Q1 2016 - Practical Perspectives Sales and Marketing Report - How Financial Advisors Use Social Media

Social media continues to be an area of significant focus for financial advisors and the distribution platforms, product providers, and service firms that work closely with intermediaries. While adoption of social media is significant, challenges remain for advisors to fully integrate this medium into their practices and achieve measurable impact on key goals such as brand building, prospect development, client retention, and asset generation.

It is with this context that Practical Perspectives, a leading consulting and research firm, examines how advisors are using social media for business purposes. This new 110 page, 111 exhibit report builds on prior research and offers detailed, data driven observations and trends related to the behaviors of advisors in using social media, the platforms advisors prefer including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, key changes to social media including support and assistance that can drive greater use and impact, the actions advisors typically perform, and the extent to which social media influences key practice metrics. The analysis is based on proprietary research fielded in December 2015 and looks at specific elements of advisor adoption and use of social media in key segments including RIA, full-service, and independent channels as well as other opportunity segments such younger advisors. Input from more than 600 practicing advisors is the basis for the report.

Key Report Topic Areas - How Financial Advisors Use Social Media

Engagement with Social Media

• To what extent do advisors rely on social media for business purposes?
• How has advisor engagement with social media been changing in the past year?
• What are the key benefits for advisors in using social media in their practices?
• What specific actions do advisors take most often in applying social media?
• How familiar and experienced are advisors in using leading social media platforms, how has use been changing, and what specific actions do advisors generally perform using these platforms?

Impact of Social Media

• How satisfied are advisors in using social media?
• What is the impact of social media on key advisor activities and goals?
• How does the use of social media influence important metrics such as client acquisition and retention?
• How is advisor use of social media likely to change in the coming year?

 
Responding to Advisor Needs Related to Social Media

• What sources and specific firms do advisors typically rely on for the most helpful support in using social media?
• What types of training and support for social media are advisors most likely to use?
• What are the key challenges to advisors in using social media?
• What changes would enable advisors to gain greater benefit from using social media?
• Why have some advisors not yet begun to use social media and how likely are they to begin using leading platforms?

Ordering the Report
The study is available in PDF format for the subscription price of $5,950. To order the complete 110 page, 111 exhibit report or for more information, please contact: Howard Schneider, 978-590-7290 or email howard.schneider@practicalperspectives.com

Introduction and Methodology
The rise of social media as a cultural phenomenon has been well documented. Many financial advisors have initiated efforts to integrate social media into their business development and client engagement approaches. Firms focused on leveraging distribution through financial advisors including broker-dealers, asset managers, insurance companies, and custodians have developed tools and training programs that promote the benefits of social media and assist advisors in implementing social media campaigns. Despite these ongoing efforts, questions remain including how comfortable and committed are advisors to using social media, what sources do they turn to for help and learning, what challenges do they face in taking advantage of social media capabilities, and how effective is social media in driving meaningful results. Our goal in this report is to build on learnings in our prior research and provide a data driven view examining the use of social media from the singular perspective of practicing financial advisors. This in-depth report combines distinct research insights with practical, consulting oriented analysis. The report offers relevant and actionable information for a variety of key constituents interested in helping advisors leverage social media.
 
“How Financial Advisors Use Social Media – Trends and Opportunities 2016” examines how advisors take advantage of social media for business purposes. The analysis looks in detail at specific elements of advisors use of social media including the platforms advisors use, the types of activities they perform, the extent to which social media has been integrated into advisor practices, the types of training and support advisors have received, and the benefits and results advisors have achieved from implementing social media. The report also provides a detailed analysis by key channels and by different advisor age segments to help providers and distributors develop and execute more targeted and effective support to meet advisor needs. The report identifies trends in advisor use of social media with a focus on changes in the past year and how advisors are adapting social media for their practices.
 
Among the key questions addressed in this report are:

• How experienced are advisors in using social media for business purposes?
• How often do advisors engage with social media?
• What do advisors perceive as the key benefits of using social media?
• What specific actions do advisors perform most often using social media?
• How familiar and experienced are advisors in using leading social media platforms?
• How has advisor engagement with social media changed in the past year and how might it further evolve going forward?
• What specific actions do advisors perform most often through leading social media platforms?
• To what degree are advisors reliant on outside support for help with implementing social media?
• Which sources and specific firms do advisors recognize as providing support for using social media?
• What types of training have advisors used in the past year?
• What are the key challenges for advisors in using social media?
• What changes to usability, training, or support are of most interest?
• Why have some advisors not yet begun to use social media and what would cause them to start?
• What is the impact of social media on key advisor activities and on specific practice benchmarks?

 
This report is based on input from a broad cross-section of advisors across key channels including Wirehouse, Regional, Independent, and RIA. In December 2015, advisors were asked to participate in an on-line survey regarding social media. Advisors were randomly solicited across all delivery channels and both users and non-users of social media were included. More than 600 advisor responses were used as the basis for this report. Advisors did not receive any compensation for participation in the survey.
 
