You’ve spent the time and effort to get your social media sites developed, now what?

The premise of social media is to present something of value to others in your social network. Valuable content is defined as something that others:

•    Find interesting or informative
•    Deem worthy to take the time to read or view
•    Want more of and thus will follow you to see what’s next
•    Will pass along for others to see

So where does all of this great, valuable content come from? Do you have to be a prolific writer or hire someone that is? And how difficult will it be to get content through compliance? The good news is that there are solutions to the continual release of valuable content.

If you are a financial advisor or agent, the easiest way to consistently add new content to your social media presence is to consider using compliance-approved content available to you through your broker dealer or firm. Often there are various materials that you can literally take “off the shelf” and use. Typical items may include pre-written articles, whitepapers, seminar presentations (where pieces of content can be extracted), and pre-written newsletters. There are also libraries of content that can be found through services like Forefield.com.

Probably the most powerful content, however, comes when you write it because it has your voice and tells something about you – potential clients and current clients want to know what you think! If you write 3 or 4 paragraphs a month (not an incredibly tall task), you will have content that can be shared between social media sites, your blog, turned into video, etc. The key isn’t to become a perfect writer; the key is to get your voice and knowledge out. Relay stories about client situations you’ve seen (keeping the person confidential of course), mistakes you’ve witnessed made, and knowledge you have gained through your reading or at meetings you have attended.

Content is everywhere. Whether you use preapproved content or write your own, blocking out just 1 hour per month could make a big different in how your social media begins to gain traction, followers, and becomes a powerful referral conversion tool for you.