By Barbara Stewart, CFA
I don't connect with clients on social media."
That's the response many investment advisers give when I ask what they are doing around social. It can feel uncomfortable to risk messing up and getting it wrong, and finance is an industry where compliance rules abound. Yet my advice is to focus on what can go right with social media, not on what can go wrong.
You need to be using social media. Call it social selling. It is not a replacement for traditional, proven selling practices, but in today's world, you have no choice but to incorporate it into your daily life as an adviser.
What is social selling? Writer and editor Christina Newberry defined it this way:
"Social selling is the art of using social networks to find, connect with, understand, and nurture sales prospects. It's the modern way to develop meaningful relationships with potential customers that keep you - and your brand - front of mind, so you're the natural first point of contact when a prospect is ready to buy."
Think of an active social media presence as an effective and persuasive extension of your personal brand.
Who are the financial customers of the future?
- Generation X and Millennials. Over the next 30 to 40 years, $30 trillion in financial and non-financial assets is expected to pass from the baby boomers - the wealthiest and once the largest generation in US history - to their heirs.
- Women. From the RBC Wealth Management Women and Wealth Transfer Report 2017: "Women play a key decision-making role in managing family finances. . . . This report takes an in-depth look at 1,752 high net worth females, worth US$4.4 million on average, across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It summarizes how women build their financial knowledge, manage their inheritance, prepare their financial affairs, and transfer their wealth to the next generation."
The authors of the Pew Research Center's "Social Media Update 2016" report:
"Nearly eight-in-ten online Americans (79%) now use Facebook, more than double the share that uses Twitter (24%), Pinterest (31%), Instagram (32%) or LinkedIn (29%). . . . Instagram use is especially high among younger adults. Roughly six-in-ten online adults ages 18-29 (59%) use Instagram, nearly double the share among 30- to 49-year-olds (33%) and more than seven times the share among those 65 and older (8%)."
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