Case Study
Dawson Financial Services improved their social media quickly by using a scheduler and expanding their posting topics
Dawson Financial Services (DFS) is an award-winning Houston based financial services company affiliated with Northwestern Mutual. Their team of nine provides financial and investment advice and top notch services to their clients. They recently committed to an improved social media presence. After working together for 3 months, DFS saw these results on new social channels:
Posts
3 per week
Impressions
1.1K monthly
Post Engagements
13.52% (vs. industry average 1.54%*)
Background
DFS was interested in networking through social media to meet new clients.
The founder, Doug Dawson, is a former pro athlete with an outgoing personality. He had a good presence on his personal Facebook Page already. He wished to expand that presence to other channels, realizing that his content would need adjusting to work well in other places. He also needed to build an internal system that would lead to consistent, high quality posting.
The firm turned to Small Biz Brands to help them with a strategy, initial management and coaching.
Products Used
- Small Biz Brands Strategy
- Social Media Scheduling Software
- Facebook Personal and Business Page
- LinkedIn Personal and Company Page
5 Ways DFS Achieved a Quick Start
1.
Post with a custom strategy always in mind
Highlights of the strategy are:
- Add value with every post
- Expand content messages beyond professional or non-directional personal topics
- Use short, simple videos frequently
- Involve the team in the social media efforts, not just the founder
2.
Use a simple social media scheduler
This tool makes it easier to post, which enabled them to consistently hit their goal of three posts per week
3.
Create pre-done templates for several strategic posting series
This tool made it easier to stay “on brand and on message’ and to post faster
4.
Produce 30 second videos
Strategic topics with varied locations and levels of formality in the videos led to more engagement
5.
Team participation
The founder established social media as a priority. He enlisted several team members to participate who were open minded about social media and willing to learn best practices
Wrap Up
Almost instantly, DFS’s engagement soared with the variety of topics and types of posts. More of the founder’s business persona came across online than in the past with just Facebook personal posts, particularly his sincere passion for helping clients and years of experience. He was so authentic that he even appears to be having fun. There were lots of comments generated.
In the third month, new follower numbers began to increase on the LinkedIn pages and Facebook business page. Some of these are considered leads and may eventually become clients. At that point, DFS knows exactly what to do as they are masters of a thorough onboarding and laying the groundwork for a successful relationship. And the whole process should be even more effective as their new clients from social media will know them better when they onboard as a result of previously following DFS.
What’s Next
Dawson Financial Services transitioned from having their social media managed, to coached, to being social media proficient in record time. They run their own social media now and found a special talent in producing videos – even starting their own regular “podcast style” video series. And they continue to look like they are enjoying communicating with the world through posts.
Take a look at their LinkedIn page.
Each company is unique. For instance, not everyone has physical fitness and health as natural topics, as DFS does. Still, there are plenty of other topics to develop that will resonate with you and your particular audience. The overall strategic approach will work for any firm. Hopefully the part where you and your team learn and have fun with it will convey, too. For more information, contact us.
* According to Hootsuite Industry Benchmark Statistics
