The number of advisors accessing social media via smartphones and mobile devices jumped significantly over the past year, and more and more advisors are accepting social media as a viable way to boost their business, according to American Century Investments’ third annual Financial Professionals Social Media Adoption Study.
Although the majority of financial advisors still access social media through laptop and desktop computers, the online study of 300 financial professionals found that roughly 35% of those polled indicated they used smartphones to access social media for business and personal use, versus 27% in last year’s study. Also, 22% used mobile devices such as iPads and other tablets, compared with only 11% last year.
The study also found that six out of 10 advisors are using social media for business at least several times a week, with 27% accessing these sites on a daily basis. Facebook continued to hold the top position with 73% of advisors having profiles versus 55% in 2010, but LinkedIn and Twitter jumped to 62% and 27% participation, respectively, vs. 45% and 16% respectively in 2010, the study found.
Almost nine out of 10 financial professionals have a business or personal social profile or account. “Reading expert commentary and insights” continued to be the leading planned use of social media this year, seeing a significant jump to 22% from 13% last year, the study notes. “Sharing news and content relevant to my clients” was the second-most popular planned use, followed by “researching people, for example, prospects, contacts and current clients.”
There was also a significant jump in advisors maintaining a professional blog—17% in 2012 vs. 9% in 2010.