The financial services industry has changed quite a bit over recent years. Technology has opened up the purchase of stocks to a far greater audience and stock brokers have been introduced to a very diverse group of investors. These changes have also required stock brokers to adapt to the new environment. Those who have proven themselves to be successful have shown a unique ability to develop new characteristics.
One tactic many stock brokers have implemented is their fairly recent ability to use social media. This powerful tool allows them to connect with their clients in a unique way and has helped to establish them as an authority in their industry.
Social Media Is Important
Leary brokers need to understand why social media is so powerful and how it will help them create a stronger client base. Here are a few of those reasons:
- They can find their clients on social media.Stock brokers are able to find greater numbers of new clients through ads placed on social media sites.
- They appear as an authority figure. By focusing more of their attention on information they provide instead of ads, they are able to establish themselves as an authority in the industry.
- They can keep up with emerging trends. Trends are important to any stock broker. In today's world, the majority of them begin on social media.
- They are more visible. Being seen by the public eye is important when establishing new clients. Social media is a tool stock brokers can use to fulfill this vision.
In the past, the world of financial services was pretty exclusive. Today, however, this is not so much the case. Investors, however are still wary of this industry, mainly because of the troubles that were present in 2008. Social media is a tool stock brokers can use to help ease those tensions and access new people who are interested in investment opportunities.
Staying Compliant
No post of mine would be complete without mentioning compliance. Investors are able to gain a great deal of information from social media. It is important, however, for all investors to be able to gather the same amount of information at the same time. This makes the concept of monitoring and enforcing regulations more difficult.
Because of the delicate nature of financial investments, it is important for stock brokers to be aware of the ways they can stay compliant when it comes to SEC and FINRA regulations. Stock brokers who rely on social media are allowed to do so, but must stay compliant with a number of different SEC and FINRA regulations.
Challenges for Social Media
Some stock brokers are hesitant to dive into social media. While one of the reasons for this hesitancy is staying compliant, another is ROI. Technology has made it a lot easier to determine ROI today. And, brokers who institute some internal procedure to help with tracking are also finding it easier to determine ROI. Brokers are also starting to update their thinking about ROI and understand that “Likes” “Shares” and “Comments” may be a significant part of that calculation.
Social media is definitely something that continues to effect the financial services industry. Now is the time to learn the benefits of this powerful tool and to begin the process of incorporating it into your marketing strategy. If you need some help with this, or just want to chat about some options for getting involved, contact us today.
