BIONICsocialite

I'm known as BIONICsocialite online, but I'm simply Sheryl Brown to my friends...and I hope that will be you very soon.

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Registered Reps: Is Your Website Compliant?

Registered Reps: Is Your Website Compliant?

Rules – they can really stink, I know. I wanted to be sure all Registered Reps know about and understand the new

I wanted to be sure all Registered Reps knew about and understood the new FINRA rule regarding your website, though. It goes into effect June 6, 2016 so let’s jump right into it and get this knocked out!

What’s All This About?

If you’re a Registered Rep, then you likely know FINRA has…

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Need More Content? Check this out!

Need More Content? Check this out!

“Content is the reason search began in the first place.” 

Lee Odden said this and it’s truer than true. Financial service professionals struggle with content. It seems I hear on the daily:

I can’t find content for my followers.

I don’t have time to write my own content.

I wish all the content was located in one place.

What if I told you this is possible today? What if I told you this was not…

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Are Push Notifications Pushing You Away?

Are Push Notifications Pushing You Away?

Ding, ding, ding went the bell…but it’s more likely your smartphone. Judy Garland was talking about your heart in the Trolley Song, but today’s phones are clanging, dinging and zinging and nobody’s actually talking. So what’s all the noise about? Push notifications.

  I wanted to talk about the pros and cons of push notifications as it relates to financial service professionals. Should I have…

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Are you Rockin' your Twitter content yet?

Are you Rockin’ your Twitter content yet?

I’m saying the scary word…yep…financial service professionals will want to plug their ears while saying, “La la la la la la la la!!!” Are you ready? I’m going there today: TWITTER! Before you completely bow out of the conversation, what if I told you there’s a really cool place you can go to get your Twitter content and you don’t even have to post it – it will do it for you?

Now that I have your…

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Say "Hello" to my little friend...

Say “Hello” to my little friend…

I thought one of the greatest acquisitions by LinkedIn was in 2014 when they brought Connected into their suite of products. Since then, I’ve been reminding every financial services professional I encounter to download the separate Connected app to their iPhone/Android as a quick and easy way to stay in touch with their LinkedIn connections. Why would I do this when there was already a main…

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Client Attraction: Is it part of your everyday activity?

Client Attraction: Is it part of your everyday activity?

Clients do not arrive at anyone’s door without us attracting them. They don’t. So what do you think attracts clients to work with you and is it an intentional part of your everyday activity? [The operative word being “intentional” in the question.] If you hesitated to answer, then check this out.

First, let’s define the subtle differences in Push Marketing vs. Pull Marketing:

Push Marketingis a…

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A sweet treat: Cool way to show love through your content

A sweet treat: Cool way to show love through your content

Grab a cup of coffee and let’s have a quick chat.

In any given week I am asked the same question over-and-over again, “Sheryl, how do you find all this content to write about?” Content is something all of us in financial services need more help with and I have found a sweet secret to share with you today: it’s called Encore.

Encore is a platform which turns social media “noise” into insights. The

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Would you know your ideal client if you met them online?

Would you know your ideal client if you met them online?

This is a very serious question for my friends in financial services, “Would you know your ideal client if you met them online?” Seems trivial, right? You’re thinking, “Of course, I would!” Are you really sure though?

I want to walk you through an exercise today and if you’re brutally honest with yourself, you’ll love the outcome. If you’re not, this will be a complete waste of time, stop…

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Clients should use their phone to sign more documents

Clients should use their phone to sign more documents

I bought my house while shopping in a Gordman’s on December 14, 2015. It’s true. I was walking down an aisle with my husband looking at a resin cardinal statue and my realtor sent me to a DocuSign link which I clicked, signed the screen of my iPhone, pressed ‘sign here’ and then put the cardinal in my shopping cart. I remember it vividly because the next aisle I stopped and said to my husband, “…

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How do you meet prospects online?

How do you meet prospects online?

In any given week, I’m asked about the prospecting potential in the social space and how do I meet the people I want to do business with online? I feel like the answer should be something magical like unicorns and gnomes, but it comes down to something quite basic: I reach out, say “hello” and provide them with something they can use and then…wait.

No pixie dust, sorry

It really is that simple.…

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SSI: It's the PSI of Your LinkedIn Profile

SSI: It’s the PSI of Your LinkedIn Profile

It’s winter in the Midwest. Brr – I’m not a fan of the cold at all, what about you? My husband, however, is a tire manager for a major tire distributor and if the weather is really hot or really cold he loves his job…why? Depending on the temperature outside a tire can be underinflated or overinflated and folks bring their cars in to get services, thus causing sales. Guess what? Your LinkedIn…

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I actually just wanted to say sorry...

I actually just wanted to say sorry…

How many of you have written the following at some point?

Just checking on the status of…

Actually, I only needed…

Sorry to bother you…

I know I have done this! So, why do we do this? Why strip our writing of any power? Are we really sorry for bothering someone for something we need? Is our goal to minimize what someone else thinks of our request?

Of course those are rhetorical questions,…

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Pinterest - there's a right way to use it and a lot of wrong ways

Pinterest – there’s a right way to use it and a lot of wrong ways

Starting the new year off with a little fun, but a big lesson. Pinterest is a social media platform which might be on your marketing list to consider, but only if you have an awesome LinkedIn profile set-up AND the platform fits your demographic group (so it’s perfect for those of you with a woman-based business focus).  Like everything in life, there is a right way to use this platform and many…

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5 Tips for Organizing your Social Media for 2016

5 Tips for Organizing your Social Media for 2016

So you’ve decided to add Social Media to your marketing arsenal for 2016 – woo hoo!  I’m so happy to hear this.  You might be wondering, though, “What are some best practices for organizing my social media efforts for 2016?” and I have some great tips for you!  Below you will find five fresh and fabulous way to organize your social media for 2016:

1 – Calender Your Efforts

Seems simple enough –…

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What can #FinServ expect in social media marketing for 2016?

What can #FinServ expect in social media marketing for 2016?

I’m not a fortune-teller and I haven’t met anyone yet who can accurately predict the future.  However, I do watch trends in social media marketing and feel it’s important that I share this information with the financial services markets so we aren’t so far behind!

Social media has been a tough place for our industry.  Whether you want to say it is compliance or the overwhelming nature of data…

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How many of you are experiencing #VeryGoodLives?

I recently read J.K. Rowling’s book called “Very Good Lives” and it touched me in an incredibly powerful way; I hope you’ll take time to consider reading this book.  So much of what she writes about in this 2008 commencement address to a group of Harvard graduates resonates on many levels of what I’m working on in social media:  there are benefits to failing and growing our imagination.

Like most…

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Yeah, I want to be on social media but I don't want to use it

I was recently talking to a financial services advisor about social media. He gave me his card and said, “Yeah, I want to be on social media, but I don’t want to use it.”  I looked at the card he put in my hand and then looked up and asked him, “Why?” He shrugged and said, “…because everyone else is on it.”  He walked away at that point.  Do you think I’m motivated by this conversation to help…

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