Many people are wary of mixing business and social media. But in almost all the cases I’ve come across, it’s those who haven’t yet experimented with platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and online blogs that are the sceptics.
The relationship between a financial adviser and their client is based on trust. Survey after survey has shown that, in spite of all the professional advice and analysis available to investors, it’s often word-of-mouth recommendations from family, friends and acquaintances that prompt individuals’ investment decisions. Social media is a sort of word-of-mouth form of marketing. The ability to read blog posts, follow Twitter comments, watch videos explaining investment products, count LinkedIn recommendations, track Facebook conversations (and numerous other ways of interacting via social media) can only assist the process of ensuring that clients’ needs and advisers’ services are suitably matched.
The ability to gain recommendations on LinkedIn is one clear metric that potential clients can use when researching advisers. Similarly, Twitter’s #FF (Follow Friday, whereby Tweeters recommend fellow Tweeters worth ‘following’) is another easy-to-digest indicator. But the key to social media is the ‘social’ part. It’s not a passive form of communication, it’s active and interactive, whereby advisers can display their expertise and reach out to potential clients in an ever-increasing number of ways.
Being a relatively new phenomenon, there are few statistics on how social media usage has impacted the adviser-client relationship but I would wager that those advisers who are writing blogs, creating videos, hosting webinars and engaging in online conversations to inform and update on industry developments are those most likely to grab the attention of potential clients. And in doing so, those advisers can better ensure that they secure clients whose goals are aligned with their areas of expertise. Social media provides the opportunity to share knowledge and broaden reach in a live, concise and personal manner. After all, behind every investment portfolio there’s a human being—interaction is what we’re all about.