Talking to Gen X, millennial clients

Technologically advanced and social media-connected financial advisors are what Gen X and millennial clients want.

So says a study from Global X, which found that strong technological capabilities would make it more likely for 93 percent of millennials and 71 percent of Gen X investors to work with an advisor.

Advisors have been successfully attracting this clientele by investing both time and money into tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, podcasts, blogs, YouTube, mobile portfolio access and modern uses for email.

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For Winnie Sun, managing director and founding partner of Sun Group Wealth Partners, Twitter has proved a tremendous method for connecting with current and potential clients. She is the weekly host of the largest female-led money tweet chat (public conversation) on Twitter, which reaches between 150 million and 435 million Twitter users per hour.

Having attained this level of success in less than two years, Sun gives a few tips on what she has done right:

• Strategically analyzed the responses and who is enjoying the conversation.
• Consistently continued to engage, and with the right people.
• Shared some personal information to connect emotionally with followers.
• Provided fresh news.
• Publicly recognized and recirculated great tweets from participants.
• Promoted her public appearances.

She consistently puts in about two hours per day on social media, likening it to a regular exercise program.

Sun has also racked up about 20,000 connections on LinkedIn, using the site to incubate leads and provide publicity for the firm. Several ultrahigh-net-worth clients have signed on specifically from this effort.

“They were attracted to us by our commonalities and background and by our post history, length and usefulness,” Sun said. “It’s nothing magical; it’s all about consistency.”

Similarly, Eric Roberge, certified financial planner and founder of Beyond Your Hammock, uses Twitter and LinkedIn to stay relevant within the industry, with potential referral partners and with the media.