This week, Chrissy Gipko, the Marketing and Communications Director for the Musuneggi Financial Group, joined us on Happy Hour. We were honored to have her as our first guest.
Chrissy discussed social marketing a financial planning firm with regulatory hurdles. We also talked about her webinar strategy. Here are the highlights:
2:45 – Pittsburgh is the #1 Beer Town
According to Red Fin, Pittsburgh is the #1 beer town in the US. They used criteria such as number of breweries per capita, brewery permit number, taxes, home sale price, and Walk Score to come up with the list. You know we like our craft beer at SNAP Forward, and this list comes as no surprise to us.
Two of our favorite breweries are right in our back yard. Spoonwood Brewing is located just a mile away in Bethel Park and Hitchhiker Brewing is less than ten minutes away in Mt Lebanon. We can’t wait to see what’s going in on Library Rd.
4:34 – Three Things Intelligent People Tend to Do.
Business Insider had an article last week that described a recent study which found three common traits of intelligent people. They include:
- Tendency to curse more.
- Being a night owl.
- Having a messy desk.
All of the sudden we feel so much smarter.
7:36 – Instagram Stories
In case you haven’t heard, Instagram Stories was released by Facebook this past week. We’re split on whether we like it or not. What do you think? Are you using Instagram Stories or are you sticking with Snapchat?
10:08 – Facebook Video Ads on Facebook Live
Facebook may be adding advertising to Facebook Live feeds.
12:05 – SNAP Forward is Upping Our Video Game
As you may know, video on social media is a very big deal. As we’ve been working on our social media video production, we have been testing new video equipment. A major component of that has been our camera selection. We ultimately decided on the Canon EOS 80D for its quiet and accurate auto focus and 60fps 1080p video.
15:15 Tips for Building Your Brand on Social Media
The two most important things to keep in mind when building your brand on social media outlets:
Be authentic
Your brand can’t seem too staged, planned, or scripted. Even if it is to some level, there needs to be a sense of realness to it all; a personality.
Find the human element in what you do
People don’t usually go to Facebook to find businesses. We still go there to go there to connect with people. You must tailor your business to be able to engage in that way.
18:06 – For a financial planning firm, Chrissy says that Facebook is the most useful social media outlet.
When working in financial planning, you have to go by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulations for everything you post. This makes it a little difficult to effectively use other platforms such as twitter due the regulations. They restrict things such as dollar signs and piggy banks on some of their marketing materials.
21:30 – The Benefits of Webinars
- If someone just hears about you or is referred, it can be a good way to get to know your company.
- It is a good way to reach more people, especially since people live on their phones.
- It’s a great way to inform people and answer general questions they may have on topics relating to your business.
- Webinars are easier for people to attend, so it can be easier to get the word out about your company.
23:00 – Facebook Advertising to Target Financial Planning Prospects
With the ability to target people based on income, net worth, household size, and more, Facebook Advertising may be a new avenue to replace direct mail or conventional marketing. With proper targeting and a creative campaign, it would be a cost effective alternative.