Going green just makes good business sense: Barron’s

By John C. Drachman, Financial writer

As going green becomes more of a selling point for tree-hugging capitalists, Barron’s noted recently that a skeptical public is looking beyond public relations to a firm’s real accomplishments.

Going green: From hype to hope

Advisolocity’s D. Bruce Johnston noted that one of the positive virtues of social media networking, for example, is its greenness. “We’d rather use electrons in our posts than chop down another tree and send a piece of paper.”

The stats back this up: 72% of respondents from a recent Mintel study said investors “feel good about working with a financial services firm that invests in companies focused on eco-solutions.”

Nearly 50% of respondents, though, said they are suspicious that many firms are playing the green game to burnish their corporate image. Another 45% said they would like to see institutional investors provide monetary or other  incentives to businesses that take a stake in renewable energies.

Sincerity and action may be the keys to overcoming consumer doubts, the report concluded. More about Mintel’s report, “Green Marketing in Finance 2011,” can be found at Barron’s article on green advertising.

John Drachman, Social Media Memo, can be reached at johan@advisolocity.com

Filed under: Financial social media, Financial writing, Freelance writing, John Drachman, RIA, Advisolocity, financial marketing, freelance writing, John Drachman

Social Media Rising as Customer Service Solution

By John C. Drachman

Over the past five years, according to Paul Hagen at Forrester Research, there has been a sharp increase in the number of companies that have a single executive leading customer experience efforts across a business unit or an entire company.

Guides like 'Intro to Social Media' Provide Customer Communications Solutions

D. Bruce Johnston, Advisolocity’s president and CEO, says this trend will put additional pressure on asset managers to deploy more resources, if not more individuals, in their customer service area.

“Mostly, the pressure is coming from the banks,” Mr. Johnston said.

Wanted: Customer Attention

“Money managers are finding themselves held to as high a standard as that experienced by customers at many of today’s banks,” he said.

For Customers, Service Is 24/7

The rise of mobile technology, especially  iPads,  “are also conditioning people to expect instant access to information 24/7,” he added.

Customer service initiatives are not unknown in investment distribution, he said. “It’s something asset managers have been trying to teach through value-add programs — to be more sensitive to the clients’ needs,” he said in a recent Hannah Glover article for Ignites. “It’s time for asset managers to apply the same standards to both advisors and investors,” he added.

Johnston co-authored last year’s Introduction to Social Media with R. Jeffrey Young of Huntington Asset Services. “As firms study and adapt to the new world of enhanced customer service, they should not overlook creative and cost-efficient solutions that are close at hand,” he said.

Social media blogs and networks, he added, offer financial marketers a convenient and inexpensive way to provide more service-oriented communications to customers.

Filed under: Advisor, Bruce Johnston, Financial social media, Financial writing, Advisolocity, asset management, D. Bruce Johnston, financial marketing writer, financial social media, John Drachman, social media strategy

To These Financial Advisors, Social Media Is Downright Neighborly

By John C. Drachman

From Sugar Land, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia, financial advisors like Curtis A. Smith and Russ Thornton are finding that attracting new business in cyberspace can be as carefree and neighborly as Facebooking friends about the local sports team.

Neighborliness: A Social Media Plus

Advisolocity President and CEO, D. Bruce Johnston interviewed the two professionals recently for a BrightTalk webinar on “Linking Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to Maximize Business Growth.”

The two said they have attracted new business to their firms by successfully building out their local presence with social media over the past two years.

For Curtis, the stated goal in the beginning was to achieve a #1 Google page presence for his products and services in the Sugar Land Texas region. “I found that Facebook friending in my community was very important,” he said. By knowing more about a prospect’s background, interests and hobbies, he has been able to achieve more relationship depth faster, he added.

Russ Thornton said, “Social media helps you better identify the people you should be talking to. It also provides you with more information about them to better prepare for a meeting.”

“However,” he added, “It’s important to remember you can’t just stay online. I believe strongly in getting out in the community and meeting people.”

Making client contacts outside of a community is possible, Russ noted, “as long as your client has some flexibility as to how much of their business can be conducted over the phone and online.”

To Bruce’s question about how important maintaining a structured marketing plan was to their efforts, Curtis said, “I don’t need a big, elaborate marketing plan. Social media levels the playing field and creates your presence just by you using it.”

Russ added, “It’s hard to know where to spend your time and money. Social media is proving to be the low cost dynamic way to put yourself out there and raise your profile.”

What about industry colleagues who are not ready to try social media? “They are making a big mistake,” Curtis said.

Filed under: Advisor, Bruce Johnston, Financial social media, Advisolocity, client acquisition, financial social media, Financial writing, John Drachman, marketing communications, marketing services

Smaller Fund Managers Connect Social Media with Client Acquisition

By John C. Drachman, Chief Marketing Officer, Advisolocity

The business-building implications of social media for liquidity-pinched financial services firms are growing larger.

Good-bye half-full glass: Social media makes small budgets look good

For smaller fund managers looking to stand out in a crowded market that is especially good news: Social media’s track record is proving its promise in cost-efficiency when compared to traditional methods.

For example, recent data from marketing firm LederMark Communications underscores the growing popularity of these tools among financial services professionals. According to that survey, up to 40% of all users say that social media strategies are helping them build new business.

While this alone doesn’t prove that all social media strategies have delivered, it does remove one of the barriers to trying a social media effort: social media has been proven to increase business.

A number of investment service providers and publications have been tackling the implications of the growing realization that revenue growth likes social media.

On August 3, Huntington Asset Services, formerly known as Unified Fund Services, will sponsor its first webinar on the topic of Using Social Media to Build Investor Awareness.

Interested investment industry professionals are invited to participate in the webinar by registering here.

In addition to offering some practical guidance on how to use social media, the August 3 webinar also intends to feature insights on regulatory trends and archiving solutions.

Huntington Asset Services will continue to expand its social media marketing focus during its annual client meeting to be held September 12-13 in Indianapolis.

Filed under: Bruce Johnston, Financial social media, Financial writing, Advisolocity, huntington asset services