Nathan Vecchio explains how to use your influence on social media as a powerful marketing tool
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Director of Hunter Galloway, Nathan Vecchio, started broking in 2015 and using the techniques from Joshua's Top Broker Handbook, is writing big numbers, leading to Vow Financial naming him Broker Partner of the Year Rising Star in 2016.
Let’s face it: Influencers are changing the way we utilise marketing to stay engaged with our clients. But what so many brokers fail to recognise is that in everyday life, you’re influencing others, in some way, shape or form. This is why understanding your influence on those around you is so important in order to build your business and reach your goals as a broker.
But really, where it all begins is with your social profiles and how they are perceived, along with the content you’re releasing. One thing that I want to stress is that having an influence is not necessarily about having thousands of followers, but about creating a portfolio of work that you can use to stay ‘top of mind’ with your clients and have a close knit, quality circle of connections. Remember that it’s much more valuable to have ten highly engaged readers over 1,000 disengaged, ghost followers.
So today I want to give you some hacks on building your influence as a broker and leveraging LinkedIn.
Check your profile
It can be easy to let your profile become obsolete if you’re not actively on LinkedIn each week, but make sure you keep your profile picture, information and job description as current as possible. Just like your resume, your LinkedIn should reflect the latest work you’ve completed and what you’re currently up to. This leaves opportunities open for new leads to find you, business partnerships and also makes you more appealing as an employer in general.
Connect with your clients
Once you begin working with a new client, make sure you add them on LinkedIn. This is a great way to build your connections and keep in touch, even after settlement is completed. This is so important because from here, your connections will then be able to always see the content you are creating and what you are publishing on LinkedIn.
Join like minded LinkedIn groups
Join LinkedIn groups within the broking industry to stay connected and on top of any changes going on. LinkedIn Groups are a great place to share content, ideas and ask any questions you may have.
If you’ve just started working for yourself, at times, it can feel pretty isolating, so keeping in touch with other brokers is important to maintain your drive and stay engaged with the broker community. Some groups worth checking out include BDM & Broker Broadcasts, Mortgage Broker & Real Estate Agents, Finance Professionals Worldwide and Property Investment & Finance Australia.
Join in and engage
So now that you’ve found your feet online with LinkedIn Groups and the online community, it’s time to actually engage in these groups by sharing your content and letting your voice be heard. It’s great to take initiative by being a part of them, but if you’re that person who only ever likes to reads the forum conversations and never engages, that’s not really going to help you progress with your influence in the finance community. Engaging in LinkedIn Groups is about sharing your experience and these groups are a great place to be able to assist other brokers.
“You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.” – Pam Moore
Blog posts – LinkedIn Articles
I post once a week (sometimes every second week) and usually on a Thursday with LinkedIn articles.
Why?
Because it’s such a powerful way to stay in front of the eyes of my clients and give them helpful information and tips. Either I write a few articles at a time and keep them saved on my computer – ready to upload or I use content that I’ve written on my website and rework it for LinkedIn. The benefit of LinkedIn articles is that these posts show up automatically on your LinkedIn profile, so it’s adding to your knowledge bank and authority within your field as a broker. This is a fantastic way to show what you specialise in and who you are as a professional. It’s great to have a solid bio and summary of what you do, but having quality articles framing your profile is an awesome way to prove what you’re saying.
Remember earlier how we made sure to add new clients on LinkedIn? Now each time you upload an article, it will be like a little tap on their shoulder, reminding them that you’re around if needed.
Ask for endorsements and give them in return
I have been asked before how I’ve gotten my LinkedIn profile to have so many reviews and endorsements, and that’s thanks to this process:
After I finish working with a team member or colleague, I always write a review about what it was like to work with them.
I then endorse them for the skills I noticed that were particularly outstanding.
This creates a ripple effect because they get a notification and it prompts them to write a review about me in return.
What I like about this is the authenticity of it. It’s also like having a reference check everywhere you go.
Building your influence within the online community is about staying on top of your connections and being engaged with your clients and other brokers. LinkedIn isn’t just about making connections or finding jobs. It’s a platform for us as brokers to share ideas, network and drive conversation. So think about your influence and how you can engage with the online community, so that you can fully engage with your audience and leverage your LinkedIn.
PS: I’m going to be taking over here at Top Broker for a little bit while Joshua focuses on a few big and exciting projects we are looking forward to bring you in the next few weeks. A quick background, I started broking in 2015 and using the techniques Joshua has given in the Top Broker Handbook I have grown my business in a very short time to writing some big numbers, and was fortunate enough to be awarded Broker Partner of the Year Rising Star in 2016.
