GAMA International Journal Sep-Oct 2013 - 18

l e a d i n g

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they are aligned with FINRA’s
expectations.
NEXGATE CEO Devin Redmond
warns that spot checks are just the
beginning and could lead to questions
about what actions firms have taken in
connection with their social media
policies, which may then foster
regulatory changes in the future. He
suggests advisors maintain a “living”
inventory of social media accounts
that is updated weekly and examine
them at least every quarter. (Earlier
this year, FINRA killed its rule
requiring advisors to link to the FINRA
BrokerCheck database on websites,
social media, and other online
communications, though FINRA
chairman Richard Ketchum says the
group will ultimately issue a simpler
version of the rule.)

Social Media use on the Rise

With more guidance on social media
use, advisors are increasingly wading
in to see what it can do for them.
According to a survey of 301 advisors
released earlier this year by American
Century Investments, 28 percent of
them use social media to keep up with
industry research and expert opinions,
and 14 percent use it to research
people. Three-quarters of respondents
favor LinkedIn, and 34 percent of
advisors have Twitter accounts, up
from 27 percent in 2012.
Other studies show that 45 percent
of adult Twitter users want to engage
with financial services firms, and
companies that post blog content a
couple of times per month generate
70 percent more leads than those
without a blogging strategy.
While concerns about compliance
remain, Actiance social media and
compliance specialist Joanna Belbey
says advisors should merely view
social media simply as another form
of written communication. Their most
important consideration should be
whether social media communications
are suitable, given their fiduciary
responsibilities, she adds.
“Social media can be looked at in
much the same way that it took years
for advisors to feel comfortable with
email,” says National Regulatory

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g a m a i n t e r n at i o n a l j o u r n a l

Services managing director John
Gebauer. “At the end of the day, they
are all just different media. The same
concerns, and checks and balances,
need to be in place.” Sarah Carter,
general manager for social business
at Actiance, says generating useful,
relevant content and measuring its
influence is a bigger challenge these
days than having technology to
monitor, control, and analyze social
media.

Social Media Changes Business

Advisors use social media to recruit
employees and clients, particularly
from Generation Y. Younger investors
tend to go online for information
about their financial options, says
Socialware’s Hannah Wu, so advisors
need to implement smart social media
strategies to serve this demographic.
She adds that social media can boost
advisor productivity by fostering
relationships outside the office and
allowing advisors to more quickly
communicate with clients.
Social media also can help
advisors get in front of their target
markets and build deeper connections
with clients. “You no longer need to
wait for your quarterly review to learn
about important events in your clients’
lives,” says Anita Heisl of B.C. Ziegler
and Co. “If an advisor is connected to
his or her clients via social media, the
relationship lives in real time.”
Morgan Stanley senior vice
president Mitchell Rock prefers
LinkedIn to traditional methods of
reaching potential clients, though he
hasn’t replaced in-person meetings or
cold calling. “[LinkedIn] allows you to
position yourself and drive prospects
from your LinkedIn account to your
website to your desk,” he says.
In addition, blogging can give
advisors a competitive advantage.
Separate from their websites and
social networks, blogs let advisors
consistently put their financial ideas,
insights, and strategies, along with
their personal stories, passions,
interests, and community involvement,
in front of thousands of clients and
prospects. They can post articles,
images, videos, screen casts, pod-

casts, documents, and presentations
on a regular basis and syndicate them
on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and
YouTube.

dos and don’ts of Social Media

But there are common mistakes
advisors tend to make with social
media. For one thing, says marketing
expert Todd Greider, some advisors
will simply push out content without
interacting with clients and prospects,
using too many platforms at the same
time and selling products and services
instead of their personality, experience, and knowledge. He encourages
advisors to create a formal online
marketing strategy and develop a
content calendar to maintain
consistency.
Experts also stress the need for
advisors to be both concise and
recognizable in their social media
posts. Those on LinkedIn should spend
at least 10 minutes per day enhancing
their presence by responding to
messages, updating their status,
sharing content, connecting with
people they recently met, and sending
handwritten notes or gifts to commemorate client and prospect
accomplishments that they see as they
review the previous day’s updates.
Advisors who want to grow their
business through LinkedIn should
ensure their profiles are complete,
create a company page that highlights their services, participate in
groups to expand their network and
generate more leads, and interact by
commenting on other people’s activity
and taking part in group discussions.
Meanwhile, advisors who use
Twitter should avoid making negative
comments about their peers, overloading their feeds with political or
religious commentary, or tweeting
only about themselves or their
companies. They need to thank those
who re-tweet their content, and if they
can’t engage on a regular basis, they
should simply delete their accounts to
avoid projecting an “I don’t care”
attitude to followers.

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GAMA International Journal Sep-Oct 2013

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