Let's Talk Income Protection

The Adviser's Guide to Building a Personal Brand in the Digital Age

• Income Protection Task Force • Season 2 • Episode 6

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In the latest episode of Let’s Talk Income Protection, Matt and Stevie dive into a topic that sparks a lot of opinions — social media. Whether you love it or avoid it, one thing’s clear: it’s not going anywhere. For advisers wanting to grow their brand and reach more clients, it’s time to get on board.

To guide us through the landscape, we’re joined by two experts who live and breathe this stuff: Rosalia Lazzara and Ash Borland.

Social media has become the new currency of visibility for financial advisers. Done well, it helps you build trust, stay top of mind, and attract your ideal clients — all without it becoming a full-time job.

Listen now to learn more about:

• How social media should be part of a bigger business strategy, complementing referrals and networking
• Why people buy from those they know, like, and trust – social media accelerates this process
• Analysing your CRM to identify your most successful client types before posting content
• Focusing on one platform where your ideal clients spend time before expanding
• Why personal branding doesn't mean sharing private details – it means being personable and authentic
• How video content creates "parasocial relationships" where potential clients feel they know you before meeting
• Why niche marketing differs from niche product–market to a specific audience but serves anyone who needs your solutions
• Why consistency matters more than trying to be different or creative
• Why you shouldn't over-edit videos – simple, authentic content builds more trust than over-produced content
• Why you should batch create and schedule content to maintain consistency without daily pressure

📣 Send the podcast your questions, thoughts or advice to feature on a future episode via:

Voice notes via SpeakPipe
Or email Info@IPTF.co.uk

📣 For More Education, Collaboration and Insight:

IPTF Website
IPTF on LinkedIn
IPTF on YouTube
IP Task Force on Instagram

Produced and edited by SEA Studios

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to let's Talk Income Protection, season 2, episode 6. This is the podcast that breaks down everything you need to know about income protection, whether you're an experienced advisor or just starting out. We'll give you actionable insights, expert interviews and, of course, valuable unstructured cpd points. I'm steve inaldi, the content associate for the iptf, and, as always, I'm joined by the one and only protection coach himself, matt chapman. Matt, how are you doing? It feels like it's been a long time for us, as we've uh, pre-recorded a few episodes recently yeah, I'm really good.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, mate. It has been a while, and what frightens me the most is when you said season two, episode six. I'm thinking episode six already. It feels like we only just started season two a couple of weeks ago. But yes, you're right, a lot of time has passed, lots been going on, lots of changing industry, lots of exciting innovations and things happening, so this is going to be a great episode I'm really excited about today.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, why don't you tell everybody what we're going to be talking about today, stevie? Yes, of course, exciting episode indeed. In this episode, we're going to be diving into a topic that can feel a bit like Marmite social media. Love it or loathe it, there's no denying its power when it comes to growing a financial advice business, and this is an interesting episode for me personally as well, matt, as someone who only last year, started their own company and, you know, busy with client work, haven't even touched the sides of social media. So I'm really, really intrigued about what our guests are going to talk about.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I am naturally someone who's going to be a huge advocate for social media, mainly because I had never really truly understood how powerful it is in terms of building either a corporate or a personal brand. And if you look at my situation, I only really started using social media maybe four or five years ago, just as we entered lockdown. It was the first time I'd ever done any kind of videos or even social content properly at any level. And you look at me now and I kind of think it's amazing how social media has been a key influencer in terms of me being able to do the job that I do today, the various opportunities that I'm so grateful to have in front of me and some of the work that I've been doing. And I honestly could say none of that would have happened if it wasn't for social media and the platform that it gave me to get my voice out there and for people to see who I am and what I do.

Speaker 1:

I couldn't agree more, matt. I think social media, as we said, love it or loathe it, it's here to stay and for advisors, it really is something that you need to be looking at if you want to grow your business, if you want to be successful, and I'm really excited to hear your insights, matt. But to help us discuss this topic further, we've got two brilliant guests who know exactly how to make social media work for advisors without turning it into a full-time job. First up, I chat with Rosalia Lazara, who has helped countless advisors and business owners grow their brand, attract the right opportunities and make social media part of a bigger business strategy. Then Matt will be chatting with Ash Borland, a personal branding specialist, who's worked with advisors across the UK to help them show up online in a way that actually gets results.

Speaker 1:

So all this and more on today's episode of let's Talk Income Protection. Let's get into it. Roz, thank you so much for being part of the podcast. I'm going to dive straight in. So, for advisors listening who feel like they should be on social media but aren't sure why, how would you explain the real value it brings to their business?

Speaker 3:

What a powerful. First question, why they should be and why is really much down to the new currency of today, which is visibility. Visibility is the key, but it's not new stuff, guys. I'm not reinventing the wheel. We've always said that people buy from people that they know, like and trust, and I live by that. And if I don't know you and I can't get to like you, then how can I trust you? And it really comes those three steps. It's no like and trust. So in order for me to even get to work with you, I have to see you. So you've already lost if you're not visible.

Speaker 3:

Now, the middle bit is the bit that is kind of tricky to master. It's the like bit. Okay, it's actually liking you. That is horses for courses. Yeah, not everyone's gonna like you know, everyone's gonna buy from and I buy like. I mean, why you, why you over someone else? And then the trust is the evidence. It's what do you have visible on your website, on your socials, digitally and offline as well. That helps me realize actually, yeah, I can trust you. So that's your testimonials, reviews, your authority content, all of that. So really, your online presence, the reason you should be on there. Because if you're not and your competitors are.

Speaker 1:

You're out of sight, out of mind, so there is a lot of for advisors to think about, and I think this is probably where uh people get a bit sort of uh unsure about how to potentially start, because it does need a bit of a bigger thought. You know thinking behind it. You know you've often said social media should be part of a bigger strategy, so can you unpack that for our listeners?

Speaker 3:

yes, absolutely. Social media is a complementary activity to everything else that you're doing. Now, the strongest leads for advisors have and always will be your referrals. This is your existing clients, your word of mouth, recommendations. That's going to carry on. That's one revenue stream and that's one lead generation pipeline. Your other is your networking events going out there and meeting and greeting your ideal customers, and that could be socials, that could be business formal events, and that is your opportunity to meet people that are in the same room.

