by Kevin Windorf, CEO, FCS; CMO, 2112 Communications

In a crowded digital landscape, financial marketers aren’t struggling to be seen — they’re struggling to be remembered. Social media, once a scrappy experiment for most firms, is now an essential channel. But the rules have changed, and success today demands more than activity. It requires clarity, consistency, and a deeper understanding of how trust is built online.

At a recent FCS panel on social media strategy, the message was clear: organic social is table stakes. If you’re not showing up consistently, you’re not in the game. But presence alone isn’t enough. Audiences, especially in financial services, don’t engage with boilerplate messaging or templated posts. They respond to relevance — and more often than not, to people over brands.

Organic social media isn’t designed to drive immediate conversions. It’s about staying top of mind and building credibility over time. Especially in a category where trust is earned slowly, authenticity matters more than clever headlines or flashy graphics. You don’t post to be seen — you post to be remembered.

That said, visibility without relevance is just noise. The brands gaining traction today are those with a strong identity and a recognizable tone. They don’t post just to check a box. They post with purpose, aligning every message to the brand’s personality and the audience’s mindset.

Paid social offers precision — but precision without resonance still misses the mark. Audiences tune out when they see ads that feel generic or overly polished. Paid media should feel less like an ad and more like a timely solution. The creative should feel native to the platform, seamlessly integrated into a user’s feed, not interrupting it.

Authenticity isn’t just about tone — it’s also about who’s doing the talking. The most effective firms are empowering their people—advisors, executives, and client-facing teams — to share branded content in their own voice. The difference is real. A post that feels personal will almost always outperform one that looks like it came straight from corporate.

That’s why firms relying solely on plug-and-play platforms risk falling flat. Templated content may scale efficiently, but it rarely builds engagement. The smarter approach is to offer guardrails (e.g., content support, brand guidelines, compliance review), while encouraging employees to show up as themselves. That’s when trust starts to build.

Of course, none of this works without strategy. Every campaign should begin with a clear objective. What are you trying to influence — a perception, a behavior, a lead? Without a defined goal, social becomes just another to-do list item. But with intent and alignment, it becomes one of the most efficient tools in your marketing mix.

LinkedIn remains the top platform for financial brands, and for good reason. The match rates are high, and the audience is in the right mindset. But success on LinkedIn isn’t just about targeting. It’s about showing up with something to say. The brands that win aren’t necessarily louder. They’re smarter, more intentional, and more in tune with what their audience actually cares about.

Social media isn’t about volume. It’s about clarity. Less noise. More nuance. That’s how financial brands stand out.