by JohnGrimley
Some Middle-Market deal professionals, from private equity professionals to investment bankers — are actively engaging online with C-suite executives and referral sources. By doing so – they are, simply put, expanding their deal flow. If you’re a Middle-Market advisor and considering social media as an option to increase your deal flow, here are 3 essential ingredients for this sort of initiative:
Publish — Some Middle Market advisors have already embraced publishing as a means by which to gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded and complex industry. This can mean publishing investment updates, industry insights or trend pieces on blogs or in industry publications – or even on LinkedIn. Important statistics to keep in mind are that 7 in 10 consumers prefer to learn about a company through articles, not ads. That 90% of consumers find custom content useful. And that social media and blogs account for 23% of all time spent online.
Promote — Lindsay Kolowich (@lkolo25) outlined in a recent article in HubSpot that: “Not only do your [articles] need to be well-written, helpful, and relevant to your target audience, but you’ve also got to make sure you’re promoting them correctly so they get in front of people who could become your fans — and maybe even your customers.” She outlines the importance of sharing your articles on social media to maximize exposure while at the same time understanding your target audience. In order to do this, Middle Market advisors need to understand there where and how of sharing content produced for online consumption.
Engage – Once published and promoted – it’s vital to engage. And this can and should take on many forms. Kolowich outlined ways in which you can utilize published articles to specifically engage key contacts and ideal prospective clients. They include, beyond online publishing, distributing those articles to a consistently updated email database and sending tailored articles to specific clients. Overall, consider utilizing these articles as a means by which to open many more doors among ideal potential sources of new deal flow. But this targeting takes time and a well-thought out approach to execute properly.
Looking forward
As more Middle Market C-Suite executives and decision makers seek knowledge through common social networks, deal professionals with an already-established online presence will reap significantly larger benefits than their slow-to-adopt competitors.
John Grimley helps mid-market advisors engage key audiences with precision communications services tailored to their unique needs. To enquire about his services, you can reach him at: Tel: +1 (213) 814-2855, or Email: jg@jgrimley.com or by Skype: JohnGrimley
Filed under: Social Media Tagged: financial services marketing, financial services social media, John Grimley, middle market social media, private equity social media, social media for middle market advisors