Speaker 3:

But where do people hang out when we're on the sofa scrolling? Where are we really? If we don't turn up to the event, I can't see you. If we don't already have your telephone number, I can't ring you. If I don't have your email address or if I'm not subscribed to your newsletter, I won't get it. So the other way to catch if you, like you know, it's like fishing. The other way to go fishing for you, like you know it's like fishing the other way to go fishing for your ideal customer is to position yourself on social media and broadcast your content to a much wider audience.

Speaker 3:

Now, what I love about it is the science that actually proves that people are connected and that friends of friends, of friends, will see you. So it's almost like your live address book, animated online. So that's how I like to see it. It's literally my CRM system, my live address book, because in my phone they're all listed from A to Z and actually no one pops out, no name really stands out. But when you add them on social media, you get to see them in life form, like there might be a video, there might be a photo, and they're always there, always at the forefront of your mind. So, yes, that's why I say it's complimentary, because there's no point you positioning yourself on social media saying we are the go-to mortgage experts or we are the go-to protection advisors, and no one actually knows you offline. You, you know you don't actually go to events and engage with business people.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, you've got to practice what you preach so it's about, as I'm saying, putting a face to that sometimes sort of faceless online profile, would you say yeah.

Speaker 3:

So the biggest thing, um, stevie is okay. So if I was recommended to work with you, right, and someone said you know what stevie did my whole family protection, my income he reviewed everything for me. He's amazing. He's absolutely amazing. But great, what's his name? What's his number? Let me look him up.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, just because my friend said you're amazing doesn't mean I'm not going to do my due diligence. So the first thing I'm going to do is Google your name. Now, if, when I Google your name, I don't see anything, what does that tell me about your brand? What does that tell me about the kind of person you are? You'll ghost online and I'm like, hmm, this guy's a bit mysterious, but I can't even see him or find him. So now that I'm online and I'm researching about income protection and I see your closest competitor out there you know, really explaining things and giving me like the education I'm now hooked. I'm binge watching their content. I've forgotten your recommendation. I've forgotten about you in the first place. So that's the power of having a digital presence, because it actually keeps your existing word of mouth referrals warm as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly. So having that presence, having that content, now that builds that trust. You know, utilising social media well will open doors. You know, speaking gigs, partnerships, press, all the lot. But what's the secret to making that happen, roz, and using it well?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so I mean, I didn't even mention all that stuff about. It's not just about lead social media. I will just add in the fact that, for me, social media has opened up doors, such as speaking gigs. You know, I've been able to launch my book and sell that online, as social media has opened up doors such as speaking gigs you know, I've been able to launch my book and sell that online as well and I've seen advisors, you know, write books or webinars or courses as well. So it's so much more than just your leads. It also opens up doors within the industry.

Speaker 3:

So if you want to be known within your industry and you want to elevate your internal brand as well, it's good for the providers to know who you are right. So many of my clients have been approached by providers to say we love your content, we see what you've been doing, what can we do together? And so it adds another string to their bow. It's not just hi, I'm online and I'm trying to sell some protection, right? It's so much more than that. Now question how to do it. Well, okay, yeah what's the secret?

Speaker 1:

give us the secret.

Speaker 3:

We all want it guys, right, there is no secret. I'm sorry to reveal this, but there is no secret and ultimately, the number one thing you need to focus on is your ideal customer. Actually, that is the biggest mistake you're making in your business. So if I say to to my clients, right, who's your ideal customer? They're like anyone and anyone who wants protection. I'm like. That's not an ideal customer. You can't search on LinkedIn. Hi, I'm John Smith and I need protection.

Speaker 3:

Think about what really keeps your customer up at night. What's their demographic? What kind of platform are they most likely to engage with? Do you know how old they are? Do they have kids? What problems do they have? So if you know what your ideal customer really wants, then your content should be relevant to them. The secret is relatable content. That is the hardest to create because unless you really know your ideal customer, what their humour is, what they struggle with, what they love, what they don't want, what their obstacles and objections are, then it's really hard to make relatable content. So people love to see and read things that they're like oh my gosh, that's me. That's when they read something of yours and they see a video. They wanna know that you have absolutely understood them, and that's the secret. But that's the hardest type of content to unlock. It's that relatable content?

Speaker 1:

So the end goal is creating that relatable content that builds trust, and it's resulting in these opportunities. It's resulting in more clients. But where do we start? You know, if an advisor is starting from scratch today, it feels like there's a few things that you need to do to get your house in order. A bit of thinking, a bit of you know bigger thinking around the strategy. So what would you suggest they focus on, say, in the first months of trying to start their social media? Okay, so to start their social media.

Speaker 3:

Okay. So, to start with, stop posting and you're thinking, hold on, that's the goal is to post, stop posting. Take a step back and I want you to look at your CRM system and look through the last 12 months of completions, last 12 months of transactions that you've done. Where has the business come from already? I want you to draw a diagram on a spreadsheet or pivot tables, whatever tickles your fancy but create a report on where the success success leaves clues. So where has the success come from? Once you know what that looks like and where to repeat that success, what you're doing is transferring your offline success to the online success. So, for example, if your diagram shows, if your report shows that the majority of your clients come from accountants and that the majority of your clients tend to be limited company directors, then you know that that's the kind of customer you need to engage with on social media. So you want to go on LinkedIn limited company directors, managing directors, ceos. You want to be focusing your attention mostly on there and trying to hone in on that strategy first, before trying to do all the things like being on TikTok, being on Instagram, being on LinkedIn. Just hone in on one platform and diversify it Like in my book.

Speaker 3:

I've written about the four seven 11 strategy by Google, which is a zero moment of truth, and they say that you need to be visible on at least four channels. I don't mean four social media channels, I mean four diverse channels. So you would choose. If limited company directors was your ideal customer, then I would say you go on LinkedIn, you go to a business networking event. That's two channels already.

Speaker 3:

Then your third channel would be an email subscription newsletter that actually is only relevant for limited company directors and your fourth channel might be a guest interview or guest blogging or doing something collaborative with your introducer. Guest blogging or doing something collaborative with your introducer. So you might pick an accountant who has a prolific business and refers a lot of business over to you and you two do a joint dinner and invite both of your favourite clients to that dinner. These are the kind of marketing plans that I build for my clients. So it's not just let's get on Instagram and it's holistic, it's diverse, it's complementary to one another. And then guess what? All those four things that you're doing across four different channels. You can then post about it on social media, so it all kind of ties back in together.

