Aimee Butler is a certified financial planner and the Principal at Merriman Wealth Management. Aimee has over 15 years of experience as an advisor, district manager, and regional director. She was previously the Managing Principal of Waddell & Reed, a company she worked with for more than nine years before joining Merriman in 2018. She also served as the Marketing Field Implementation Officer at Ameriprise Financial Services. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Providence College. 

 

Frank McLaughlin has been a wealth advisor for Merriman Wealth Management since August 2013. As a certified financial planner, Frank focuses on helping his clients live fully by creating sound financial strategies. He graduated with a degree in Finance from Washington State University. Frank is an advocate of sustainable investing and is passionate about helping people overcome the emotional aspects of retirement.

 

Alan Hensley is a wealth advisor for Merriman Wealth Management who has over 15 years of experience in wealth management. Before joining Merriman in 2016, Alan served as a financial advisor for LPL Financial and a licensed personal banker for Wells Fargo. As a certified financial planner, Alan specializes in helping families simplify their finances and make smart choices with money. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of Washington.

 

Aimee, Frank, and Alan join me today to discuss their thoughts on using social media to build connections with prospects and clients. They share their initial reservations about using social media professionally and describe the subsequent feedback. They explain how they measure the impact they make with their posts and how they come up with ideas for social media content. They also highlight the value of repurposing and reposting social media content and underscore why you should still try to give value to prospects even if they don’t qualify as clients.

 

“Personal connection takes some time; social media helps build it faster.” - Alan Hensley

 

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

 

• What excited them about using social media for business and relationship development
• The reservations they had about using social media for business development
• How their existing connections reacted after they started using social media professionally
• The learning curve involved in creating content for business development
• Vanity metrics and how Frank measures the success of his content
• Leading with education and how to handle conversations with prospects who don’t qualify
• The recency bias and how to determine the subject matter of your social media content
• Keeping a content idea notebook
• Using social media for relationship building
• Reposting, reusing, and repurposing content
• The value of connecting with your centers of influence on social media platforms

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

• Book: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho
• Book: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
• Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
• Book: Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles Into Opportunities by Dan John Miller

 

Our Favorite Quotes:

 

• “Social media does a great job at leaving clues. Through social media, you can share a little bit more about your personality and the things you’re into—you allow everyone to connect with you on that personal front.” - David DeCelle
• “Be intentional and pay attention to the people you want to connect with. Notice the little things that they do, interact with them, and comment.” - Aimee Butler
• “Write down questions you get from normal client conversations and shoot videos about those because other people and other clientele you serve will be asking the same questions.” - Frank McLaughlin

 

Connect with Merriman Wealth Management:

 

• Merriman Wealth Management
• Merriman Wealth Management on Facebook
• Merriman Wealth Management on Twitter
• Email: [email protected]

 

Connect with Aimee Butler:

 

• Aimee Butler on LinkedIn
• Aimee Butler on YouTube

 

Connect with Frank McLaughlin:

 

• Frank McLaughlin on LinkedIn
• Frank McLaughlin on YouTube

 

Connect with Alan Hensley:

 

• Alan Hensley Website
• Book: Eddie & Hoppers Explain Investing in the Sock Market
• Book: Merriman’s Guide to Social Security and Medicare
• Alan Hensley on LinkedIn
• Alan Hensley on Twitter
• Alan Hensley on YouTube
• Alan Hensley on Facebook
• Alan Hensley on Instagram

 

About the Model FA Podcast

 

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes  to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams. 

 

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered. 

 

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

 

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