Social Media and Financial Advisors: A Waste of Time—Or Mission-Critical? – Episode 38
Social media defies conventional wisdom about digital engagement between advisors and clients. Although it’s largely viewed by clients as a “nice to have” feature from their advisors rather than a must-have, social media can play an important role in enhancing credibility and positioning.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the complexities around advisors’ and clients’ views of social media—and how you might better navigate this landscape.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The vast majority of clients say they don’t care whether their advisors have a social media presence.
Millennials, however, are different—they expect you to be on social media.
Your social media strategy will be driven by your growth goals and your ideal target clients.
FACE THE FACTS
CEG Insights surveyed approximately 1300 investors, more than 84% of whom have over $1 million dollars of net worth, about their views on social media.
Perhaps the most surprising finding: Overall, 80.1% of these investors consider their advisor’s social media presence nonessential.
However, the full story is more complex than this one data point might suggest.
Case in point: Among Millennials, nearly one-third view an advisor’s social media presence as significant—and likewise, only around one-third say that it’s unimportant that advisors have a social media presence.
This demographic divergence hints at future shifts in engagement patterns that may prove to be significant to your practice. That’s because Millennials aren’t just the largest demographic group in America—they’re becoming increasingly wealthy. Having a footprint on social media is likely to become important in attracting these investors in the coming years.
Additionally, we see that Millennials are engaging with advisors on multiple social media platforms—most notably Facebook, X and Instagram.
INSIGHTS INTO ACTION
If your client base is made up of Baby Boomers and older investors—and you want it to stay that way—social media might not be worth much of your time, energy and effort beyond the very basics.
But, if you want to grow your business significantly and attract affluent Millennial clients, social media almost certainly needs to be a part of your approach. What’s more, you need to continually maintain your presence on social media through updates and fresh content that connects with your intended clients.
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