Social Media Is for Marketing, Not Socializing: Execs

One of the drawbacks to that for Gilliam is that you lose the timeliness that makes sites like Twitter and Facebook so appealing to social media consumers. “You’re not able to be mobile and capture that moment for followers,” he said.

One drawback to Smarsh in particular, Jenkins said, is that currently the service only archives LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter posts. “The largest search engine, second to Google, is YouTube,” he said. “It’s coming. It’s just a matter of getting their arms around supervising” those posts.

While simple posts like check-ins may not seem to hold much value, Greg Banner, vice president of Asset Preservation Strategies, said they are a way to build credibility. For example, if an advisor checks in at a conference and tweets that he’s teaching or speaking, he can build his standing as an expert.

Jenkins takes a “45,000-foot view” of social media and avoids taking too casual a tone in his firm’s posts. “I don’t want to be quoted out of context six years later,” he said.

Gilliam’s firm also limits the personal content on social media sites and keeps the tone professinal, he said. He’s careful about managing “entertainment” posts because he doesn’t want clients to start wondering why he’s on Facebook and not managing their money.

However, Banner (right) noted that an advisor’s tone may change when talking to clients as opposed to other professionals. “You have to decide who your audience is,” he said. He related a story about an asset manager that posted videos from quarterly team building events. That content was far more popular than other messages, Banner said.

For Gilliam, consitency through all aspects of social media, both frequency and message, is one of the most important things for advisors to remember. Jenkins agreed, but added that caution should guide advisors’ use of social media. “Post with conviction,” he said. “You may have to defend it.”