Study Finds Jump in Advisors’ Use of Social Media on the Go

“A blog is a great way for advisors to get their message out while revealing something about their personality, which helps in prospecting and building relationships,” said Jennifer Sussman, director of diigital engagement for American Century Investments. “It takes commitment to continue sharing insights, but when advisors do it well and optimize for search engines, they’re able to draw traffic from a much broader audience than one-on-one conversations can reach. Plus, the lengthier format and auto-archiving capabilities make it easier to meet compliance requirements within our regulated industry.”

As in previous years, the study notes that advisors’ single biggest apprehension about using social media for business purposes remained regulatory or compliance issues. “Interestingly, however, that has varied—but is trending down overall —over the past couple of years: 42% listed it as their ‘single biggest concern’ in 2012, vs. 38% in 2011 and 47% in 2010,” the study notes.

Nearly tied for second were worries about a potential privacy breach at 19%, and concerns about company or home office restrictions on use at 18%, the study says.

However, 60% of study participants reported that their firm has a formal social media policy in place, up from 53% one year ago.

This year’s poll found 57% of respondents saying social media is an “emerging trend with significant future potential” for businesses like theirs, up significantly from 44% in 2010. “We saw that 21% of advisors believe social media is already producing tangible results for their business, which is a significant jump from just 14% two years ago,” Sussman said. “Also, 14% felt using social media had ‘high overall value,’” which was again a significant increase from only 8% two years ago.