Being a thought leader may be easier than you think when you identify your unique characteristics and articulate them to your constituency.

In preparing an investment policy statement or proposal, how much would it be worth to you to have access to a reliable record of a prospective client’s likes, dislikes and goals?

It only takes minutes to sign up for social networking

In a similar vein, when an advisor knows a prospective client’s social networking interests, they will likely uncover a rich source of voluntary, accurate and timely information at their fingertips — market intelligence that may well have a place in a closing presentation.

Advisors who wish to untap the market intelligence in their prospect’s social networking habits should consider trying four steps to testing the social media marketing waters for themselves.

1. Engaging your audience It takes only a few minutes to sign up and gain access to most social networking sites. Whether you are preparing for a family office meeting or an institutional presentation, knowing more about the influencers and decision-makers in your proposal approval process can prove invaluable.

2. Identify and articulate your areas of thought leadership What are the particular challenges your prospect is confronting that can be met by your professional expertise? Establishing thought leadership expands an advisor’s presence, while accelerating client qualification. After drafting an article about the refundable AMT credit that was mostly overlooked in last year’s stimulus bill, one advisor we know posted the article through a number of blogs dedicated to financial social media marketing. The effort resulted in many repeat visits to his web site, requests for more information and increased business.”

3. Expand your presence Many financial advisors are turning to public domain blogging tools like WordPress.com and BlogSpot.com to establish their own thought leadership networks. Here, an advisor can post articles, as well as third-party information feeds. We’re also hearing from advisors who are keeping their thought leadership expertise separate from their product and services. This facilitates the compliance review process as well.

4. Distinguish yourself By taking the time to learn more about your clients through their social media preferences, you show them a new type of earned respect for their interests, challenges and communications preferences.

While many of your competitors rush to catch up with the promise of financial social media marketing, you can solidify your advantages now with the occasional tweet that suggests ‘FYI, I thought you would like to see this recent article… I would welcome a comment from you on my blog.’

John Drachman is a creative social media professional, who specializes in investment marketing, social media, writing, web design and development.