Speaker 1:

Okay, roz. So we thought we're thinking about the strategy. Now we know the types of content we need to do and the approach that we need to take leading into it. But what about this view from some people who will worry about? You know, personal brand versus business brand?

Speaker 3:

There's a difference. Let's just look at the word personal. Right, there's a difference between being personal and being private. Okay, building a personal brand does not mean that you need to be private about things. As know, as in. You need to put like your dirty laundry out there on air and out on social media. Please don't do that. We don't, we don't need to see that, not necessary. It's about being personable.

Speaker 3:

Now, when you go to a networking event, do you send your admin with your business cards and say, look, tell them in the room that I'm really good, like, just give my business card. No, you show up right Online is the same, especially as an advisor. Especially your eyes, your smile, your voice says everything I need to hear and know about you before I've even worked with you. So when you look at your personal versus business brand, I see the business brand as like the company's logo and the invoice. Like if I was going to invoice you, it'd be Manuka Media, right, but the person you trust and the person you get the guidance from and the person you get the advice from is Rosalia Lazara. So I am the front facing face of the brand, but I also have a team, so that also backs up my strong business brand, that I have systems and processes in place, and that creates the credibility as well. It's not just me dancing around on social media saying let's work together and then actually, when you work with me, I've not got the infrastructure in place to support you. So that's the difference.

Speaker 3:

Now, the personal branding aspect of it, it's simply the element of the people buy from people they know, like and trust. Right, people don't buy from logos, they buy from people. And if you notice and I want you to start noticing this now because I know you've probably overlooked it but who's the face of Just Eat? Katy Perry, there you go. Personal brand Just Eat is the logo and the brand, but Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg- have been hired to be the personal brand for Just Eat.

Speaker 3:

Why is that? Because faceless brands that are just about the logo crave that attention from their audience. That is relatable. So they've put figures like Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg because as a personal brand, they are more recognized and so people love them and therefore remember Just Eat because they're like oh, katie perry's jingle and snoop dog's rap, and that that's more. So. You are the katie perry and the snoop dog of your own business you know what I mean.

Speaker 3:

I think you've never heard that as a marketing spin on on a podcast. So yeah, mark my words, you will see this everywhere. Now like, for example oh, what about nespresso? Have you seen who the nespresso face is?

Speaker 1:

Who's the new one?

Speaker 3:

I'm only thinking of George Clooney at the moment. Yes, now, who doesn't love seeing George Clooney sip a cup of coffee? I mean, tell me, that is not the perfect kind of marketing. And Nespresso was actually going downhill. They had a turnaround because they wanted that branding to be much more associated to luxury. So they got in George Clooney sip in a cup of coffee and boom, their company turned around. So there's two lessons here you are the personal brand, you are the face of your business, so be sure to level up your own game, to level up your own skills and to always keep showing up as a better version of yourself, because, remember, you are wearing your company's branding. And then the second clue that I've left you in there is who else in the industry and who else outside of the industry is wearing your badge, is wearing your logo.

Speaker 3:

So like, for example, here today, I am representing iptf yes, right, I am wearing the I, but that's because iptf I've got people like matt and ash and chris and myself who are personal brands, and here we are, so you guys have done it. You guys have done it as iptf. You are a business brand, but you've are personal brands, and here we are. So you guys have done it. You guys have done it as IPTF. You are a business brand, but you've got personal brands representing you. Well, well done. That is amazing.

Speaker 1:

Well, thank you very much. We'll certainly take that and listeners, take that to heart. Be the Snoop Dogg of your personal and business brand. So we're on to the final questions here, Roz. Let's cover this one what's the biggest myth or mistake you see advisors making on social media and how can they fix it?

Speaker 3:

Okay. So the biggest mistake that I see on social media is trying to copy other people, so you're not coming across authentic. You're just trying to be something you're not Posting with a transactional mindset. If I post this, what will I get in return? That's going to keep you in the game for five minutes and you're going to lose motivation and you're going to not see the fruits of your labor five years from now. Right, you need to see social media as planting the seeds and then you need to. What you water grows right and what you don't dies. So it's treating it as business as usual, everyday activity, not.

Speaker 3:

Oh, let's give it a go, let's dip our toe in, blast out all this loads of content, get professional photos taken, professional videos and then you exit the market three months later Just because you posted a video. No one owes you anything. You've got to earn. You've got to earn your respect from your followers that you are the go-to expert that they want to trust, and you've got to keep showing up and showing up and getting better, not going to lie. If you're not good at it, you're not good at it. Well, I'm sorry, but you've got to keep going. You've got to keep and and practice it and get the skills sorted. But go and get the coaching that you need.

Speaker 3:

If you're not good at it, don't keep doing it for a year and then, if you're, in a year's time, you've grown by one percent. That that's lovely. But you know, the best athletes out there, all the athletes out there, have a coach and I'm not saying you have to come to me or Ashley or Ash or whoever, but I'm just saying go and get the help that you need. Somehow, some way, shape or form, you need to up your skills. So don't come in with a transactional mindset, don't dip your toe in just to see how it goes and then exit back out again. And don't try and copy anybody else. You know we can see through it. Be yourself, be authentic, be as yourself as you possibly can. And yes, absolutely, consistency is key, but quality is better.

Speaker 1:

Roz, thank you so much. I mean even for myself personally, as someone who really does need to dip their toe into the social media landscape a lot more. That's been absolutely fascinating. Just a final thought, roz if someone's feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to begin, what is the one small action they can take today to build their visibility?

Speaker 3:

Oh, that's a nice question, because I literally had it this morning on a coaching call with a client and he said Roz, you need to add the word therapist to your seat.

Speaker 2:

Honestly, he actually said he's a commercial broker.

Speaker 3:

He was like I am only this vulnerable with you. So, trust me, I've seen it all. I've even had people go and buy a new wardrobe, you know, because they and their wives are like who are you? They're like I see a new confidence in you. So sometimes it could just be starting out with your self image, you know, like just believing in that you can be better. So sometimes it's just starting there. You know, my clients have said you know what, roz, I look tired, my business is tired, I want a revamp. So the coaching has been OK.