As appropriate, findings are shared for the overall research sample as well as for major distribution channels – Wirehouse, Regional, Independent, and RIA – and for different age segments – aged 40 and younger, aged 41 to 50, aged 51 to 600, and older than age 60. In reviewing this report, note that all data presented is sourced through proprietary research unless otherwise noted. Given the confidential nature of the input, none of the respondents is identified by name or firm.

Table of Contents
Section I: Executive Summary
Section II: Introduction and Methodology
Section III: Advisors Engagement with Social Media For Business Purposes
A. How experienced are advisors in using social media?
B. When did advisors begin using social media for business purposes?
C. To what degree do advisors use social media for business purposes?
D. How frequently do advisors use social media for business purposes?
E. How much time do advisors dedicate to using social media?
F. How has advisors engagement with social media changed in the past year?
G. To what extent do advisors leverage the capabilities of social media?
H. What are the key benefits of using social media for business purposes?
I. What specific actions do advisors take most often in applying social media for business purposes?
Section IV: Advisors Use of Social Media Platforms
A. How familiar and experienced are advisors in using leading social media platforms?
B. How has advisor use of leading social media platforms changed during the past year?
C. What specific actions do advisors perform through LinkedIn?
D. What specific actions do advisors perform through Facebook?
E. What specific actions do advisors perform through Twitter?
F. What devices do advisors typically use when accessing social media?
Section V: Training and Support for Social Media
A. How familiar are advisors with the social media policy of their firm?
B. To what extent are advisors self-reliant in implementing social media?
C. To what extent do advisors participate in training or support programs for social media?
D. What sources do advisors rely on for training and support for social media?
E. What factors do advisors associate with the most helpful social media training and support programs?       
F. What types of social media training and support programs have advisors accessed in the past 12 months?
G. Which specific providers or sources offer advisors the most helpful capabilities or support for social media?
Section VI: Social Media Development
A. How is advisors use of social media expected to change in the next 12 months?
B. What are the key challenges to advisors in using social media?
C. What changes to the usability, training, or support for social media are of most interest to advisors?
D. What changes would enable advisors to derive greater benefit from using social media?      
Section VII: Advisors Who Are Non-Users of Social Media
A. Why have advisors not yet begun to use social media?
B. To what extent do non-users use social media for personal reasons?
C. What would need to change for non-users to begin using social media?
D. How familiar are non-users with leading social media platforms?
E. How likely are non-users to participate in training and support related to use of social media?
Section VIII: The Impact of Social Media on Advisors
A. How important is it for advisors to use social media?
B. How satisfied are advisors with results achieved from using social media?
C. What is the impact of social media on key advisor activities and goals?
D. How does the use of social media influence key advisor metrics?
E. Which social media platforms have the greatest impact on advisors?
Section IX: Characteristics of Advisors
Section X: Implications and Outlook
List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1: Overall Experience in Using Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 2: Overall Experience in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 3: Overall Experience in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 4: When Began Using Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 5: When Began Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 6: When Began Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 7: Reasons Advisors Began Using Social Media in Past Year
Exhibit 8: Extent of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 9: Extent of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 10: Extent of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 11: Frequency of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 12: Frequency of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 13: Frequency of Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 14: Time Spent Daily on Use of Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 15: Time Spent Daily on Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 16: Time Spent Daily on Use of Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 17: Change in Use of Social Media for Business Purposes in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 18: Change in Use of Social Media for Business Purposes in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 19: Change in Use of Social Media for Business Purposes in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 20: Extent To Which Advisors Take Advantage of Capabilities of Social Media
Exhibit 21: Extent To Which Advisors Take Advantage of Capabilities of Social Media by Channel
Exhibit 22: Extent To Which Advisors Take Advantage of Capabilities of Social Media by Age
Exhibit 23: Key Benefits of Using Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 24: Key Benefits of Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 25: Key Benefits of Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 26: Specific Actions Taken in Using Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 27: Specific Actions Taken in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 28: Specific Actions Taken in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 29: Awareness, Consideration, and Use of Leading Social Media Platforms
Exhibit 30: Use of Leading Social Media Platforms by Channel
Exhibit 31: Use of Leading Social Media Platforms by Age
