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Practice Management > Marketing and Communications > Social Media

Financial Firms See Dip in Social Media Engagement: Study

By Michael S. Fischer

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What You Need to Know

  • Individuals consumed more content across channels overall, Hearsay found.
  • Instagram generated the most engagement despite being the least used social platform in financial services.
  • LinkedIn is a good channel for financial service pros to focus on, Hearsay advises.

Social media matters for financial services firms, yet a white paper released Wednesday by Hearsay, a digital client engagement platform, showed that the number of engagements was down in 2023. While individuals consumed more content across channels overall, they opted to engage with it less often than in 2022. 

Hearsay’s study aggregated data from more than 100 leading global financial services firms and their cumulative 260,000 agents and advisors who used the Hearsay platform during the calendar year 2023. Researchers analyzed some 13 million published social media posts, which garnered more than 21 million engagements across Facebook, LinkedIn, X and Instagram. 

“Target audiences are consuming a high volume of financial content across more channels than ever before, yet engagement dropped this year,” Leslie Leach, chief marketing and strategy officer of Hearsay Systems, said in a statement. “Our survey points out areas of weakness and opportunity so that firms can fine-tune their strategy and tactics to make the most of their social programs.”

Instagram generated the most engagement, even though the average rate dipped from 1.6 in 2022 to 1.1 last year — and was also the least used social platform (again) this year. Still, Instagram performed three times better than Facebook and 14 times better than X.

Some channels experienced little change. Facebook engagement came in at 0.4 in both 2022 and 2023, and X edged up from 0.07 to 0.08.

The study also found that post frequency declined year over year, particularly on Facebook and X, suggesting that brands are no longer posting for the sake of posting. Rather, they are publishing a lower volume of carefully curated content.

Original content generated three times better engagement than modified content and 10 times better engagement than unmodified content. Original content’s performance is also remarkably consistent from month to month. 

The study found, however, that although the percentage of original content published increased year over year from 2020 to 2022, it dropped from 6.5% to 4.4% in 2023.

Firms had made the leap to video, according to the study. From 2019 through 2023, they increased the amount of video content published by 287%. Still, text-only posts continued to see the greatest level of engagement: a 4.3 rate versus 0.64.

Where Firms Should Focus

Based on survey results, Instagram consistently generates the strongest engagement for banks, wealth managers, asset managers and insurance companies but is the least used platform by far, a mere 2.2% of publication. As a result, Instagram remains a missed opportunity for many firms, according to the study.

In contrast, firms published 51% of their social content on LinkedIn in 2023. The study noted that the platform can be an excellent network for social selling as financial services professionals can share every type of content without limitation, engagement is generally fairly strong and they can publish high-engagement, text-only posts. 

Asset management professionals, in particular, have excelled on LinkedIn by sharing trusted, hard-hitting analysis with followers, according to the study.

Last year, firms published 40% of their social content on Facebook. Asset and wealth management firms are in the vanguard here, enabling their wholesalers and financial advisors to build a strong personal brand.

Image: Shutterstock

Michael S. Fischer

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