How to Turn a Small Social Media Following Into Clients
When it comes to marketing financial advisory services, it can feel like there’s an overwhelming push to be active on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, or other platforms daily. But here’s the thing: you don’t need a huge follower count to successfully start turning prospects online into clients.
While having a large following does come with benefits—like increased credibility and a broader audience to engage with—it’s not something to stress about, especially when you’re starting. Even with a smaller audience or minimal social media presence, you can still effectively grow your financial advising business.
Here we share several tips for growing your financial advisory business with a small following. We explore what a smart social media strategy for financial advisors looks like so that it can actually help you reach more qualified prospects.
How Social Media Fits Into Your Financial Marketing Strategy
The main goal of social media for financial advisors is to increase brand awareness and build trust. It’s a great way for your target audience to get to know who you are, what you offer, and how you can help them with their finances.
Your social presence lets prospective clients become familiar with your services. It also allows them to connect with you on a more personal level, which builds trust over time.
However, social media is just the start of the client journey. If you don’t guide them through the next steps thoughtfully and strategically, you might struggle to convert your followers into clients. That’s where a more mindful approach to your financial advisor marketing strategy comes into play.
Move Clients Through a Well Thought-Out Client Journey
You probably know several financial advisors with little to no social media presence who manage to thrive, attracting great prospects and generating significant client growth through their online efforts. On the other hand, there are individuals with thousands of followers who fail to convert them into paying clients.
So, where’s the disconnect? It lies in the broader strategy.
The real question you should ask is: How does your social media content guide your audience toward taking action?
Give Clear Calls to Action
Engaging content is essential, but if you’re not sharing your posts with the right people—or you don’t have a clear call to action—your efforts might not lead to more clients.
Here’s what to consider:
Share with Your Target Audience: Ensure that your posts are reaching the people who are likely to need your financial services. This is where understanding your niche and targeting them on the right platforms matters most. If you don’t yet know your niche, click here to learn more about how to choose your niche within the world of financial advisory services to reach more of the right qualified prospects.
Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA): What do you want potential clients to do after reading your post? Whether it’s signing up for a free consultation, downloading a helpful guide, or subscribing to your email list, you need to give them a clear next step.
Offer Value with Lead Magnets
Not everyone who comes across your social media posts will be ready to hire a financial advisor right away—and that’s completely normal. In fact, for many people, the next logical step is to get a taste of what you can offer them or what it’s like to work with you and your team.
A great way to encourage this is by offering a lead magnet—a free resource that provides valuable insights in exchange for their email address. This could be something like:
A financial planning checklist
An investment strategy guide
A retirement savings workbook
This freebie will allow your audience to experience the value you bring while helping you nurture the relationship further.
Nurturing Client Relationships Outside of Social Media
Now, think about this: What if social media disappeared tomorrow? How would you stay connected with the people who are interested in your financial services?
Many of your followers might not even see your posts regularly due to the sheer number of people they follow and the unpredictability of social media algorithms. That’s why it’s crucial to have a way to stay in touch with them beyond social media.
The solution? Email marketing.
Build a Community Through Smart Email Marketing for Financial Advisors
Email marketing allows you to build your own community, where you’re in control of the relationship and not subject to the whims of social media platforms.
And here’s the kicker: People are 40x more likely to take action on a link included in an email than they are on a social media post.
Email also allows you to nurture potential clients over time by providing valuable financial insights and tips straight to their inbox.
This is where the combination of your lead magnet and email strategy comes in. By offering a lead magnet, you invite your audience into your email community. From there, you can continue to provide financial tips, updates, and offers, which build trust and eventually lead to more consultations and sign-ups.
A holistic approach to your social media will bring you clients
Social media is a fantastic tool for reaching new audiences and generating interest in your services. But the key is to combine your social media outreach with the rest of your marketing funnel, including lead magnets and email marketing, for a truly successful financial advisor digital marketing strategy.
By capturing leads through your freebie, you can continue to nurture these relationships through email. Over time, this deeper connection increases the likelihood that they’ll choose to work with you for their financial needs.
And best of all, you don’t have to spend all your time glued to your computer or phone. With a thoughtful, strategic approach, your marketing efforts can work for you while you focus on what you do best: helping clients achieve their financial goals.