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Social Media is Not a Billboard

By Julia Binder

Asset managers need to embrace the interactive opportunities for conversation that social media provides. Too many firms use social media like a billboard to push out market commentary or media appearances. Instead they need to leverage social media to listen, interact meaningfully, and build rewarding relationships with key audiences.

From reading our research, you know that more than three-fourths of advisors use social media. Nearly one-fourth of advisors are on social media sites every day. They, just like any other social network user, are discerning when it comes to professing affinity for a business online, such as a "like" on Facebook or a "follower" on Twitter. According to Cone's 2010 Consumer New Media Study, social media users friend only an average of 5 companies online. More than half of users which are able to engage with companies on social platforms are:

• Likely to share information about the company with their networks
• Feel a stronger connection to the company
• Feel better served by the company
• Purchase the company's products or services

Any company, including asset managers, wants these loyal and networked users. A loyal, vocal advisor (or investor) is a firm's most effective ambassador. That's why kasina encourages firms to connect with customers where they are - on social media sites.

Dissatisfied Users Disconnect
Cone also reports that more than half of users will stop following a company if it acts irresponsibly toward its consumers, over-communicates with them, or provides irrelevant content.

Thirty-six percent of users say they will stop following companies which under-communicate and 28% will cease following if user-generated content is censored.

These figures are a warning signal for asset management firms which build a branded social site but struggle to generate interesting content or limit the user experience to one-way delivery of information.

Interact for Impact
Readers of our latest report on Harnessing Social Media to Drive Business Results know that firms such as The Hartford, Russell, Fidelity and Vanguard offer great examples for interactive, engaging social sites. These firms connect with customers where they are and keep them coming back. They post content developed specifically for their audiences and repurpose relevant material and statistics from other sources such as news articles or studies. Their posts are seasonally appropriate or riff on recent events such as the Academy Awards or the Super Bowl. They welcome comments and respond to or highlight third-party posts.

Firms need to interact for impact or risk losing the attention and, more importantly, advocacy of their most networked customers.