Three in five firms fail to build social media into their marketing communications, while seven in 10 advisers have received no formal training.
Firms are still unwilling to embrace social media on an organisational level, a white paper published by CeMAP provider ifs University College has found.
The study found that nearly three in five firms fail to build social media into their marketing communications, while seven in 10 advisers have received no formal training.
Firms are reluctant to use social media as they suspect it could cause reputational damage and violate regulations.
In August 2015 the Financial Conduct Authority published a social media guide. This stipulated that messages posted online should be fair, clear and not misleading” even if they end up in the hands of non-intended recipient through re-tweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.
Martin Day, vice principal at ifs University College, said: “With the FCA publishing social media guidelines for advisory firms, which requires them to keep accurate records of their communications, coupled with growing usage among clients and individual advisers, organisations need to think about how best to incorporate social networking into their business plans.
“Social media, when used in the right way, can be an incredibly powerful marketing and professional development tool, particularly for smaller organisations and sole-traders in the mortgage industry.
“As the providers of CeMAP we will work with the industry accordingly to ensure all mortgage advisers are in the best possible position to take advantage of the opportunities presented by an increasingly connected world.”
Despite the lack of enthusiasm from firms three quarters (75%) of recently qualified mortgage advisers are now actively using social networks to communicate with clients, make a name for themselves within the industry and stay up to date with the latest issues.
The research found that Linkedin is the most popular network with nearly half (46%) of advisers using the platform to conduct business, followed by Facebook (41%) and Twitter (36%).
