Financial advisors are making more use of social media than they were even a year ago — and reaping tangible financial rewards as a result, according to findings released by Putnam Investments Dec. 11. The findings are from the most comprehensive study conducted to date of the social media practices of financial advisors, Putnam says.
In Putnam Investments’ 2014 Social Advisor Study, which surveyed more 700 financial advisors across the country, 66% of advisors using social media for business indicated that social media networks have helped them gain new clients, up from 49% in the previous edition of the research.
Advisors acquiring clients through social media initiatives report booking a median of almost $2 million in new assets as a result, nearly triple the level of last year’s respondents.
Equally striking is the shift in usage of social media platforms preferred by advisors for business use. While LinkedIn remains the number one business site, used as a primary network by 55% of advisors, Facebook usage is up sharply year-over-year, to 24%. Google+ and Twitter also show major gains.
This fragmenting of social media preferences occurs against a backdrop of more social media usage generally — the share of advisors using only one network for business is down (from 33% to 25%), while the proportion using four or more networks for business has more than doubled (from 11% to 25%).
Other noteworthy findings from the study:
- Among advisors designating LinkedIn as their primary social network for business, their most prevalent use of the network is connecting with other advisors and financial professionals. Among Facebook users, it is enhancing current client relationships.
- Smartphones are the access device of choice for advisors under age 30, about even with stationary or docked computers (which are strongly preferred by the age 50+ set).
- The number of advisors using social media for business may have hit a wall, at least for the moment. Of those not active, only 16% are “absolutely certain or very likely” to start in the next three years and only 21% more are “somewhat likely” to do so. Advisors not using social media for business overwhelmingly cite broker/dealer compliance limitations as the main reason.
For information about the advisor value-adds offered by Putnam’s DCIO business, visit their NAPA Partner Corner page.
