Early results from our annual riskinfo Reader Survey tell us that more and more financial advisers are utilising social media for business purposes. But does this mean it is delivering bottom line results? Our latest adviser poll is asking:
Has the use of social media increased the profitability of your advice practice?
Our reader survey is telling us that almost 80% of advisers are now using at least one form of social media for business purposes. By far the most popular medium is LinkedIn. 68% of those who have participated in our survey have said they use LinkedIn for business purposes. This represents an increase of over 57% from 2011, where 43.2% said they use LinkedIn. More than a quarter of advisers (26.8%) now use Facebook for business purposes, up from just over 18% in 2011. There has also been an upward trend in the utilisation of Twitter and YouTube for business purposes, but not in the same volumes as LinkedIn and Facebook.
… almost 80% of advisers are now using at least one form of social media for business purposes
But while there is clear evidence of growing usage of social media by advisers for business purposes, does this necessarily translate into a more profitable business proposition? The answer for some advice practices is an unequivocal ‘yes’, while others may find it more difficult to establish the link between increased social media activity for business and enhanced profitability.
Any increased profitability and/or practice value through social media depends, at least to an extent, on how the social media are used. For example, while the majority of advisers now use LinkedIn, what proportion use this service to enhance their client prospecting activities? Or do most advisers simply use LinkledIn to establish and maintain network contacts with colleagues and other business associates? This question equally applies for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other emerging social media options.
We would like to know where you fit in. Have you established that using socila media has clearly improved your business bottom line, either by generating new sales or improving efficiency and productivity? Is it too difficult or too early to make this call? Or do you see no correlation between your use of social media and business profits?
Tell us what you think and share your views with other advisers…