Speaker 3:

How can we work on your mindset and your well-being? To start with? The second thing is that your tiny action that you can take is Take 100 pictures and delete 99. Take 100 videos and delete 99. Watch yourself back, look at your picture, watch your videos back. Don't post any of them, but record, record, record. Take loads of pictures to the point where you suddenly start to be critical. Enough that just improves the angles and your confidence and how you stand and how you speak, but not so critical that just basically, you know one eyelash is out of place or an eyebrow is. You know, just don't be overly critical about yourself. So yeah, record 100 things, delete 99 and then record another 100. And before you know it, you'll have 10 videos that you do like from the hundreds that you didn't. But no one can see the hundreds that you didn't like. We can just see the ones that you posted.

Speaker 1:

Ros, I'm gonna steal a therapist line here. Unfortunately we're out of time, but thank you so much for joining us. I've really appreciated, yeah, all of this fantastic insight for me personally, but I'm sure the listeners have gained some valuable knowledge in this lovely chat we've just had lovely thanks for having me steve.

Speaker 3:

It's been amazing and thank you to everybody at iptf and all the listeners, good luck okay, matt, I'm gonna steal another therapist phrase here.

Speaker 1:

Uh, how do you feel about what ros has just said?

Speaker 2:

uh, matthew I feel that was incredibly insightful. I think, um, a lot of the things she's talking about they were gonna are gonna land very well with the audience. You know there's gonna be a lot of people out there listening to this, thinking do you know what? She's kind of hit the nail on the head there. I, I have those concerns, I feel what she's talking about. I think what was really great is she's offered some really helpful, insightful tips to anyone listening as to what they can do to kind of really be clear about how to take their social media activity forward.

Speaker 2:

Because I think the problem is this misconception is this oh, we just have to put stuff out there.

Speaker 2:

Well, actually doing that's just like just having a conversation with nobody.

Speaker 2:

I think the point of what she's trying to make there is be very clear about who your audience is, be very clear about what it is you're trying to say, the type of person you're trying to attract. Because I I think back to when I started how do you produce content? And I hear this a lot of the time from brokers about oh well, what do I put out there? And it's like, well, when you know why you're doing it and who you're doing it, for that whole thing becomes very easy. Content production becomes very easy because it's quite linear, it's quite narrow, it's quite focused. So I think there's going to be a lot of listeners out there listening, thinking do you know what? She's kind of hit the nail on the head and really touched a couple of raw nerves with people. So hopefully, if all they do is take away some of those key things she said and remember how to apply that in their own businesses, fantastic, matt, and now let's see if we can get some similar to.

Speaker 1:

Well, not see, we're definitely going to in this next interview with ash. Take it away, matt and Ash.

Speaker 2:

So I have the absolute pleasure of being able to speak to my good friend and longtime advocate, Mr Ash Borland. How are you, my friend?

Speaker 4:

Very good mate, Very good, Excited to be on this finally.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's great to see you and obviously, for those who don't know, which, I guess you've probably been living under a rock. Ash and I have worked together for many years. In fact, you supported me with my personal brand and building the Protection Coach brand for about two and a half years, I think it was. We were working together.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, yeah, it's been amazing.

Speaker 2:

I'm really grateful for you coming on today. And what do you think the biggest misunderstanding you hear from advisors in terms of their understanding of personal branding as a concept?

Speaker 4:

Yeah. So I think the biggest mistake that people think, or the biggest misconception, is that you have to have a personal brand or big word being or a business brand, and I think that, honestly, the two coexist together. In fact, they should coexist together, and I think that it's not an either or choice. And I think that's probably the biggest one.

Speaker 4:

A lot of people, especially when they're starting out, are scared of personal branding because they think that they can't maybe sell their business, scale and sell their business later, and you can still do both and actually, a lot of the times you're probably just putting things in your way just to stop you from doing it realistically. Just get off and build it, Cause your personal brand is your, is your, it's the easiest asset. But, as we say, me and you will go back time and time again. We've gone for a long time and it's this situation with me and you have like when I met you, it was like look, leverage your personal brand because everyone knows who you are and everyone advisors whether you're a protection advisor, wealth advisor, mortgage advisor, all of you guys will have a stronger personal brand most likely than you do a business brand at the beginning. So you can leverage both, but it's not an either or, and I think that's probably one of the biggest mistakes I see people make.

Speaker 2:

And that's a brilliant point, and I think you know, if you think about using me as the example there, what. That's a brilliant point, and I think you know, if you think about using me as the example there, what happened when we started to leverage my personal brand is actually the offering started to evolve slightly In that originally we were doing it oh well, we're trying to attract individuals to come and join a coaching program. We're going to teach them how to write protection business properly, you know, sell more of the income protection solutions out there and that kind of then evolved because as the personal brand grew, we leveraged it even more to then start doing speaking engagements, webinars, courses, that sort of thing, and it's funny how that takes a different route and often that's not planned right. So I think maybe advisors are not taking advantage of the idea that personal brand can become quite an amazing tool to leverage if you do it right. Yeah.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, hugely. It's one of the best tools. I think that it's. It's one of the things that can evolve with you. You just said it then it can evolve with you, it can grow with you and new opportunities will arise.

Speaker 4:

And oftentimes people you know I'm sure we'll probably maybe touch on this topic like niche later, so I'll leave that for then but like, if we, you know that's plug, if you do talk about that, if you to be now and actually we need to create something that's like that's kind of fluid, it's liquid that allows us to evolve and grow with us. And personal branding is that oftentimes I see people who brand their business. They'll create a brand around their business because we need to focus on this specific thing, and then and then they outgrow it. And you can outgrow businesses and shed them like skins, like some sort of you know snake, but but with your brand, that's the one that's always going to be with you, no matter what company you join, no matter if you're employed, self-employed, whatever. You are always going to be you and I think so. You should always invest in you first, in my opinion.

Speaker 2:

I completely agree and then you can evolve, you can adapt, as long as you do it strategically. As long as you do it and we talked about this before on the certainly like drip feeding things and doing in a strategic way. And that's why it's so important, because it's that authentic version of yourself that you're putting out there that allows you to pivot and to change as and when you go to those changes. Now, I think for a lot of people listening, I remember when I first started out in particular, I think this is probably pre you and I working together I did find social media overwhelming. What platform do I use? How frequently frequently do I post? What type of content will put that? Who's my avatar? Who am I trying to reach? What am I trying to do? And it can overwhelm people to the point where they get a bit of paralysis. They don't actually do anything right. So what kind of tip would you give to advisors to help them understand the importance of showing up consistently without it becoming a full-time job or being overwhelmed by it all?

