A social media survey has found that 60% of advisers are using social media in a professional capacity.

Figures revealed that 72% use LinkedIn, 38% use Twitter, 42% use Facebook, 8% YouTube and 8% Instagram.

The survey by LifeQuote also found that of the 60% of advisers that use social media professionally, 62% use it for networking, 42% to keep abreast of business trends, 41% as a source of information, 41% proactively positioning themselves as a thought leader, 28% for client communication and 24% to monitor the competition.

Neil McCarthy, sales and marketing director, LifeQuote, said: “There was a lot of hype about the instant business benefits of social media, and a lot of advisers were left disappointed. Now with some years’ experience the majority of advisers are using it professionally, including for prospecting."

However, Mr McCarthy urges advisers to allocate a specific purpose/plan for a social media account for it to be beneficial in the Financial Planning sector, he added: "Like any sales or marketing activity, social media needs to be used for specific purposes, it’s not some sort of panacea solution.

"As the financial services market evolves, I expect more clients and prospects will use social media as an information source and communication channel, but advisers adopting a targeted approach will gain maximum benefit for minimum time expended.”

The survey of 60 advisers also found that 28% of respondents use social media to gain clients and of these 60% said that 5% of their business came from social media, and 25% said that between 6% to 10% of prospect came from social media usage.

Financial Planning Today previously released the top 12 Financial Planning and social media tips to improve social media output. The story can be found using the following link:
https://www.financialplanningtoday.co.uk/news/item/6905-top-12-tips-for-financial-planning-and-social-media

LifeQuote is a protection portal and support service for advisers.