Do advisers need a social media presence?

But using social media in a personal capacity is often quite different from using it to represent our professional side.

Some financial advisers have been developing their social media presence for a few years now and have built up a number of followers, connections or friends.

Others are yet to dip a toe into the social media platforms they have no doubt heard of but may be wondering how effective they really are when it comes to helping to grow their business.

“Social media is growing in importance in terms of an effective – and efficient – communication channel,” acknowledges Stuart Wilson, channel marketing director at more 2 life. 

“For example, the fastest growing cohort of Facebook users in the UK are aged 55 plus and there are now 6.4 million people of this age in the UK who regularly use Facebook.”

He suggests: “Although every social media platform has its own distinct ‘personality’ and idiosyncrasies – and certainly some are dominated by a much a younger user base (Instagram, for example) – advisers who are not engaging with clients and prospects via social media could be missing out on developing closer ties, as well as new business opportunities.”

Digital contact

Establishing and developing a presence on social media works both ways – advisers benefit from promoting their skills and awareness of their business or brand.

Meanwhile, advisers’ clients and prospective clients may want to engage in financial issues on platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

As Mark McKenna, head of global marketing at Putnam Investments, notes: “Clients have an expectation that they’re going to be contacted more digitally, and they want to consume content more digitally, and these advisers want to grow these businesses.”

Intelliflo's 2018 social media survey, conducted among 379 users of its Intelligent Office, reveals that asked why their company gets involved in social media, the top answer (56 per cent) was ‘to be seen to be keeping up with modern communications systems’, with last year’s top answer, ‘to attract new clients’, in second place.

Intelliflo reports other reasons in order of rank include:

• To keep up to date with financial news and events - 43 per cent, down from 44 per cent in 2017.
• To communicate with existing clients - 41 per cent, down from 46 per cent in 2017.
• To help with search engine optimisation - 39 per cent compared to 43 per cent in 2017.
• To see what competitors are doing - 16 per cent, up from 12 per cent in 2017.
• Not sure, seems like we should be doing something - 9 per cent said, compared to 10 per cent in 2017.
• No idea - 4 per cent, compared to 2 per cent in 2017.

That is not to say it’s as easy as tweeting once or twice, or posting haphazardly on Facebook when an adviser remembers to do so.

“The digital space offers wonderful opportunities for advisers to promote their offering and keep in touch with their clients,” recognises Emma Walker, director of digital at LifeSearch. 

“There is, however, a fine line between success and little to no return.”

As with anything, there are pros and cons. 

Reaching clients

One of the former is that it costs nothing to set up social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, for example.

Ms Walker says: “The pros are that it can be cheap and cost effective, with a real-time way to talk and share opinions, especially given 65 per cent of the adult population are active users.

“Often, the first time a prospective customer becomes aware of an organisation is from the first interaction on social media – either seeing someone in their network sharing or promoting, or from the brand itself.”

She warns: “Not being there could mean someone else is reaching your customers through content and promotions, and many people use social media to target customers they know are in the market for a service.”

There are certain pitfalls to avoid when it comes to posting content on social media sites though.

One of the first rules for advisers using social media to grow their business is to remember it’s a social interaction platform, rather than a promotional one, according to Roger Edwards, marketing director at Protection Review.

“It’s a place for conversations rather than hard sell,” he insists. 

“The two areas advisers can benefit [from] are listening and client engagement. Twitter especially is a great place to find out what people think about any given subject, from financial services to cars, to films and TV.”

Approaches to avoid

Ms Walker agrees: “Successful social media use isn’t a matter of just sticking some sales messages or pictures up.”

She lists some of the approaches for advisers to avoid:

1. The scattergun approach

"Don’t post content across lots of platforms with no purpose in the hope something resonates – it is more likely to frustrate people or not be noticed or, worse still, create fatigue for someone who keeps seeing your content when they are not compelled to interact with.

"Advisers need to understand who their clients are and post things that are interesting and relevant – this can be topical, seasonal or fun. You need to know what your prospective clients are interested in," she explains.

"If you are a small business this is important, you are not a full-time social media manager so spending some time thinking about your message and approach will save time in the long run."

2. Over promoting your business

Try not to promote your own services too much and too often. Consider a ratio of 40 per cent on your business and the rest on topical, engaging content. 

It is important to remember it is “social”, so when people are on Facebook it is primarily for personal use and they don’t want to be bombarded with sales messages. In financial services this is even more important and large organisations with huge media budgets are rarely seen using this tactic.

3. Instant results don’t happen

Ms Walker observes: "Rarely does a brand build up social loyalty overnight, so patience is key. It takes time to refine your message, see how it performs and understand what your competitors are doing."

4. Don’t hide from having personality

"You see lots of small businesses on social media approaching social in a corporate way, devoid of any voice or personality," she says. 

"This can be a point of differentiation – sign off tweets in person, reply to posts (every one), thank customers for following you. In other words, actively engage with your audience."

5. Don’t ignore complaints

"How you deal with complaints is key. Don’t ignore them," Ms Walker warns. "The world can see how you deal with things and, done well, can show you care."

Stuart Phillips, a director at Aalto Mortgages, agrees with her second point about over-promotion.

Part of the job

In fact, advisers need to tread carefully.

He explains: “There are inherent risks in a regulated market, so I stay away from any kind of product marketing and focus on testimonials, and posts about general industry news and knowledge.”

But advisers should not be over cautious – being on social media is an almost necessary part of the job now.

“One thing I’m constantly surprised about is when I search for a brokerage on Google and nothing comes up,” Mr Phillips admits. 

“Some brokers don’t even have websites, which I find baffling these days. 

“The internet is your shop window and searching for your company name should fill the first page with your reviews, your blogs and your social media profiles so customers know you are established and real.”

eleanor.duncan@ft.com