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Most of investors use social media sites and mobile app such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Hike, Twitter and LinkedIn, so MFDs (mutual fund distributors) cannot afford to ignore having a strong presence on these platforms. Social Media can be very useful in creating the brand and projecting oneself as an expert, if used properly.
With internet & smart phones getting cheaper day by day, the usage of mobile device for connecting with clients and potential clients can be very useful and economical as well. Digital and social media marketing is the fastest way of connecting and engaging with clients on regular basis. Social media can be explored for more than one purpose.
You may use the social media for any of the purposes listed below easily with proper content strategy and planning.
Engaging with Existing clients Generating leads for business Creating brand awareness Having a strong brand recall for MFD's own brand Generating new business from existing clients Communicating with the target audience quickly
Social media if used wisely can help MFDs build their own brand. Using the Social Media and digital marketing strategy is not a one-time event; it should be a continuous activity. We cannot expect to generate business by just posting few random images. MFDs need to have a plan into the place where she can share the regular quality and promotional content at regular intervals.
When it comes to digital world, it is said that content is King. I would like to emphasise the importance of content by saying that not just content, but Good Content is King. MFDs need to have a proper content strategy in place to get noticed over social media. I would like to highlight few important points which MFDs should consider, when it comes to developing and distributing good content.
Continuous Content
We need to have good content on regular and structured manner. Creating content is not just one time activity, it is a continuous activity. It takes time to get noticed on social media. If you keep on creating and posting good content on regular basis for few months, then people will start noticing you.
Few things you need to keep in mind while creating and posting the good content are:
Showcase your own brand every time you post something. Keep balance between the educative and promotional content. Use various formats of contents (Articles, blog, Info graphics, images, videos) with Call to action whenever possible. Don't follow others BLINDLY by posting anything and everything. Have value added and meaning full content only.
Creating content
Content creation requires very good skills in terms of designing skills, creativity and passion. You need to have the skill of simplifying complex ideas into simple and easy to understand forms of content.
There could be mainly two types of content which MFD needs to promote his business and create a brand recall. The first is educative content and secondly promotional content.
Educative content
This type of content is mainly aimed at providing some knowledge to the client; it should be aimed at answering some of the common concerns of the clients. This content could be in form of article, blog or Info graphics. Creating educative content through blog and articles can also help you in establishing yourself as an expert in the eyes of your existing and potential clients.
When it comes to writing a blog or article, it is very essential that you keep on writing regularly on various issues faced by investors. You can list out few common concerns of the investor when it comes to mutual fund investing or personal finance and keep writing small blogs or articles on it. But if you are not good at writing you should not start your own blog. If you think writing is not your cup of tea then restrain from it.
Though, you may consider the idea of hiring the free lance writer who can write based on your ideas or based on your guidance. These kinds of ghost written articles can be a good strategy, but it is hard to find good free lance writers.
If you can't manage it on your own or through outsourcing, you can also share links of some good third party articles which goes in line with your own philosophy. But ensure the credibility and check the philosophy of the portal or the writer whose links you are sharing on your social media pages and accounts. You need to ensure that he is neither your competitor nor the one promoting DIY investments.
Promotional content
The objective of these kinds of content is normally to promote the services of IFA or to promote the product or concept. The promotional content needs to be in different formats. The usage of audio and visuals is highly recommended when it comes to promotional content. You may use the professionally designed and develop videos and images on regular basis for the purpose of having the promotional content.
While using the promotional content, it is very essential that you use your own branded content rather than forwarded content received by you in some group. Each piece of promotional content should have your own branding in terms of logo and also contact details.
Few common mistakes MFDs make when it comes to having the promotional content are:
Not using professionally designed good content. Not spending on creating good and compelling content, always looking for free content. Using some forward images randomly created by others without showcasing own brand.
When it comes to promotional content you need to keep few very important points into the mind.
As far as possible you should use only professionally designed good content as, these content carries your brand and poorly created content will adversely affect your own brand. Do not share the promotional content on daily basis, once or twice in a week it is ok to share the promotional content over social media but doing it on daily basis will create a risk of client starting to ignore it. Rest of the days you may use the educative content. When it comes to promotional content, use less of texts and more of audio and visuals. Nicely designed images and short videos (less than 120 sec) are good enough for creating promotional content. There are many free tools available on internet providing the facility to create the video and images of your own, which MFD can use. But it is always better to take the help of professionals as tools alone are not enough, you need a good creativity and sense of designing.
Having good content and using it wisely over the social media can help MFDs not only to engage with existing clients but also to establish his credibility in the eye of potential clients. Investing your time and money wisely on social media can surely help you to grow exponentially in a times to come.
All content in Marketing Wiz is created by Wealth Forum and should not be construed as views of Kotak MF.
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After 13 years of working with two of India's biggest distribution platforms - NJ India and Prudent, Jigar has now taken the entrepreneurial plunge with AnchorEDGE Training - an initiative that aims to train mutual fund distributors to gain a winning edge in their business. Continuing his popular column on Wealth Forum called "The Guerrilla Advisor", Jigar discusses useful tips for mutual fund distributors to consider when formulating their content strategy to effectively harness the power of social media to drive their business forward.