ASIC cracks down on websites and social media

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:55:41 +0000

Charmian Holmes

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has recently cracked down on a number of financial services and credit businesses whose websites contain misleading content, according to The Fold Legal (the Fold).

The Fold’s Charmian Holmes said ASIC has been particularly proactive about information that incorrectly states the interest rates for loans and savings accounts, makes ‘outlandish’ claims about self managed super or tries to induce investors without presenting all of the risks.

In order to ensure they do not attract ASIC’s attention for all the wrong reasons, Ms Holmes said financial services and credit businesses websites and social media activities need to abide by print and TV media laws and regulations.

“The main thing to be aware of is that you must represent your business and its services honestly and accurately,” Ms Holmes said. “If what you say about your products and services on your website or social media pages is likely to mislead or deceive, fines, penalties, corrective advertising, refunds and other sanctions can apply.

The Fold has provided the following general guidelines designed to help financial services and credit businesses meet their website content and social media obligations:

Keep website information up-to-date at all times
Don’t ‘stretch’ the truth – ever
Don’t make promises you can’t keep
Tell your customers the good and the not so good
Clearly identify the service or product provider
Avoid comparisons
Only use genuine customer testimonials

“In a nutshell, ASIC expects you to honestly and accurately describe your products and services,” Ms Holmes said. “Everything you do and say about your business, your services and your products on your websites and on your social media accounts should therefore be a true reflection of your offering.”

More information on The Fold’s website and social media guidelines is available on The Fold’s blog, Frankology.

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Have more than just a ticket to the game

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 20:50:14 +0000

Creating social media accounts is just the beginning: Astute.

Social media marketing may be helping consumers find and research financial advisers but in the age of digital media, an online presence is just a ticket to the game, according to Hans Egger, director of Astute Wealth Advice, creators of the AstuteWheel.

“The good news is that if an adviser has executed the right social media strategies via Twitter and Google Adwords, for example, and has maximised SEO to improve rankings, then the adviser’s LinkedIn Profile, website, business and social Facebook pages, Twitter and blog should all appear on the first page of a consumer search,” Mr Egger says. “The bad news is that unless each of these touch points is engaging, consumers may simply move on – without the adviser ever even being aware they dropped on by.”

Each time consumers ‘touch’ the adviser, the adviser’s process or the advice business they make decisions about whether or not to proceed, according to Mr Egger. “If the adviser’s blog, tweets, website or social media accounts don’t resonate with people then they can very easily move on – and often do,” he says.

Mr Egger said that ideally, an adviser website should start a journey full of touch points that lead to moments of truth. “It should start as an education process that tells consumers not only what the financial adviser does but whether or not that particular adviser can help them,” he says. “If the answer is yes, the website should also contain a clear call to action that puts the consumer in contact with the adviser and starts the process.”

Consumers, he says, either consciously or sub-consciously, want answers to the following questions before actually making contact with an adviser:

What is my experience with this financial planning practice going to be like?
Will I like you?
Will it be an easy process?
How much value can you add to my financial situation initially, and ongoing?
Can I find answers to all these questions before I make actual contact with you so that I can make a decision about whether or not to engage you?

“All adviser touch points present an opportunity for advisers to not only answer these questions but also to engage the potential client in the financial planning process and start preparing them for the first meeting,” Mr Egger said. “Websites, for example, can now include tools such as a welcome video, a five-minute health check and education about what financial planning actually is, to help them to start understanding their own specific financial advice needs.”

Websites can also be used to capture basic consumer data, according to Mr Egger. “Technology can now very efficiently help consumers provide answers to simple ‘fact find’ type questions like, age, date-of-birth, details of dependants, birth dates, financial position, etc., in preparation for the first adviser/client meeting,” he says. “That creates great efficiencies for the adviser – and the more efficient an advice business becomes, the better the outcomes are likely to be for clients.”

The post Have more than just a ticket to the game appeared first on AdviserVoice.

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ASIC cracks down on websites and social media

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has recently cracked down on a number of financial services and credit businesses whose websites contain misleading content, according to The Fold Legal (the Fold).

Have more than just a ticket to the game

Social media marketing may be helping consumers find and research financial advisers but in the age of digital media, an online presence is just a ticket to the game, according to Hans Egger, director of Astute Wealth Advice, creators of the AstuteWheel.