Finding that balance that allows you to share your humanity, to share your vulnerability, and to be present every day” is the secret of communications on social media, said Jeff Pulver at a recent conference.
Pulver helped shape the worldwide market acceptance of Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and is co-founder of numerous startups including Vonage and Zula. He is also responsible for the “Pulver Order,” which shielded VoIP start up from rigorous telecommunications regulations.
Finding The Balance
Pulver predicts that in the future people will become more and more connected, both on a spiritual basis and a business level. He said that expressing and sharing feelings in a meaningful way is a game changer.
Pulver shared his personal story to illustrate that “amazing things can happen by opening up and by being vulnerable.” In July 2012, he decided to lose weight “the old fashioned way” instead of having surgery. Pulver shared his journey on Facebook, including some “ugly” photos of himself at the gym for the first time since high school. Within moments, he discovered “unbounded love” from total strangers. People encouraged him to continue. As he became more open, more people started following him. At one point, he shared a photo of him doing a “lap pull down” and received 500 “likes” on Facebook. In that moment, he discovered the authenticity of connecting.
Jeff is no newcomer to social media. He has nearly 520,000 followers on Twitter TWTR -0.62% and has produced a number of conferences to facilitate “The State of Now”. For years, he has been sharing his approach to social media: listening, connecting, sharing and engaging. He learned these concepts as a 13 year old kid from Long Island as an Amateur Radio Operator (or HAM radio).
However, this experience was different. He allowed himself to be profoundly vulnerable. Over the course of a year, he actually “outsourced” 120 pounds and rebooted his body with healthy food and exercise through engagement and encouragement on Facebook, and then later on Instagram.
According to Pulver, Facebook has become the “like” economy, from a business perspective, it’s “all about the likes.” But Instagram is all about love. After all, when you like something you are sharing a heart, sharing the love. He told the audience that he “likes that part a lot.”
Digital Bread Crumbs
When challenged about social media being a waste of time, Pulver talks about “digital bread crumbs.” Until today, to be well known in the world, you were either famous or infamous. Either you did something amazing or something horrible. The average person didn’t matter. We came, we did, we died. With the advent of social media, everyone can be heard and every one matters. Our great, great, great grandchildren will know who we are. They will be able to reconstruct our lives when we leave behind enough breadcrumbs, through tweets on Twitter, status updates on Facebook or Instagram and even YouTube videos. Pulver encouraged the audience not to be silent with their legacy and to share their lives with future generations.
But What About Being “Authentic” In A Regulated Industry?
As regulated firms allow their associated persons to use social media, they tend to pass through 5 Phases: 1) test, 2) pilot, 3) read-only access and exclusive use of 4) pre-approved library content. At the fifth phase, some may allow their regulated users to post more personalized messages and have an authentic social voice. A best practice is to evolve employee social media guidelines over time to allow regulated users the opportunity to learn how to use social media effectively while staying within the guardrails of the rules and regulations of the industry while protecting your brand. However, as Pulver says, the real “magic” of social media requires that you “keep it real and say things that matter to you,” or speak with an authentic voice.
10 Guidelines To Help Financial Advisors Evolve Towards Having an “Authentic” Voice On Social Media
How do you “find that boundary where you can be open and connected and still be commercial,” as Pulver discusses, if you work in a regulated firm?
1. Review your firm’s social media policy to understand what is and isn’t allowed. If you have questions, now is the time to ask.
2. Participate in any training that your firm may offer, particularly with help setting up your social media profiles.
3. Think about who you are and how you want to represent yourself online. This is referred to as your “personal brand”.
4. Define who you want to reach.
5. Build your profile and connect with people you know or are of interest to you in some way. Your firm, the competition, clients, prospective clients, industry experts, news outlets are just a few. Be sure to also follow people and institutions that you personally find interesting. These could include celebrities, musicians, filmmakers, sports teams.
6. “Listen” for a while to see how social media works. Learn about approaches that you like and don’t like.
7. If your firm allows you to use social media for business, it is likely that you have access to a library of content that has been approved by your compliance department. Look through that library to find and share articles that resonate for you. Think about your clients and prospective clients you wish to attract. Share content that they will find interesting. As most Financial Advisers tend to specialize, focus on your area to demonstrate your expertise. Be consistent to reflect your “personal brand”.
8. If allowed by your firm, share your personal interests at least 20% of the time. After all, financial services is all about relationships. Investing is based on trust and we do business with people we like and trust. Very few people will allow themselves to be as vulnerable Jeff Pulver. However, all things being equal, wouldn’t you rather invest with a financial advisor who works at a reputable firm who shares your passion for say, Bruce Springsteen? Or great beach getaways in the middle of the winter? Or even, too much fried food?
9. Don’t pitch! You will run afoul of suitability rules, plus, no one likes it.
10. And finally, join the conversation. Share what others are sharing. See something of interest? Interact. Make comments. Demonstrate your expertise. Be helpful and most of all, and allow your authentic voice to shine though. The walls between our business and personal lives are crumbling fast. Your clients, particularly the younger ones, will expect you to be transparent and authentic. And besides, you might even have some fun while leaving “breadcrumbs” for future generations.
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