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How Asset Managers Should Use LinkedIn
by Steven Miyao
In the August addition of our Industry Analysis, a monthly service that helps asset managers evolve their online offerings, I wrote about how asset management companies have a real opportunity to take advantage of the LinkedIn Networks that their wholesalers have built.
There are approximately 700 mutual fund wholesalers and 46,000 financial advisors on LinkedIn. Most asset managers have been ignoring this platform, despite the fact that it offers an easy opportunity to connect with these clients.
LinkedIn is different from most other social media sites (such as Facebook and Twitter) because it is exclusively a user-driven, professional networking site. The site was originally a career building site on which users could post their resumes and interact with other professionals in order to gain access to job opportunities. Over the last few years, the site has evolved to provide wholesalers and marketers with the ability to interact directly with targeted advisors.
Your wholesalers hold the key to your firm's LinkedIn success. They are the individuals within your organization who have established a network with the advisors. Therefore, advisors will want to connect with them online in the same way that they connect with them in person.
Many wholesalers and advisors employed by firms that restrict LinkedIn connect to the network on their home computers. Merrill Lynch seems to be one of the firms that restricts access at work, but 6,855 Merrill Lynch financial advisors are on LinkedIn. Asset managers can choose to ignore the trend towards active usage and restrict access, or they can embrace usage and find ways to incorporate LinkedIn into their general business practices. Some firms may not find a way to take advantage of this medium, but their competitors most certainly will.
Help your wholesalers to improve their LinkedIn profiles. When your wholesalers connect with advisors, they should represent themselves and the firm in the best light. We recommend the following six steps when updating your wholesalers' profile pages:
1. Make sure they complete 100% of their LinkedIn profiles to include:
- A current position
- Two past positions
- Educational background
- A profile summary
- A profile photo
- Their specialties
- At least three recommendations
2. Encourage them to get key recommendations from their advisors
3. Provide them with a profile picture that they can upload
4. Include your advisor Web site URL
5. Ensure that they do not block incoming e-mails
6. Show them how to create polls
LinkedIn is going to continue to gain popularity among financial advisors and wholesalers. Start the process now, keeping compliance challenges in mind. Your firm will get a leg up on the competition by helping your wholesalers take advantage of this medium.