More than a quarter of advisers now use social media to prospect for clients, with LinkedIn the most popular channel used, an adviser survey has found.
The research, conducted by LifeQuote, found 28 per cent of advisers prospect for clients through social media, with 69 per cent estimating that up to 5 per cent of their business comes from social media and 25 per cent estimate that between 6 and 10 per cent of prospects come from social media.
The research found 60 per cent of advisers use social media in a professional capacity. The majority, 72 per cent, use LinkedIn, with 38 per cent using Twitter, 42 per cent using Facebook and 8 per cent using YouTube and Instagram.
Of the 60 per cent of advisers that use social media professionally 62 per cent use it for networking, 42 per cent to keep abreast of business trends, 41 per cent as a source of information, 41 per cent proactively positioning themselves as a thought leader, 28 per cent for client communication, and 24 per cent to monitor the competition.
LifeQuote sales and marketing director Neil McCarthy says: “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. But, 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.”
