Here are excerpts from the financial services compliance department and my comments.

Social Media – Social Media is becoming a more popular way for agents to promote themselves and their business to potential consumers. We wanted to remind you that posting on Social Media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc is considering advertising. These postings/ads must comply with our advertising guidelines as well as the laws of each individual state.

OK, a couple of things. First off, this paragraph screams loud and clear that financial services reps, attorneys, docotrs, dentists, chiropractors must have two – yes, two – accounts minimum on each platform.  One is for personal use and thus not subject to the compliance (but still, behave!) and the other is their professional account.

The professional account name can be something like John Doe CLU, CFP, MD, DDS, DC, JD, ESQ. Or the account name can be keyword based like RetirementCoach, EmploymentLaw4IT, SustainableInvestor, NoFearDentist, MadisonChiroDoc.

Actually, it’s a best practice to have a subject or topic based account and a geo-targeted account, especially on Twitter, but let’s start with the basics, huh?

The reason you want a topic-based account name like ElderLawChicago, is to make it clear and easy for otehrs to understand what you’re about. After all, social media is no big secret. It’s about the know-like-trust continuum (KLT), just like normal face to face human interaction. For example, if you are IPLaw4IT, then your content should first demonstrate that you understand the concerns and operations of IT companies and that you also have legal intellectual property chops. Do that and your followers will move along the KLT continuum and you’ll have them calling you or DMing you or what not. Isn’t that what we’re after? Being invited to the party? KLT baby! That’s all you need to know about social media. Seriously.

As for complying with the laws of each state. I’m not sure what that means? Is it meant to be a broad statement saying you must comply with every state’s laws because surely your content can be read from every country, not just every state? Or is it a more reasonable definition? This compliance update, while short and sweet, is unclear.

Lead Generation Mailers – Lead cards or mailers for the purpose of obtaining the names and contact information of prospective insurance customers are considered advertisements. These advertisements are required to be submitted to us for review and approval prior to their use. Here are some suggestions to make sure your lead mailers are compliant before sending them in for review:

1. Disclose your name and agency if applicable;
2. Include a statement that insurance is being offered or sold;
3. Identify the name of the insurer, if you are soliciting coverage primarily for a single insurer.
4. The mailer may not include a statement that it is being send to specially selected persons, such as this statement – “Your annuity may have reached the end of its surrender period?” unless it is a true statement.

These suggestions are not an exhaustive list to help make your lead mailers compliant. Please review our advertising guidelines for more detail and information.

Actually, these four bullet points aren’t so bad, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The answer I have to counter all the legalese (which usually ends up being “mice type” way down at the bottom) is to get creative.

Thing is, most financial services companies discourage creative advertising. While it’s not compliance’s job per se to fret about certain creative components, it’s been my experience that they will disapprove of something based on their opinion of the creative. Now, many financial services firms and attorneys have conservative cultures which is a big part of the problem, but it never hurts to try.

The good news is that by getting creative, you really stand out in stodgy industries. A great example are two friends who were one time business partners. Chad is a sales and marketing guy. Kevin is the analyst. They were partners in a wealth management firm. Chad loved the theme “Your Prescription For Your Dream Retirement,” it wasn’t exactly that, but you get the idea. Candidly, I did too. The mailer was to be enclosed in a big pill bottle. It totally stood out! It’s lumpy (gotta love lumpy direct mail!), it’s fun, it’s different. Kevin, however, hated it. Kevin’s mindset was more walnut paneling. That is to say, boring. As an analyst he could never come up with an alternative, but he wouldn’t allow the Prescription to be filled so to speak.

So yes, compliance might get heartburn with the words “prescription” and “dream,” but battle with them. The delivery method is surely an eyeopener – and very likely will get opened…And what gets opened gets the headline read which leads to the subheadline which leads to the first paragraph which leads ultimately to a response!

What aches and pains does your compliance department give you? Let’s have some fun picking on them!