Advisors may want to pay close attention to the problems confronting Facebook because they are increasingly using the social media platform for their business.
According to the latest edition of Putnam Investments’ Social Advisor Survey, Facebook is the platform advisors use most frequently — averaging 22 visits per month compared with 16 for LinkedIn.
Both platforms dominate advisors’ use of social media. LinkedIn is used primarily as a referral tool and Facebook used to communicate with clients.
“LinkedIn is table stakes,” says Mark McKenna, head of global marketing at Putnam, referring to the minimum bet required to play a hand of poker. “But if you want to move beyond a professional business relationship you need to move into other channels.”
That includes Facebook, the primary social medium for most investors, as well as Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Yelp, says McKenna.
According to the latest Social Advisor Survey, more than 97% of the 1,014 advisors polled — each with at least two years industry experience — use social media and 88% say it has changed their relationships with clients, making it easier to share information and to stay in touch more frequently.