By: Lee Frederiksen
As the methods by which professional services buyers find and select your company evolve, your marketing techniques also need to change to keep up with the times. Your current marketing strategy might even be working well, but what if there was strong evidence that it could be working better? It can be difficult to alter what you’ve been doing, but don’t risk falling behind the competition.
So, what exactly has changed in how prospective clients are evaluating you as a professional service provider? Let’s break it down.
Referrals and references are no longer top dog.
With the quality and quantity of information available online, your prospective clients are taking their search for service providers to the web. That’s not to say that referrals and references don’t still hold weight—they do. Buyers will likely always use referrals and check references as long as they’re available. However, those methods are no longer their exclusive means for selecting a service provider. They’re turning to other resources to help make their decision. Specifically, they’re turning to social media. Even more specifically? They’re checking LinkedIn.
Why LinkedIn?
Earlier this year, Hinge Research Institute published the entitled “Beyond Referrals: How Today’s Buyers Check You Out.” From the 1,028 respondents in the survey, the study revealed that buyers are using an average of three methods to “check out” their potential professional services providers. One of the most popular methods the survey revealed was social media.
70% of the buyers surveyed listed LinkedIn as the social media platform they are most likely to turn to when gathering information on service providers. Five percent of responders said they use Twitter and 25% cited “other,” which included Facebook, YouTube, and Google+.
These results tell us one thing definitively: your financial services company needs to take advantage of your LinkedIn presence. It can help you connect with potential buyers and promote your services. If LinkedIn is the social media platform of choice for buyers to find their information, then it needs to be your platform of choice as well.
Three Reasons LinkedIn is the Ideal Resource
1. It’s professional. Unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn focuses only on the professional. Buyers can search for service providers without wading through personal updates from their friends and family. If they choose to reach out to a service provider through LinkedIn, they don’t have to worry about mixing business with their personal profiles.
2. It showcases endorsements. Prospective clients can see your company’s specific endorsements and connections. Since endorsements function similarly to referrals and references, they offer a system buyers are comfortable with. They see endorsements from reputable and respected sources as building blocks to your credibility. (*Only use endorsements if they are allowed by your B/D.)
3. It details your history. Unlike other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is just as concerned with your past as your present. The history of your company can provide significant insight to prospective buyers. It tells them how you’ve built your brand and where you’ve gained your experience. Rather than basing their entire buying decision on your current status, potential clients can gain easier access to the big picture.
The Bottom Line
If you want to be found by buyers, you need to be where they’re looking. Creating a stronger online presence and focusing your social media efforts on LinkedIn can help put in your financial services company in the right place at the right time.
Do you use LinkedIn? Share your networking success stories in the comments section below.
This guest post was provided by Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D. Lee is Managing Partner at Hinge, a marketing firm that specializes in branding and marketing for professional services. Hinge is a leader in rebranding firms to help them grow faster and maximize value. Lee can be reached at [email protected] or 703-391-8870. Printed with Permission.
I concur about its value for individuals but how do you see the platform growing for brands, specifically financial services. The audience are all professionals and for B2B, the best social platform to locate the target audience. Do you see marketers using LI in the same way they have adopted Facebook and twitter?