Most financial advisors have become comfortable enough with social networking to at least have a LinkedIn profile.  That is a great start.  However, most have not yet tapped the marketing potential offered by this important social networking site.  Having a LinkedIn profile should be considered a “cost-of-entry” in the context of social media marketing.  However, if this is the extent of an advisor’s efforts (and it frequently is), the advisor shouldn’t expect much in the way of practice development benefits.

The “Three R’s” as they were called by Sir William Curtis when he coined the term in 1795 referred to “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.”  While these are important base skills for any individual, these are not the focus of this article. 

Is this an apt description of your firm’s marketing program?  If the answer to this question is “No” then you are better off than many of your competitors who have chosen to simply “stand there.”