Social Media : An Introduction to Social Media for Financial Advisors

The financial community tends to approach social media with both interest and trepidation. Many financial institutions have cultivated strong customer relationships and powerful brand loyalty with conventional marketing strategies. So while social media may appear to be the latest marketing bandwagon, executives are justifiably concerned about jumping on.

In an industry which takes online privacy very seriously, financial services organizations are also concerned about the privacy implications of online communication. Moreover, financial marketers worry that social media is little more than a resource drain, taking valuable time and dollars away from tried and true strategies.

While valid, these concerns are founded in some common misconceptions about the nature of social media. While social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are very popular, they are not representative of the diversity of social media options. Broadly, social media includes any online resource that helps to build relationships through sharing, communication and interaction. In contrast to traditional websites which maintain a one-way flow of information from website to customer, social media sites allow users to interact with a brand and with each other – building a sense of community and ultimately, a relationship with the brand in question.

Financial institutions may choose to broaden their social media strategy by engaging with a variety of social media platforms including YouTube, Flickr, WordPress, StumbleUpon, TripAdvisor and Twitter. While these tools are not new, they can be overwhelming. For this reason, financial institutions should consider consulting an expert when planning to wade in to the world of social media.