Before FAs throw in the proverbial towel on social media, it might be best to step back and reassess the approach being taken.  Simply having a profile on LinkedIn or Facebook and or occasionally posting a brief article are not enough to generate breakthrough success on the client acquisition front in any media, let alone social networking. 

 Recent results from an Aite Group survey of 437 financial advisors would appear to suggest that FAs involvement with social networking has fallen short of expectations.  This poses a couple of interesting questions for FAs; “What were your goals for this media channel and what plan did you put in place to achieve those goals?”   Based upon our interaction with advisors, many viewed social networking as a panacea and mistakenly thought that simply having a presence on social networking sites would boost their visibility and attract new prospects.  This is clearly not the case.

 Of note, the industry’s original concerns over compliance largely solved due in large to the advances in monitoring and archiving technology and the regulatory guidelines published by the likes of FINRA.  As an industry, we must now shift our focus to increasing FA competency with regard to the utilization of social networking as part of their advisor marketing efforts.   Make no mistake about it there are a number of sound reasons for firms to make the requisite investment of time and energy to train their advisors on how to harness this important media channel. 

 First and foremost, investors young and old are using social networking sites as part of their information gathering and advisor vetting process.  This trend becomes all the more important in the context of today’s younger investors as they begin to accumulate or inherit wealth and are in the market for financial planning and investment management support.  Secondly, those investors are open to communicating with their advisors via social media.  Finally, it is difficult to overlook the cost efficiency of social media marketing.  Name one other media channel or marketing tactic that allows an advisor to effectively position their firm as a thought leader, establish a brand voice and to extend their message reach at no cost.   In the words of John Henry Newman, the noted evangelical Oxford academic;  

 “A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.” 

 Mastering social networking skills requires an investment of time on the part of advisors and the institutions that serve them.  In this case, the end certainly justifies the means.  FAs willing to commit themselves to expanding their understanding of the social media marketplace and the various social networking sites and tools can greatly enhance their marketing efforts.  With understanding comes knowledge and the ability of an advisor to create a realistic set of objectives and the development of a plan to achieve their goals in this area.  Giving up on social networking at this stage could prove to be a costly mistake that will retard an advisor’s practice development progress well into the future.  For advisors looking to boost their learning curve, consider seeking the assistance of a social media marketing professional to support their efforts in this area or contact Cliff Campeau, Partner at Evolutionize at cliffc@evolutionizeMypractice.com for a complimentary advisor marketing consultation.