Advisors just ‘meh’ about social media
December 16, 2014 by Marlene Y. Satter
Advisors aren’t crazy about social media or the results they see from it. But considering their level of commitment, perhaps that’s not all that surprising.
Those are some of the conclusions from a new in-depth study from Howard Schneider, president of independent wealth management research firm Practical Perspectives, whose research found that while advisors believe social media has value, they’re not fully committed to plunging in and using it to its greatest advantage — nor are they thrilled with the support they’re getting for its use.
The report, titled “Financial Advisors Use of Social Media – Insights and Opportunities 2015,” drew on responses to surveys conducted in October and November among full-service and independent brokers, RIAs and financial planners to understand what social media usage is like for the average advisor.
While more than half — approximately 53 percent — of advisors surveyed for the report believe that social media is important, less than half — only 49 percent — are satisfied, or even somewhat satisfied, with the results they achieve from its use.
Some of advisors’ chief worries about using social media relate to compliance issues, according to Schneider.
“Most advisors use social media for business purposes, but many are not very experienced, make only limited use of tools and platforms, and few believe they fully take advantage of the capabilities social media offers,” he said in the report, adding:
“The majority of advisors engage with social media on an infrequent basis and few are spending significant time using social media within their practice.”
Doesn’t sound like much of a recipe for success, does it? Infrequent use, low familiarity with how it works, not much time spent on it when it is used.
Add to that the finding that “satisfaction with support available from key sources is modest, with few advisors very satisfied,” and it’s no wonder that advisors aren’t chalking up stellar successes with their efforts.
While many of those surveyed expect to be using social media more in the next year, “most anticipate the change to be modest” and “few believing use to be very important,” the survey found.
Considering that younger people, particularly, relate to much of the world via social media — but don’t want financial services firms to reach out to them that way, finding it “creepy,” according to a BNY Mellon study earlier this year — that’s a challenge advisors will likely have to find a way to address.