Let’s face it: Influencers are changing the way we utilise marketing to stay engaged with our clients. But what so many brokers fail to recognise is that in everyday life, you’re influencing others, in some way, shape or form. This is why understanding your influence on those around you is so important in order to build your business and reach your goals as a broker.
But really, where it all begins is with your social profiles and how they are perceived, along with the content you’re releasing. One thing that I want to stress is that having an influence is not necessarily about having thousands of followers, but about creating a portfolio of work that you can use to stay ‘top of mind’ with your clients and have a close knit, quality circle of connections. Remember that it’s much more valuable to have ten highly engaged readers over 1,000 disengaged, ghost followers.
So today I want to give you some hacks on building your influence as a broker and leveraging LinkedIn.
Check your profile
It can be easy to let your profile become obsolete if you’re not actively on LinkedIn each week, but make sure you keep your profile picture, information and job description as current as possible. Just like your resume, your LinkedIn should reflect the latest work you’ve completed and what you’re currently up to. This leaves opportunities open for new leads to find you, business partnerships and also makes you more appealing as an employer in general.
Connect with your clients
Once you begin working with a new client, make sure you add them on LinkedIn. This is a great way to build your connections and keep in touch, even after settlement is completed. This is so important because from here, your connections will then be able to always see the content you are creating and what you are publishing on LinkedIn.
Join like minded LinkedIn groups
Join LinkedIn groups within the broking industry to stay connected and on top of any changes going on. LinkedIn Groups are a great place to share content, ideas and ask any questions you may have.
If you’ve just started working for yourself, at times, it can feel pretty isolating, so keeping in touch with other brokers is important to maintain your drive and stay engaged with the broker community. Some groups worth checking out include BDM & Broker Broadcasts, Mortgage Broker & Real Estate Agents, Finance Professionals Worldwide and Property Investment & Finance Australia.
Join in and engage
So now that you’ve found your feet online with LinkedIn Groups and the online community, it’s time to actually engage in these groups by sharing your content and letting your voice be heard. It’s great to take initiative by being a part of them, but if you’re that person who only ever likes to reads the forum conversations and never engages, that’s not really going to help you progress with your influence in the finance community. Engaging in LinkedIn Groups is about sharing your experience and these groups are a great place to be able to assist other brokers.
“You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.” – Pam Moore
Blog posts – LinkedIn Articles
I post once a week (sometimes every second week) and usually on a Thursday with LinkedIn articles.
Why?
Because it’s such a powerful way to stay in front of the eyes of my clients and give them helpful information and tips. Either I write a few articles at a time and keep them saved on my computer – ready to upload or I use content that I’ve written on my website and rework it for LinkedIn. The benefit of LinkedIn articles is that these posts show up automatically on your LinkedIn profile, so it’s adding to your knowledge bank and authority within your field as a broker. This is a fantastic way to show what you specialise in and who you are as a professional. It’s great to have a solid bio and summary of what you do, but having quality articles framing your profile is an awesome way to prove what you’re saying.
Remember earlier how we made sure to add new clients on LinkedIn? Now each time you upload an article, it will be like a little tap on their shoulder, reminding them that you’re around if needed.
Ask for endorsements and give them in return
I have been asked before how I’ve gotten my LinkedIn profile to have so many reviews and endorsements, and that’s thanks to this process:
After I finish working with a team member or colleague, I always write a review about what it was like to work with them.
I then endorse them for the skills I noticed that were particularly outstanding.
This creates a ripple effect because they get a notification and it prompts them to write a review about me in return.
What I like about this is the authenticity of it. It’s also like having a reference check everywhere you go.
Building your influence within the online community is about staying on top of your connections and being engaged with your clients and other brokers. LinkedIn isn’t just about making connections or finding jobs. It’s a platform for us as brokers to share ideas, network and drive conversation. So think about your influence and how you can engage with the online community, so that you can fully engage with your audience and leverage your LinkedIn.
PS: I’m going to be taking over here at Top Broker for a little bit while Joshua focuses on a few big and exciting projects we are looking forward to bring you in the next few weeks. A quick background, I started broking in 2015 and using the techniques Joshua has given in the Top Broker Handbook I have grown my business in a very short time to writing some big numbers, and was fortunate enough to be awarded Broker Partner of the Year Rising Star in 2016.