Speaker 4:

Yeah. So the way to look at it is that you need to shut consistently because you want to grow your business In well, 2025, I'm recording this. That is the number one way. When I first was an advisor years ago, the number one way to get leads was introducers, estate agents, accountants, any form of referral partner, and then you had your client bank and you want to repeat business. It'd be the same with insurance. It'd be the same thing. But nowadays the number one way to get business is online.

Speaker 4:

It's social media and all of its kind of counterparts around that, and so my advice would be when they say, you know, I get overwhelmed. I'm like well, if you want to do this job, this is part of the job. It's not a nice and like a little add-on anymore. It is you, it's your digital identity, and so the sooner you get your head around that and you start to align your values and who you are with that, it gets a lot easier. But I would also say, with that, don't worry too much about it, Just show up and be consistent. The more you do that, the better you're going to be. Video content is the best for that, but it's by far because it clones you. It's your voice, your face, it's that. But even just showing up as however written or whatever at the beginning, is fine, but you need to show up. You have to show up, Otherwise why are you in business? And I really do think it's as serious as that.

Speaker 2:

I completely agree. I mean, if I think back to, what's helped me be more successful is this idea that I was relentless with the content, to the point where it probably annoyed a lot of people. Actually kept showing up on their feeds and I even got messages to the back. But I think it was this idea of yeah, you know you're showing up all the time and I agree with you. I think for me, video was a huge part of that, because it allowed me to put myself out there to show people who I was, to be more sincere, more genuine, more authentic, and that led to my my brand developing, and I know you've always been a big advocate for video.

Speaker 2:

You mentioned it just there. So why do you think it's so powerful and, I suppose, a great tip? I imagine there's so many people listening to this going, yeah, and I'd love to do video, I'd love to do video, but actually, every time I put the camera on, I stutter my words, I pause, I get nervous, I get sweaty and clammy, I go pale and I've decided I'm never going to do it again because it seems overwhelming. So, given that we're both big advocates for video and we both know how impactful it can be if you could briefly explain why it's so powerful and, two, what tips you give advice if they're super nervous about doing video content.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, of course. So why is it so powerful? Really quickly is because it is you. You clone yourself and it's the fastest way to create that know, like and trust that we need to do Any written or, which I said before, if you haven't done anything before, fine written or anything like that, it's fine and it gets you out there, but it doesn't get you anywhere near as much.

Speaker 4:

10x the result when it comes to video, because the faster we can get a client to hear your voice, know your face. What they do is they build what is known as a parasocial relationship, meaning they build a relationship with you. It's like a one-way relationship, so they already know you before they meet you, and we have these with all our influencers online. It's the same thing. So that's why video is so important is think of it as like the pre-discovery call it's. It's it's getting people to know you. When they come on the call, they already recognize your face, they already recognize your voice, they recognize some of the words you're saying, the patterns of words you're saying and how you explain things. So you have that to your advantage. Now, if we think about it in that way, and then we think about what's the tip I would give on that. Well, think about it as this, which is, don't think about your content as a need to go viral or I need to create value. Think about your content as exactly that of a pre-discovery call thing.

Speaker 4:

So it is about saying the things you would say to somebody if you were on a call with them. That's all it is. That's all you have to do, and I actually say this to people often your content, all it needs to be, is the process you do within your business and your ideal client, like avatar, whoever they may be. That's going to be your content. And then just speak and people always say oh, I'm worried, I'm going to sound silly, I'm going to do all this stuff and I'm like look, honestly, we've got bigger problems in your business. If you are worried that you can't answer, you know, do a video or answer the question why should someone have income protection If you can't answer that question, irrelevant of a camera in front of you, maybe you shouldn't be doing the job, and I think that, and it's harsh, but it's true, and so just remove the fluff out of it. You're an expert, you're going to sell insurance. Then show up and sell it wherever you are. That's my personal take on it.

Speaker 2:

I think that's brilliant and what I really loved what you said, there is this idea of almost this I mean I wrote it down parasocial relationship. I think it's great, this idea of almost being able to build rapport with a customer before they even land on the call, because you've done this pre-discovery activity, which I think that's like a really lovely way of looking. It's a really lovely analogy. Now, you and I have spoken in the past, haven't we? About sort of niche positioning, and if you think about what I've done as a protection coach, it's quite a niche offering. It's like you know, I deal with these types of customers and as time's gone on, I've even evolved that even further. And now I'm very specific about the types of organizations and institutions that I work with. Why do you think niche positioning is so important when it comes to social media? And how can someone out there listening to this one of the audience, how can they start to kind of narrow their focus and be clear about what their niche looks like?

Speaker 4:

So big thing of this is there's a difference between niche marketing and niche product. So everybody thinks I need to work with, I'm gonna only work with this one person. No, you're not. Your marketing is marketing to a specific niche, but the products serve anybody who needs the product. And if somebody comes to work with you outside, let me and you. I work with mortgage advisors. You're not a mortgage advisor, you're a coach, but you fall within it. You came to me, we worked together. That's kind of how it works. So there's a difference between niche marketing and niche product.

Speaker 4:

Now, the reason you want a niche is because if you stand for something, people will be attracted to that. It means that your examples and your references are going to be more relatable If it's too broad, which is what your larger companies. I call them the Goliaths. You know we're the Davids. We need to approach that way. We need to act like that. We need to feel like we're speaking to them. Now, that's why it's important.

Speaker 4:

Now, how do you do it? It's actually way more simple than people think. Don't just pick. Just look at your well. Don't just think I need to work with x type of client because someone told me they earn a lot of money or they need. They have a good you know, like a desire or a need to be protected.

Speaker 4:

What you need to look at is go who of the last 30 clients? Let's take the last 30 clients I did. Let's look at the these, these things about them. Where are they from? So where's their geographic location? What do they think and feel, what? So what is their psychographic and what is their demographic Meaning? Are they male, are they female? What job role do they have? I call that the niche triangle. If your niche is in the middle of that and it will move, like our brands will move, your niche will move and as long as you're following that, your content, your ideal client, is the person that sits in the middle of that and you all have. You just tailor your message to those people and you've won. You don't have to go. I only do income protection for doctors or something. You don't have to do that and in fact, it's very outdated and old and when people do it that way, it doesn't work. To be completely frank with you.

