Financial Advisor Archives

Sep 23 2014

Amy McIlwain - How Older Demographics Use Social

How Older Generations (50+) Use Social Media

The growth of older generations using social media has been staggering over the past three years. In fact, the 50 and over age group is the fastest growing demographic online. Not only is 76% of this generation going online on a daily basis (Pew Internet), but they also account for the majority of the online consumer population.

Social Media Use By Older Americans Has Nearly Tripled Since 2009

How are the older generations using social media?

According to the 2014 Facebook Demographics Report, the biggest population growth for the platform came from the 55+ age group. And, it’s no surprise. Facebook has opened the doors for every age group to connect with friends and family, as well as keeping them in the loop on news and world events.

LinkedIn is another popular social network for this generation, accounting for more than half of all overall users. Many of these users have embraced social media for the power it holds as they shift careers, pursue passions and get industry news.

YouTube attracts a surprising percentage of older users, with the largest percentage in the 45-54 age bracket, followed closely by those aged 55-64.

Twitter has the least number of older users with only 18% reporting to be over the age of 50. Seniors are using Twitter to find health information and follow news / literary publications.

As we know, social media is an easy way to stay connected and up to date on the latest happenings. Older generations report using social media mostly to connect with families, look for news and information, to play games online and to participate in contests. Not only are they highly engaged, they also have a 47 times the net worth of households 35 and older.

What does this mean for financial advisors?

Your 50+ clients and prospects are online and they are searching for news and helpful information! Social media is a great channel to engage with these people and position yourself as an expert. Talk to them, share helpful tips and recent news, and expand your reach.

Brand needs to understand how to market to senior citizens before all of the Boomers retire, because they are a demographic that will be more computer literate than any senior generation before.

The number of seniors who own cell phones has jumped a staggering 57% from 2010-2012 alone (Pew Internet). Because of this dramatic growth and the progression to adopt new technologies, we predict that social usage is bound to continue to grow even more in the coming years.

So, if your firm is using social media to prospect and connect with clients, keep up the good work! You will be noticed. If you have yet to jump on the social media bandwagon, now is the time. Your target audience is present and waiting.

Oct 04 2013

How to Manage LinkedIn Endorsements for Financial Advisors

Over 10 million endorsements are made daily on LinkedIn however there’s a lot of buzz going around about the meaninglessness of these endorsements. In fact, most of you are pretty annoyed about them. After speaking at a conference last week about the Power of LinkedIn for Financial Advisors, I was flooded with questions. A few of the most common were in regards to endorsements: “Why are these people endorsing me?” and “Can I have endorsements?” In this blog I’m going to go over how to manage endorsements so that you remain compliant with the SEC and FINRA, as well as some general etiquette and guidelines to follow when you receive one.

Sep 03 2013

Why Advisors Need To Get Social: 3 Social Media Success Stories To Convince You

Who doesn’t love a good success story? Now that even more financial advisors are using social media, some of the resulting success stories are pretty impressive. Just like winning the lottery, your chances of gaining a $10 million account from one Facebook “like” are pretty slim, but it does happen.

Aug 15 2013

20 Astonishing Social Media Statistics for Financial Advisors

The last blog we did on social media statistics for financial advisors in March was such a hit that we decided to bring you another round with fresh, new 2013 data.

Have you been wondering if your target demographic is using social media? Can you reach them? Do they want to interact with a financial professional on social sites? The answer is YES! Not only are more boomers, seniors, and affluent consumers using social media, they’re engaged and sharing information. If you’re not on the social media bandwagon yet, you should be and here’s the evidence to prove it!

Jun 27 2013

5 Easy Steps to Start Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business

We’re all familiar with social media’s All-Stars: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. However, there’s a fifth player that’s long been waiting to join the Financial All-Star Social Team, and that player is Pinterest. Pinterest is a way to organize and share content-related images from all over the web. If someone likes what you’ve pinned, they will re-pin it themselves, but it will always be attached to your company’s profile as it gets passed along. Talk about brand exposure!

Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “a scrapbooking site for financial services?” Well, yes. While Pinterest is generally known to cater towards woman looking to scout out recipes and crafts, this is a good thing! It’s estimated that by 2019, females will make up 2/3 of America’s wealthy population. Pinterest presents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with these potential clients on a very personal, and viral level. So far this year, Pinterest has been the third most used social network in the U.S. If this isn’t enough of a reason enough to consider adding Pinterest to your social media plan, here are some more facts that might change your mind:

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