Financial adviser usage of social media and mobile technology – latest survey results announced
Richard Dunkerley
The number of financial advisers using mobile tablets as client engagement tools has quadrupled in just over two years, and one in ten advisers are active users of the rapidly growing Instagram platform.
These are the headline findings of the latest survey into usage of social media and mobile technology by Australian financial advisers.
The survey, conducted by Beaton Research and Consulting on behalf of Zurich Financial Services Australia Limited (Zurich), and the only survey of its kind, also found adviser usage of the main social media platforms has grown significantly, however a substantial proportion of advisers were still choosing not to incorporate social media into their client communication strategies.
The usage by tablet devices as a client engagement tool by financial advisers has increased significantly since this was last measured in 2012. According to the survey, 31% of advisers are now using mobile tablets with clients, compared to just 7% two years ago.
According to Mr Richard Dunkerley, Zurich’s Head of Marketing, Life and Investments, the increasing popularity of video is likely to be a key driver of this increase.
“We know from the popularity of our own YouTube channel that video is increasingly a preferred medium for advisers to demonstrate complex concepts to clients,’ he said.
“This is reinforced by our most recent survey, where advisers identified viewing online content and videos amongst the main reasons for using a tablet device in a client context.”
In terms of social media usage, LinkedIn, Skype and YouTube are the dominant platforms with advisers, with 61 per cent, 30.5 per cent and 19.5 per cent respectively using these platforms within their business. Overall usage (including non-business use of these platforms has also grown strongly since 2012, with LinkedIn increasing from 39.9 per cent to 65 per cent, Skype usage up from 33.9 per cent to 46 per cent, and YouTube up from 27.8% to 45.5 per cent.
The most significant growth however has been seen in usage of twitter, which increased by almost 80% since the previous survey, from 10.3 per cent to 18.5%. One in eight advisers said they were now using twitter as part of their client communication mix.
Notwithstanding the increasing role played by social media in client communication strategies, around one third of all advisers remain unconvinced, with lack of time and privacy concerns amongst the most common objections.
Alarmingly, when asked to estimate the proportion of their clients using social media, almost one quarter of those surveyed were unable to do so.
“Knowing your client shouldn’t just be about a financial fact find, it should be about understanding their service and communication preferences too, “said Mr Dunkerley.
“As demonstrated in our joint AFA/Beddoes whitepaper – Connecting with Clients – tailoring communication channels to client preferences is a key driver of client satisfaction and loyalty.
“Whilst social channels are not suited to every client in every situation, it is clear that an increasing number of consumers do prefer such channels, and whilst this is largely correlated with age it is not always the case; the starting point should always be to ask your clients, rather than make assumptions,” he said.
A full copy of the survey is available on request.
Notes:
- Beaton Pulse Survey of 200 active financial advisers, conducted on behalf of Zurich, September 2014, Beaton Research and Consulting.
- ‘Connecting with clients’, Association of Financial Advisers, Beddoes Institute and Zurich whitepaper, October 2013.
