Social Media Integration and Your Website: A Symbiotic Relationship (Part 1 of 3)

Since the advent of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, social media has become a ubiquitous tool within the marketer’s arsenal of strategies to connect with potential clients. Providing an informal yet informative avenue to share knowledge, generate leads, and to connect with clients, social media integration, however, continues to remain low relative to other industries within the financial services sector. This provides current financial advisors with websites an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the power of social media’s reach.

Why is Social Media Such a Big Deal?

During May 2011, Americans spent over 53 billion minutes on Facebook – more than any other website. In fact, social media networks and blogs account for nearly a quarter of the total time spent by Americans on the internet. 70% of active adult social networkers shop online, 12% more likely than the average adult internet user, and social networks and blogs reach at least 60% of active internet users across the globe (Nielson 1-14). Clearly, social media’s reach is expansive.

The Benefits of Social Media Marketing:

- 88% of marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses (Stelzner 16)

- Two thirds of marketers indicated a rise in search engine ranking was a benefit of social media marketing (Stelzner 16)

- Slightly more than half of marketers found social media generated qualified leads (Stelzner 16)

- Improved sales: it helped 72% of marketers close business (Stelzner 17)

References:

Nielson, NM Incite, State of the Social Media: The Social Media Report (Q3 2011)

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/

Stelzner, Michael A, 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-industry-report-2011/

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