opportunity to establish your brand with a younger generation who is still developing their purchasing habits and social engagement patterns is the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of a whole new customer segmentation. 2. Business Insider, 2017 Millennials makes up 25% of the US population. 6

7 03 Use More Video For many financial advisors, using more video will translate into using ANY video. The indicators are clear though, the appetite for video online is growing continuously. Studies show that 43% of people prefer video marketing to any other kind. When it comes to marketers naming what type of content has the best ROI, 51.9% name video as number one. 3 Video is also becoming one of the primary advertising avenues for social. Facebook s video ads offer advanced targeting capabilities that not only allow an advisor to address clients and prospects directly but use their demographics and psychographics to create lookalike audiences that are tailored to fit their unique value propositions. LinkedIn recently announced that it will be releasing similar video advertising capabilities on its platform. Using video ads in tandem with these targeting capabilities is a highly efficient way to increase reach and engagement across social channels. 3. HubSpot, % of marketers name video as the number one type of content with the best ROI. 7

8 04 Encourage Employee Advocacy The employees of your agency are an untapped resource for your marketing efforts. B2C brands have already discovered that posts about their products coming from employees are reshared 24 times more frequently than messages from the brand itself. 4 Consumers are more trusting of an employee who takes the initiative to post on behalf of their company than a corporate account that is dedicated to marketing messages. LinkedIn is arguably the most employment-centric platform and recently launched a new feature that allows bosses to monitor the posts of their employees to see what kind of content is being associated with members of their company. This fail-safe makes employee advocacy not only effective but manageable as well. 4. Inc., 2015 Posts coming from employees are re-shared 24 times more frequently than messages from the brand itself. 8

9 05 Utilize Ephemeral Content Daily stories were all the rage this year and will continue to grow in popularity through Ephemeral content is posted by a user, exists for 24 hours and is then erased. 5 The temporary nature of the content makes it more valuable and experiential for viewers and thus more powerful when delivering a marketing message. While most financial advisors haven t taken on Instagram and SnapChat as marketing platforms, the type of content people are posting on them can act as a great guide for advisors who are looking to modernize their own marketing messages. Capturing experiences in of-the-moment type posts is a great way to increase the engagement you are experiencing with your prospects and clients online. There is also nothing stopping advisors from moving into these youth-oriented platforms. Instagram has grown so rapidly as a powerful advertising platform that it should be on every advisor s to-do list this year to discover what role it might play in communicating with clients and prospects. 5. PNAS, 2017 Ephemeral content is posted by a user, exists for 24 hours and is then erased. 9

10 With all of the opportunities and changes happening in the social sphere, these new trends can seem overwhelming. FMG Suite helps advisors manage their online presence by providing them with a full suite of marketing tools as well as a powerful client communication platform. If you are interested in learning more about any of our products, don t hesitate to check us out. Let s make the rest of 2018 your best year ever! 10

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