Speaker 2:

I totally get where you're coming from and I often have this challenge. It's a bit like when you look at the business protection space and the number of advisors that enter the business protection space for the payday, and I think that's the wrong attitude. Right? It's a case of you know, you look at people and go, oh, look at my last 30 clients and which one's the richest, which one's brought me the most revenue? There's something to be said, by the way, for picking a client demographic or even picking a marketing strategy that you enjoy. So I often talk to advisors you know when I'm, when I'm doing my coaching work about sort of they go out in these campaigns and you say you've got 80% of your problems come from 20% of your clients. Yet they're targeting those 20% of clients and what you think is actually you know what.

Speaker 2:

There's more to be said for thinking who do I like to work with? Who makes my life easy? Where can I have great conversations? What do I like to talk about? And then actually that and then actually that can feed in, because my opinion is, if it's a subject matter you're passionate about, you enjoy, you want to talk about, you're far more likely to show up and be consistent in how you do it. So guys love protection. I get evangelical about protection and so it's very easy for me to sit there and start producing content about a subject matter I care deeply about because it matters to me. So that becomes even more of a thing where the momentum of the authenticity gains and it just carries on. I think it'd be great. It's probably a pertinent point then, given we're kind of focusing on these type of things that advisors do that maybe limit their potential or damage their social media presence. What are some of the more common mistakes that you see advisors making on social media and what do you think they could do to avoid them?

Speaker 4:

common mistakes. Over editing a video is a big one. So like, over-editing, like, if you remember I don't know if some people know this, it would put my age on this now but the uh, the make vom Dutch, do you remember that make Like, so like there's a very like bejazzle kind of stuff. It's a similar thing when you look at some people's videos. It's like that you know you think to your, to your videos. The more, the more real and authentic and organic it looks, the better, plus, the less editing you do to it. So like, look, we did with your videos, for example, it's just you and you're in your office and you're there, and then it's just some text that comes on screen which is generated from Instagram. Like it's really straightforward and clean because you're a, you're consultant, so we don't. You're not a videographer, and if you started to learn how to do videography instantly, it's going to show that you don't know what you're doing with that. And then what? What is known as the halo effect, which is, if that's bad, then we then then the public will assume that everything else is bad and it's not. So one of the best things you do is just their subtitles and hold your phone, talk to your phone it's, it's. Just do it like that. That's the first one.

Speaker 4:

The second big mistake, I think, is everyone wanting to be different. Don't try to be different, just try to be consistent. If you're trying to be different, then you might. Then it means that it's not yet done, it's, it's unrecognized, it's not real at this point, and so, because of that, you are trying to step outside of what the client would associate with the thing you do. And so it means that if it requires them more than three seconds to think about that thing and go, okay, that's mortgages or that's insurance or that's whatever, it ain't going to work. A confused mind never buys. So instead, show up with them all the time with the same thing, but be most consistent and most clear. If you are really clear and consistent, the creativity bit is really not that important, and I think those two things are massive. Don't over-edit and don't think you need to be different. Just be better or just consistent.

Speaker 2:

Do you know? I couldn't agree with you more. I think there's plenty of market for everybody, quite frankly, and I think it's the case if you don't need to be particularly controversial or different. I just think you need to be consistent with what you do and I agree with the guys the editing of the videos. It's funny, actually, because you think I would like to think of myself as a fairly high level consultant in the protection world, and what's funny about it is my videos are about as basic as you can do them.

Speaker 2:

I literally stand in front of a ring light, I use big view for my captions, I've started my teleprompting and I'll. It's a very quick, simple edit. In fact, usually I'm just trimming two ends off it in terms of the start of recording, the end of recording. I don't feel the need to overproduce it because I think it would just detract from what it is I'm trying to talk about, and that's the funny thing about it is often like I agree with you an overproduced video.

Speaker 2:

It's hard to sustain that level of editing and productivity, by the way, and you talk about time-saving things. It's like who wants to do that, whereas I could probably produce maybe 30 or 40 videos in a couple of hours quite comfortably, by just recording, recording, recording, trimming, cropping, putting on social media and doing it and scheduling them in where I'm thinking, well, I've got to go through some massive production technique where I'm bringing ai imagery in and beautiful captions, all this sort of stuff, and for me that's one of the best ways in which I feel I could be consistent what I do, because I'm not having to over complplicate everything. But you're right, because it's interesting. You probably assume that would have a detrimental impact on someone's perception of the brand, but it actually has the exact opposite effect.

Speaker 4:

It's the Von Dutch thing I said If people see there's loads of stuff going on, there's loads of things happening. That's why I always think about those awful things. When I was in the early 2000s it was awful.

Speaker 4:

And it's exactly the same thing with videos. And you look at it and it instantly makes you go oh, and it doesn't matter how great it is if it's over, produced in a wrong way. It's very hard to do. A good video produced so you will give the wrong message. It's easy and it also wastes your time absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I couldn't agree with you more. Um, it's honestly I've just I could talk to you all day. As you know, you and I we've often had sessions together where it's run significantly over, because we can't help but share best practices, thoughts and ideas and, um, you know, I've been very grateful for the work that you've done with me in terms of helping me do this sort of stuff. So I think everything that you're offering is going to help those that are listening. They're really going to take so much from it. Do you have any kind of final messages you want to put out there to the advisors who are maybe struggling to show up online or what they ought to be doing, just to at least kind of get get movement happening?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, All I would say to them is don't like, start now. You know, there's a big thing as well. Well, the first message I say start now. And the second one is it's this like be the advisor you want to be today. I love this thing. I read the quote today, which was it says Then do the things they do, which will be make that content, and then you'll have everything you want. At the end, You'll get all the leads, You'll get all of the best client outcomes that you want. But if you are constantly saying that someone else, that I eventually will be that person, or I hope to be, you are that person today. Every one of us me on here, you here, Matt we've all been and started as somebody had no idea how to turn on a camera, no idea how to talk to the camera, no idea how to use social media, no idea how to generate significant amounts of business online I still don't have done it yeah, matt still doesn't really know, but we can all do.

