At a recent ICI meeting, representatives from three larger broker dealers questioned whether social media helps financial advisors grow and run their business — or whether there’s more hype there than reality. Financial advisors, especially at larger broker dealers where the reps are employees, have significant restrictions on the use of social media — including even LinkedIn, which is the most popular social media venue for businesses. For example, the service’s popular endorsement feature is not available for advisors.
But advisors are concerned about being left out if they don’t have a social media presence. Millennials have grown up using it and expect others to do the same. Until regulators catch up, the use of social media by financial professionals to build and manage their business may be slow. But eventually, gravity overcomes inertia.
