How Do Millionaires Use LinkedIn?
7/27/2016

So you are using Facebook, the world’s most popular social network, to your advantage to connect with clients. You’re not ignoring LinkedIn, are you?
Launched in December, 2002, LinkedIn has carved itself a niche as the less social and more professional networking site. It has more than 433 million members in more than 200 countries and territories, according to the company website. Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second. But you knew this. What you might not know is how Millionaires are using the site for financial activities. With this information, you can utilize LinkedIn as a more effective communications vehicle within your firm’s compliance guidelines.
According to 2016 Millionaire Investor: Using Social Media and Mobile Technology in Financial Decisions,a Spectrem Group wealth segmentation study of households with a net worth between $1 million-$5 million (not including primary residence), roughly four-in-ten Millionaires use LinkedIn, which is three times as many as use Twitter and is second only to Facebook.
Because the format of Facebook and Twitter lend themselves more to real-time dissemination of news, Millionaires do not check their LinkedIn page as much as they do the other social networks. But some users frequent LinkedIn more than others. Across age groups and occupations, Millennials and Senior Corporate Executives and Managers are the most likely to check LinkedIn at least once per day. Senior Corporate Executives are most likely to check their LinkedIn page daily or two to five times per day, and also slightly more likely to communicate or share information found on the site with others.
In addition to nurturing professional contacts and job searches, its primary draw for members,
LinkedIn ranks closely behind Twitter and YouTube, but ahead of Facebook as a likely source for obtaining financial information, our study finds. It is second only to Twitter as a go-to source for reading financial blogs. LinkedIn usage is on par with Facebook when it comes to reading articles about financial topics, surveyed Millionaire investors report.
Significantly, though the percentage is currently small (6 percent), Millionaires would most likely use LinkedIn over other social networks to find a financial advisor, “LinkedIn is an essential tool for creating a positive first impression to prospective clients,” notes Spectrem Group President George H. Walper, Jr. “As a free marketing tool, it allows you to establish your brand and your expertise.”
Tips for Financial Advisors and Providers::
• When utilizing social networks as a marketing tool, it is important to post on a consistent basis either original material or shared articles and educational materials related to financial topics that dovetail with your expertise. As users tend not to check LinkedIn as frequently as Facebook and Twitter, at least weekly would be appropriate, but more frequent postings will move you closer to the top of your Connections’ news feeds.
• Currently, Millionaires are more observers and occasional sharers on LinkedIn. Engagement can transform them into more active participants. Establish a discussion group whose conversation threads will give you an indication of the news and questions that are most on your connections’ minds.
• Join appropriate LinkedIn Discussion Groups to keep you up-to-date on industry news, trends, regulatory changes and best practices. It is another vehicle by which to establish yourself and your brand.