In 2022, India became the fifth-largest economy in the world. For a young country like India, this is an impressive feat. However, insurance penetration is still alarmingly low compared to the global average. It stood at a meagre 4.2% of the GDP in FY21, compared to the global average of 7.2%.   

For deeper insurance penetration, financial advisors must create a strong personal brand that will help market their services and serve a wider populace. 

Creating a strong personal brand 

Traditionally, social conversations have been the primary source of financial and insurance discussions for clients. Word-of-mouth advertising and networking helped advisors create the first version of a reliable personal brand – market reputation. 

While this approach was cost-efficient and simple, it restricted the services of financial advisors to their social circle with limited scope to expand.  

Social media has changed the rules of the game. It has made it possible for financial advisors to expand their practice far beyond the conventional.  

Leveraging social media  

Unlike insurance penetration in India, social media adoption in urban India stands at a whopping 67%. Social media is an ideal way to build a personal brand and cater to an audience that believes in communicating through the screen.  

Financial advisors can use platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Quora to build a community. It is location agnostic and paves the way for business opportunities from far and beyond since social media can also reach pockets in India where traditional branding models may not be able to make it.  

As the internet is a key major player in decision-making, building consistent content on social media, or interacting with followers also helps in building a personal relationship with the audience and creating a level of trust that, in turn, converts followers into clients.   

To use social media for personal branding, financial advisors can initiate conversations on the importance of life insurance, and the types of policies that prospects can consider. These conversations will help spread awareness about the importance of life insurance and build social capital for you as a financial advisor.   

Rahul Agarwal, an eight-year MDRT member from Chhattisgarh, reckons social media is an excellent platform to connect with many people quickly.  

He adds, “It is an untapped gold mine for financial advisors to convey their key message in sync with their tonality and personality.” He shares how he connected with a builder on Facebook and WhatsApp. “I shared insurance awareness and investment planning messages. We were able to close multiple insurance policies for his family through this method.” 

Agrawal has a word of caution though. He believes that content is king in social media and the focus must be on posting quality content. Agarwal says, “It offers the keys to a global market, that can be tapped if one plays their cards right.” 

Nidhi Bhargava, a financial advisor and MDRT member for more than seven years echoes these sentiments. Bhargava sees social media as the perfect place to plant the kernel of an idea. She explains, “Social media is a great medium to spread awareness. It’s the perfect tool to plant the seed of an idea. It makes my role as a financial advisor easier as I can build on it and convert these prospects into clients.”  

She explains with a broad example. “I had a referral and we decided to connect via Google Meet. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I was not speaking to him alone but to his friends and family members as well during the call. Digital platforms help me reach out to multiple prospects and clients with ease.” 

Bhargava points out that she uses WhatsApp to explain complex insurance products and their benefits to potential clients without the pressures of distance and geography.  

Impact of personal branding 

Personal branding makes you the face and helps leverage your brand value in choosing clients. It puts you in a position of power. By building a brand – online or offline – financial advisors create a community of followers. This, in turn, helps in the amplification of self-confidence, visibility and a stronger lead conversion rate for financial advisors. 

Today, there are more than a thousand financial advisors and options for clients to choose from. Building a formidable personal brand will help financial advisors differentiate their services from their clients and choose the path they want their careers to take.   

Financial advisors must maintain a balance on social media by creating authentic content that connects them with their followers. The idea is to build a relationship of trust with your community through advice, education, awareness and sometimes even gifts or services, as part of your brand.  

Contact: MDRTeditorial@teamlewis.com