Social media marketing is still fairly untested in the financial services world. A recent FRC Monitor noted, for example, that “… the asset management industry has been slow to use the technology effectively.”

That’s why we were very pleased when a Registered Investment Advisor asked us to write the copy, then develop and conduct a social media effort for his business. The project offered a compact example to marketing writers and managers for how advisors and money managers can raise assets by engaging their clients in the more informal, conversational ways provided by social media.

Social media marketing uses social networks, online communities or blogs for marketing, sales and public relations purposes. Our client, Charles “Chuck” Steege, CFP,^® asked us to build a three-part webinar program, Uncovering The Fortune That Lies Hidden In Executive Compensation, and conduct the program through the summers dog days.

“The program was very successful for us,” Chuck said. Using three webcasts, a press release, an email campaign and targeted third-party blogging, we were able to drive up the RIA’s page 1 Google presence, which served to create fresh momentum, interest and business.

The firm’s abundant appearances in financial blogs were used for marketing purposes. Sending a blog posting via e-mail to client is similar to sending a photocopy of a press clip. It establishes an advisor’s thought leadership. This project convinced us that applying social media’s free, readily available public domain tools to an outreach campaign is the short-cut to sales success.

See the whole case study on SlideShare here

For under $10,000, Chuck attracted four times that amount in new fees on some $4 million in assets. More importantly, he created a prospecting base of 21 high net worth individuals who wanted to know more about Chuck’s services in the next 60 days.

The experience showed us how low cost social media marketing strategies can contribute to increased assets under management.