Renovate your social media profile

Advisers always want to find ways to increase their overall efficiency and improve their image. So with that in mind, here are five things you can to renovate and make over your social-media profile. Don't Miss: The debut of Practice Makeover 1. GET A NEW PICTURE Most of you have absolutely abysmal Sears portrait studio, same background, same suit, same tie pictures. You have to do something that's going to separate you from the rest. Get a local photographer to take a good picture of you at a local landmark. Support local business. Find a moderately priced photographer, have friends and family help you choose the right photo and put it on all of your social-media profiles. ON FACEBOOK: IMAGES, IMAGES, IMAGES Use images to tell your company's story. Put pictures of your team, your office, your conference rooms, events that you're doing without clients (unless you get them to sign a release, depending on your compliance department). You need to use photos because photos are shared and looked at more times than anything else on Facebook. The 6 biggest challenges advisers face on social media 3. FIND A SOCIAL-MEDIA CONTENT PROVIDER Content marketing is key in social media. Try to find a company that produces good, timely, compliance-approved information that you can share on social media. Try to find something that fits your voice, don't just re-broadcast somebody else's. 4. JOIN MORE LINKEDIN GROUPS LinkedIn groups are a fantastic way to gain connections and learn about what's going on in your community from a small-business standpoint. You need to follow companies that are local, your local Chamber of Commerce, and your local religious organization(s). These are great groups to join to start building a network. You can start putting out those pre-approved articles to your audience, and you can start building a voice within those communities using a LinkedIn group. 5. USE IT OR LOSE IT The best thing that you can possibly do to renovate your social media profile is actually use it. Start using social media, people, it is the No. 1 way that most people communicate nowadays, especially women ages 65 and above. Use Facebook and LinkedIn first. After you get comfortable with social media, you can start using Twitter, Pinterest and start making YouTube videos. All of these things are allowed under Finra regulations and you are behind the times if you're not doing it. Have fun, implement these five things, and your social media profile will sing — and you will get new clients. Matthew Halloran is a certified coach for advisers. He wrote "The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors: How to Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to Build and Grow Your Business".