According to the founder of IFA Life, Philip Calvert, advisers are cautious about using social media as a marketing tool, but have thoroughly embraced it to share best practice, debate industry issues, comment on news and to learn new ways to grow and develop their businesses.
Commenting, Philip Calvert said: "There is a perception amongst many IFAs (and indeed the FSA) that social media is all about marketing, and as a result some IFAs have been banned from using it. This is an incredibly short-sighted view, when social media has so many other uses."
Calvert, who trains IFAs on how to use social media in their business, adds that in addition to marketing activities, IFAs can use the technology:
- To listen to clients, the industry, their target market and what people have to say about them and their brand
- To improve knowledge, to learn news skills and to share best practice
- For search engine optimisation and to attract website traffic
- Thought leadership and to comment on key issues
- Networking and relationships
- To give and to get answers to technical questions
- To collaborate with others on projects
- To contribute to debates and to add value to people's online experience
- Promote and follow up events and seminars
- Customer service and to answer questions
- Build Community around their brand
- Build an online reputation and to enhance the perception of professional credibility
Calvert urges all IFAs to learn more about social media and how they can use it strategically within their businesses, and added: "It's very exciting to see how the industry is embracing the technology, but there are still huge numbers of IFAs that don't feel it has any relevance to their business or who mistakenly believe that their clients aren't interested in it."
"All the statistics show that consumers of all ages are using the Internet to search for and obtain financial information and social media is a key part of that, but sadly many IFAs are being shown up as uninformed on the technology and therefore unable to meet the needs of their Internet savvy clients."
