Financial advisers are using social media as their main marketing tool, according to a study for adviser support company Intelliflo.

The survey backs Financial Planning Today’s recent Financial Planner research on communications methods - see latest edition of Financial Planning Today click here.

The survey found that twice as many advisers are using social media compared to traditional routes such as sponsorship of local sports teams and client events.

Seven out of 10 (70%) of the 379 users of Intelliflo’s Intelligent Office who took part in the 2018 survey say they engage in social media for business purposes, up from 58% in 2014.

In a new question about the other marketing tools used by advisers, ‘events where clients and prospects are invited’ was top, with just over a third (36%) using this route. Sponsorship was second (31%) and email was third (30%).

Intelliflo’s 2018 social media survey also found:

• Facebook has lost popularity, with 37% using this for business compared to 41% in 2016. 

• LinkedIn remains the most popular social platform for business, with 57% actively using it, down slightly from 59% in 2017.

• Twitter usage is also slightly down: 40% are using it in 2018 compared to 43% in 2017. 

• Other social media platforms are slightly up at 7% compared to 6% in previous years, with Instagram being mentioned by 3% of the sample – more than any platform in the ‘other’ category.

 Asked why their company gets involved in social media, the top answer (56%) was ‘to be seen to be keeping up with modern communications systems’, putting last year’s top answer, ‘to attract new clients’, into second place (54% in 2018 compared to 60% in 2017).

Other reasons in order of rank include:

• To keep up to date with financial news and events (43%, down from 44% in 2017)

• To communicate with existing clients (41%, down from 46% in 2017).

• To help with search engine optimisation (39% compared to 43% in 2017).

• To see what competitors are doing (16%, up from 12% in 2017).

• “Not sure, seems like we should be doing something” (9%, compared to 10% in 2017).

• No idea (4%, compared to 2% in 2017).

For the 30% who don’t currently engage in social media, lack of knowledge and understanding about how to engage with it to provide business benefits appears to be less of an issue, with just 13% highlighting this in 2018 compared to nearly a third (31%) in 2017.   

However, lack of time and resources is a concern for 33% (compared to 38% in 2017).  

Governance is much improved among those that do engage with social media. In 2018 58% have formal written policies for using social media that all employees must follow, compared to 48% in 2017 and just 25% in 2014.