Speaker 4:

You know it's possible.

Speaker 2:

We all started there it's true, and I would. I would sit here and say I'm being quite open with this I still don't think I know how to optimize a lot of what I do. I don't think I still use social media as effectively as I possibly could. You know, you and I have talked about this in the past. I'm still quite basic in some respects and it just goes to show for me. You're right, Ash. It's this case of turn up tomorrow, do it, make it happen.

Speaker 2:

And I read this lovely quote yesterday on the plane. It was change is a marathon, progress is a marathon. And the idea is, you know, we all have this idea that either I'll do it tomorrow, which we never, inevitably do or, oh my God, it's going to happen instantly, because we live in this kind of world of instant gratification. The reality is it's about consistency, about showing up, about doing, doing, doing, doing and then doing some more, being consistent in your approach and showing up, and then the inevitable thing of that is it just builds momentum and you get where you want to get to. Exactly like you said, it's been an absolute pleasure. Honestly, I love chatting to you. I could do this all day long, but can't thank you enough for turning up. I think you've given some amazing tips to the listeners and I'm sure they'll be able to run away with that. Where else can people find you, Ash?

Speaker 4:

Best place to go to my YouTube channel, which is Ash Borland. If you search there, all my content's on there. That's where the best stuff is. You can find me everywhere on the platform as well. You can search me there as well.

Speaker 2:

Brilliant. Thanks so much for coming in today. Really appreciate it. Good to see you.

Speaker 1:

So thank you very much again, ash, for speaking to Matt there. So, matt, we're going to go into some audience questions now We've got two anonymous ones, which I think you're going to really like. So, first of all, what types of content have proven most effective in building trust and engagement with potential clients on social?

Speaker 2:

media platforms. That's a great question and I think, as you probably get from roz and ash both as we just spoke to a lot of that's going to depend on the platform itself. So naturally, certain algorithms, certain platforms prefer video content. Others prefer static posts or carousels, for example.

Speaker 2:

What I found has worked exceptionally well for me is video. So everyone that knows me knows traditionally that was my kind of main primary social media type that I used. It was video because I felt it was a perfect way of presenting myself, to try and be authentic and credible in the things that I do and to really sort of emphasize the message I'm getting across. But I recognize that that doesn't feel great for everyone. Not everyone feels confident on camera, not everyone likes to do video. So I think for me I like the idea of doing video because it's my opportunity to sort of showcase myself and what I think and how I feel, and it's very authentic and credible.

Speaker 2:

But if you're an advisor that struggles with that, maybe what you could do is either do sort of audible so you could do, you know, a podcast episode very much like what we're doing, and then you can link to that and then put some content around it, or if you're going to do static posts. Images are great and I really like images of individuals, so the individual who's writing the post, so I don't mean sort of static images of just random things. I've always found this is going to sound really weird. I think it's because people are inherently nosy. If I'm being really honest with you, people are inherently nosy.

Speaker 1:

So whenever I put pictures of me doing personal things or with my family, it tends to get quite a lot of engagement because I think it's a little bit different a little bit quirky, so I'd probably recommend you look at things like that as a way of showcasing you as your personality, which that helps endorse your brand and your authenticity even further. Okay, thanks, Matt. And second question how can I balance things like these sometimes sticky compliance requirements with authentic personal content to grow my presence and attract the right audience?

Speaker 2:

Wow, that is a particular question that one. Now, naturally, every firm, every network, every organization is going to have a slightly different lens when it comes to compliance. However, a couple of really important things to note. As long as you're not giving specific advice around a product or you're not speaking to a specific demographic and giving advice generically speaking, I think you're OK. But what I would suggest is maybe speak to someone in either in your compliance department or your network about what you can do to streamline your process. Maybe in certain networks they have these kind of social media licenses that you can apply for, which kind of give you the framework and allow you to go and put content out there without having to have each individual post checked.

Speaker 2:

If you are someone that's looking to produce a lot of content, maybe tone it down and make it a bit more generic in terms of the content. Obviously, I'm not saying don't go after your specific avatar or client profile, but be cautious not to include specific product related information or figure related information. Obviously, keep things somewhat generic. Make sure you include the disclaimers in all your posts. If that's what's required by your network or by your compliance department. Try and organize it so you bulk produce, you give it, you get it all signed off at one point and that allows you to be a bit more flexible and obviously, once it's been approved, you can put it on the most appropriate time based on your social media calendar, what's happening in the market, in the news.

Speaker 2:

So I think the key there is to be prepared. I think for me, the problem is where you're trying to do things quickly and you're waiting on compliance sign off. That's where you can have some problems and it kind of unfortunately, is going to affect what you do and potentially dent your confidence a little bit if you're always waiting for feedback, um, but there's always going to be things that you can do to make your posts and to make your content for the right side of any sort of compliance check, if that makes sense and I think most people know what that is. It's obviously not offering advice online. It's making sure you say the right things, making sure your disclaimers are included. So just being aware of those kind of minimum requirements is really important to make sure your stuff can go on and not cause you any headaches.

Speaker 1:

Fantastic, matt, and if anyone would like to send in questions to the podcast, you can send a voice note by going to speakpipecom forward slash letstalkip or send an email to info at iptfcouk.

Speaker 2:

We don't mind if they're anonymous, by the way, it's really important to remember that. So I know a lot of people, you know, worried about sending in questions because, let's be honest, most people don't want to sound stupid. But the whole point here is we're happy for it to be anonymous. We're just here to help you. The content here is designed to answer those burning questions, so make sure you send them in, please thank you, matt.

Speaker 1:

Okay, give us your actionable takeaways for the this episode today and then, if you can wrap everything up with a nice conclusion, please, matt, just to send us on our merry way absolutely well.

