Social media the gateway to HNW client base

The report, issued by the social media giant LinkedIn last week, stated that 75 per cent of high net worth individuals engage in social media, with 60 per cent using social networks for at least one financial purpose.

Speaking to ifa, Elixir Consulting business coach Stewart Bell said the statistics do not “surprise” him, and increasingly “more and more” people are using social media to build business value.

“However, most financial planners are not using it as effectively as they could be,” he added.

“When I do workshops, [approximately] 50 per cent [of advisers] put their hand up and say, ‘I don’t like it, I don’t get it and I don’t want to be involved’.”

JBS Financial Strategists’ director and AFA Adviser of the Year Jenny Brown said advisers should use LinkedIn and other social media platforms to stay in touch with clients and new prospects.

“HNW individuals want to keep up to date with current financial trends, so if you are quoted in a newsletter or article and you seem to be an expert in that area, you are more likely to go to the top of the list to someone who is searching that information,” she told ifa.

“Seventy-five per cent of high net worth individuals engage in social media, advisers absolutely should capitalise on this,” she added.

Mr Bell, however, said social media is not a “silver bullet” and advisers cannot expect potential clients to be “knocking down your door” after two months.

“It still has to be combined with other marketing strategies. Social media is just a way of getting in front of people to deliver a message and say this is what we are all about,” he said.