Use of social media is coming under scrutiny by the FCA, with a guidance document (Social Media and Customer Communications) currently open for comment until 6 November .
Adviser technology company Intelliflo surveyed 117 advisers about their firms' social media use*.
Its survey found:
• Three in five (58%) are actively using social media, with LinkedIn (48%) the most popular site, followed by Twitter (41%) then Facebook (32%). Many use a mix of all three.
• Of those who use social media, almost one in three (30%) believe it has a measurable or positive effect on their business. Slightly more than a third (36%) of respondents find it hard to know its effect on business, with around one in six (16%) believing it has no positive benefit.
• When asked to list the reasons why their company gets involved with social media, the top answers were:
1. To attract new clients (55%)
2. To be seen to be keeping up with modern communications systems (45%)
3. To keep up to date with financial news and events (39%)
4. To help with website search engine optimisation (SEO) (39%)
5. To communicate with existing clients (38%)
6. To see what our competitors are doing (9%)
7. Not sure, just seems like we should be doing something (9%)
8. No idea (3%)

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Asked about governance, the survey found that just a quarter (25%) had written policies in place that all employees must follow. Slightly less than a quarter (23%) openly admitted they didn't while the rest (52%) didn't know, indicating that either policies don't exist or communication about their existence requires work.
Jo Gilbey, Intelliflo's marketing director, said: "Social media can be a cost-effective tool in the marketing mix but it in a heavily regulated industry it needs to be used with care and caution. Leaving it to a junior member of the team can be tempting but it's clearly something the FCA doesn't want to see."
Advisers can provide feedback about the social media guidance paper to the FCA before the 6 November.