Nowadays you are seen as a dinosaur, or that you have something to hide, if you do not have some sort of social media presence. Even my elderly neighbours regularly post on Facebook.
And while being active on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc can be very rewarding, it can have disastrous consequences if the appropriate care is not taken.
For example, nowadays a person can be sued for libel if they are found to have made defamatory comments about someone in a tweet – something that would not have happened years ago.
There have also been cases of people losing their jobs over racist or irresponsible comments made on social media, or for inappropriate content.
But on the flip side, social platforms can be a great place for an individual to grow their personal brand and promote their business and/or services, which is especially helpful for advisers.
So is having a personal brand that other advisers and clients can connect with worth the hassle of navigating the choppy waters of social media and the possibility of being ‘cancelled’?
Let’s look at the pros and cons for advisers operating in this space.
Public spats and damaged reputations
From my own personal experience, advisers like to engage with one another on LinkedIn and Twitter and will openly discuss general goings on in the industry, new regulations coming into force and troubles with providers.
But of course, people do not always agree with one another.
While everyone is entitled to their opinions, advisers I have to tell you that having public spats over social media is not a good look, whatsoever.
A healthy debate is totally acceptable – for example, should the triple lock be maintained or not? But there have been occasions when advisers take it a step too far and start getting personal, block one another and start discrediting each other.
It is likely that prospective clients search advisers online before jumping in feet first, and these conversations are on social media for all to see, which could put some clients off.
Also the internet is ever-lasting. One bad comment or misjudged sentence, or even an honest mistake, can be seen by clients for years to come.
The same goes if a client complained publicly about an adviser's services, it is out there for others to see.
Another challenge is that maintaining a presence on social media requires a time commitment.
Ideally, advisers would want to be posting regularly enough to become an important voice and commentator but this is difficult to do while also holding client meetings daily.
It is also important to know what to publish. While the occasional post about personal interests, weekend plans and sports chat show an adviser’s personality, too many posts about mundane tasks, such as taking the dog for a walk, and a trip to the gym, makes people become disengaged.
While a social media role could be passed onto other staff in the firm, it is important every person looking after the account has the right skills and training to make sure mishaps do not occur.
So, say an adviser does post clean content regularly and engages with fellow advisers in a respectful way – is it worth it? I would argue that it absolutely is.
Charity and promoting advice
Social media is a great way to attract potential clients and show off just how important advice can be.
For example, posting engaging articles, joining in discussions about upcoming regulations and telling followers about what your advice firm is doing to help clients and the local community will only help IFAs attract more clients.
It will also help boost the status of the advice profession and shows how advisers can join together in times of need for the greater good.
Last month the advice profession banded together and hosted a charity gig to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.
The event was widely promoted on social media by advisers, providers and other industry figures, with more than £45,000 being raised in total.
The morning after the night before, Twitter was filled full of videos and pictures of the gig with advisers and industry professionals all promoting the cause and congratulating each other of what a great time was had by all.
This is how social media can be a force of good for the adviser community and showcase the great people that are part of the profession.
And this is more important nowadays as the advice profession struggles to attract new talent and younger individuals. If young people see advisers banding together and promoting financial advice as a good career then a lack of advisers may not be an issue in the near future.
But first advisers need to get to grips with social media and actually put it to good use.
Amy Austin is news editor at FTAdviser