Speaker 2:

What I'm going to do is I'm going to start off with I'll call them novice advisors. So these are individuals, maybe, who are either just new to the industry or potentially new to even going onto social media and starting to put content out there. I think what I would say is, if you're first starting out, maybe the number one thing to do is to just choose one platform and to master it. Commit to it, get, get it right. You know, start with the platform, as Rosalie said earlier, where your audience is most likely to be hanging out. You know those people you want to speak to. You know LinkedIn for professionals, for example, instagram for maybe first time buyers, that type of segmentation and I think for me, it's really just about committing to it, being consistent, showing up all the time for your audience. So post once a week, ideally on the same time or day, for four weeks potentially, just to start to build that habit and build that momentum and be consistent. That's my number one tip show up every single time. The second thing I'd say to those sort of starting out is to tell your story. Be simple, be consistent, be authentic with it. Your first post can be, if you just want them to be about who you are, why you do what you do, what it is you do and a couple of maybe case studies and rule of examples obviously omitting any kind of personal names or information and just talk about how you've helped clients. Talk about what it is you do, what makes you get up, makes you tick, so people can see that real, authentic you and see you're the sort of person that maybe they want to work with. You know you can even start with them the very reason why I became an advisor and talk about that specific example. Optimizing your profile is another key tip I'd give to you. The number of times I see profiles or bios on different platforms and it's not clear what that person does. No jargon, no nonsense. For example, I help first-time buyers protect their income so they never lose their home if life throws a curve ball or something like that. Then review and rewrite those bios so it's very clear to your audience what it is you do and how you can help them in their specific situation. I think it's really important, going back to what Rosalie said earlier about knowing your audience as if it's a friend of yours. So before you start posting anything, just be crystal clear on who you're talking to and why. Why does it matter? And what are you going to say to them? Are they first time buyers? Are they contractors? Are they busy parents? Are they mothers? Are they self-employed professionals? Give them, ideally, if you can, a name, an age and a few key concerns, and then you can create that simple avatar and start putting content out there that you know is going to resonate with them. Now, in terms of the intermediate advisors, so maybe someone who's been doing the job for a while, or maybe someone that's kind of dabbled in income protection, maybe dabbled in social media, and they're now kind of trying to create a bit of momentum. This is what I'd say For me batch, create and schedule content.

Speaker 2:

The problem is where you know you've got to do these things. Often in a busy schedule, you just put them off and put them off, and put them off, and then you start to lose the consistency. So if you want to batch, create content, so typically what I tend to do is do a month's worth of content in one go. It allows me to set my stall out, understand who I'm speaking to. I can use tools and resources to help me with the process. I schedule them in and it's like set and leave it to it. And the reason that's good for me is because I can still do the dynamic posts if something comes up in the media or the news that I want to talk about, but it doesn't affect the consistency of what I do, so that message is always being drip fed to the market like a tap that's been left on.

Speaker 2:

I would say dip your toe into video as well. A lot of advisors tend to stick with the static content written posts, carousels. Why not do a video? It doesn't have to be a big, flashy production, the sort of stuff that Stevie produces so well. It can just be a basic video and you'd have to worry about it. I would recommend using tools like BigView, where you've got an online teleprompter that has worked wonders for me, so you can actually script it out and see what you're going to say. So it looks like you're speaking without a prompt, but actually the prompts on screen helping you. That can help build your confidence.

Speaker 2:

You know, maybe do something like a very quick video, three tips or myth busting, or. I bet you didn't know this type thing and that's what I do. Then, finally, I'd probably say build a basic content calendar. I've done this and I have sort of thematic days. So Tuesday is when I launch my podcast episode, thursday is when I do my newsletter and then I sort of intertwine various different things as well. So I've got a very clear structure to what I do, because we are creatures of habit and again, you might evolve and change this later, but at least it's going to give you something to flow through day in, day out so you can actually stay consistent with your production.

Speaker 2:

For those expert advisors, for those who've maybe done this for a while, either in the job or maybe they're already prominent on social media, let's think about how you can scale up and reach that next level, like Roz was talking about offline with us. The first thing I'd say is build a bit of a content ecosystem. Think about cross-pollinating what you do. Turn one video on a LinkedIn post into a blog or into an email, write an article and then split that down and turn it into multiple posts so it becomes thematic. Really, think about how you can maximize the production of your content so the message is always getting out there and it's very clear who you are and what you do.

Speaker 2:

I'd start to say maybe think about analytics. We mentioned CRM in the conversation earlier and I know some advisors may or may not be using their CRMs properly or even understand how to access customer data, but I think it's really important to do that, both in terms of the avatar of the client you're going after, but also, is your content resonating with them? Look at your audience on social media. Is it made up of the people you actually want to speak to, or are you just throwing darts in the dark? Think about what's performing well. Look at those posts that have achieved kind of better outcomes or maybe got more views and more engagement, and focus on what you did and maybe try and replicate that moving forward.

Speaker 2:

And finally, I'd say for experienced advisors use tech, lean into tech. I cannot tell you how helpful things like chat, gpt, captions, big view technology that has really kind of helped me speed up production time, content production, editing, publishing, scheduling all those things that, let's be honest, if you have to do day in, day out, are just going to eat into your time and become a bit of a problem. Where you use technology to its advantage and it really helps you streamline your process, you'll be more inclined to stay consistent with it and, I think in terms of a summary, if I can sort of wrap it all up, if I think about the difference it's made. To me the biggest impact forget, you know, content, platform format, all that sort of stuff.

Speaker 2:

For me, the number one thing I would leave with you is turning up consistently every day, if you have to, just being present. And the reason I say that is because it's almost like if you imagine a tap that's been left on dripping into a bucket, right, you don't see it when it's dripping, you don't think much about it when it's dripping, but you come back in a couple of years and that bucket is overflowing and that the point I'm trying to make. It's that consistency. That's the key. Showing up every single day, even when you don't want to, if that means you have to pre-produce stuff, so it's going to happen even when you've got the flu and you're in bed. You don't want to do it, so be it. But as long as you're present, that's where the momentum starts to build and it's like that hockey stick curve, that compounding model of just turning up and doing it every single day, is where it's going to lead to great results for you. And that's probably the top tip I can give advisors listening on social media.

Speaker 1:

Incredible stuff, matt. And with that, let's look at wrapping up today's episode. A quick reminder to subscribe, rate and share the podcast if you're finding it valuable. And don't forget you can claim unstructured CPD points for every episode, so don't miss out on those. The IBTF will be sharing more content across LinkedIn, instagram and YouTube this month to help you make the most out of social media, and we have the start of the 100-day countdown for iPore. Yes, nearly 100 days away already, so we are looking forward to that. But that's it for this episode. We'll see you next month for more. Let's Talk Income Protection.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for listening everyone.

Speaker 1:

Let's Talk. Income Protection is produced by SEA Studios.