Exhibit 32: Change in Use of Leading Social Media Platforms in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 33: Increased Use of Leading Social Media Platforms in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 34: Increased Use of Leading Social Media Platforms in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 35: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through LinkedIn
Exhibit 36: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through LinkedIn by Channel
Exhibit 37: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through LinkedIn by Age
Exhibit 38: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Facebook
Exhibit 39: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Facebook by Channel
Exhibit 40: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Facebook by Age
Exhibit 41: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Twitter
Exhibit 42: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Twitter by Channel
Exhibit 43: Specific Actions Performed by Advisors Through Twitter by Age
Exhibit 44: Devices Used by Advisors in Accessing Social Media
Exhibit 45: Devices Used by Advisors in Accessing Social Media by Channel
Exhibit 46: Devices Used by Advisors in Accessing Social Media by Age
Exhibit 47: Familiarity With Social Media Policy of Firm
Exhibit 48: Familiarity With Social Media Policy of Firm by Channel
Exhibit 49: Familiarity With Social Media Policy of Firm by Age
Exhibit 50: Reliance on Various Sources for Implementing Social Media Efforts
Exhibit 51: Sources Relied On for Implementing Social Media Efforts by Channel
Exhibit 52: Sources Relied On for Implementing Social Media Efforts by Age
Exhibit 53: Participated In Training or Support Programs for Social Media in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 54: Participated In Training or Support Programs for SM in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 55: Participated In Training or Support Programs for Social Media in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 56: Sources Relied On for Social Media Support
Exhibit 57: Sources Relied On for Social Media Support by Channel
Exhibit 58: Sources Relied On for Social Media Support by Age
Exhibit 59: Factors Associated With Most Helpful Social Media Training and Support
Exhibit 60: Factors Associated With Most Helpful Social Media Training and Support by Channel
Exhibit 61: Factors Associated With Most Helpful Social Media Training and Support by Age
Exhibit 62: Social Media Training and Support Accessed in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 63: Social Media Training and Support Accessed in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 64: Social Media Training and Support Accessed in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 65: Sources With Most Useful Social Media Support/Capabilities
Exhibit 66: Sources With Most Useful Social Media Support/Capabilities by Channel
Exhibit 67: Likely Change in Use of Social Media in Next 12 Months
Exhibit 68: Likely Change in Use of Social Media in Next 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 69: Likely Change in Use of Social Media in Next 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 70: Likelihood of Beginning to Use Social Media for Business Purposes in Next 12 Months Among Non-Users
Exhibit 71: Likelihood of Beginning to Use Social Media for Business Purposes in Next 12 Months Among Non-Users by Channel
Exhibit 72: Likelihood of Beginning to Use Social Media for Business Purposes in Next 12 Months Among Non-Users by Age
Exhibit 73: Likelihood of Beginning to Use Social Media Platforms in Next 12 Months Among Current Non-Users
Exhibit 74: Key Challenges in Using Social Media for Business Purposes
Exhibit 75: Key Challenges in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Channel
Exhibit 76: Key Challenges in Using Social Media for Business Purposes by Age
Exhibit 77: Most Important Changes to Social Media Usability, Training, and Support
Exhibit 78: Most Important Changes to Social Media Usability, Training, and Support by Channel
Exhibit 79: Most Important Changes to Social Media Usability, Training, and Support by Age
Exhibit 80: Reasons for Not Using Social Media
Exhibit 81: Reasons for Not Using Social Media by Channel
Exhibit 82: Reasons for Not Using Social Media by Age
Exhibit 83: Extent Using Social Media for Personal Use
Exhibit 84: Extent Using Social Media for Personal Use by Channel
Exhibit 85: Extent Using Social Media for Personal Use by Age
Exhibit 86: Changes To Drive Use of Social Media Among Non-Users
Exhibit 87: Changes To Drive Use of Social Media Among Non-Users by Channel
Exhibit 88: Changes To Drive Use of Social Media Among Non-Users by Age
Exhibit 89: Familiarity With Leading Social Media Platforms
Exhibit 90: Familiarity With Leading Social Media Platforms by Channel
Exhibit 91: Familiarity With Leading Social Media Platforms by Age
Exhibit 92: Participation in Training or Support Programs for Social Media in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 93: Participation in Training or Support Programs for Social Media in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 94: Participation in Training or Support Programs for Social Media in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 95: Types of Training or Support Programs for Social Media Accessed in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 96: Importance of Social Media
Exhibit 97: Importance of Social Media by Channel
Exhibit 98: Importance of Social Media by Age
Exhibit 99: Advisor Satisfaction With Results Achieved From Using Social Media
Exhibit 100: Advisor Satisfaction With Results Achieved From Using Social Media by Channel
Exhibit 101: Advisor Satisfaction With Results Achieved From Using Social Media by Age
Exhibit 102: Impact of Social Media on Key Advisor Activities and Goals
Exhibit 103: Impact of Social Media on Key Advisor Activities and Goals by Channel
Exhibit 104: Impact of Social Media on Key Advisor Activities and Goals by Age
Exhibit 105: Influence of Social Media on Key Practice Metrics in Past 12 Months
Exhibit 106: Influence of Social Media on Key Practice Metrics in Past 12 Months by Channel
Exhibit 107: Influence of Social Media on Key Practice Metrics in Past 12 Months by Age
Exhibit 108: Social Media Platforms With Greatest Impact on Advisors
Exhibit 109: Social Media Platforms With Greatest Impact on Advisors by Channel
Exhibit 110: Social Media Platforms With Greatest Impact on Advisors by Age
Exhibit 111: Profile of Advisors by Key Characteristics