who says you can't? 5 relatively friction-less ways even

Who Says You Canrsquot

5 Friction-less WaysInvestment Management Marketers Can Take Part in Social Media

May 5 2009First revision May 6 2009

Who Says You Canrsquot | copy 2009 ndash Rock The Boat Marketing | TwittercomRockTheBoatMKTG2

IntroductionThis was going to be just another post on my blog Earlier in the day Irsquod skimmed through a handbook on Twitter for teachers and then I came across a whitepaper about digital strategies for pharmaceutical companies My instinct was to draft a post that would seek to appeal to financial services marketersrsquo sense of shame Really Do we really want to be the last industry that embraces the power of social media

I say ldquowerdquo because I worked for many years inside investment management companies and I work for them today asa consultant I understand the forces that conspire daily to keep financial services marketing from innovating or evenfast-following

The financial crisis which has required cutbacks on marketing spending staffing and even planning is onereason that mutual fund companies ETF providers and othermoney managers are conspicuous by their absence in social media

Just about everybody else is wandering in See the growing lists on

bull Social Brand Index

bull A List of Social Media Examples

bull Ongoing List of Social Media Efforts from Banks Credit Card Financial Institutions and Lenders

Contents

Social Media Adoption by Financial Advisorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

1 Prepare Your Content To Gohelliphellip10

2 Think In Bite-Sizeshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

3 Embrace The Tweethelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

4 Get Out and Meet Some Peoplehellip27

5 Give A Picture It Will Go Furtherhellip33

The Return On Your Investment helliphellip35

Your Next Stephelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

About Rock The Boat Marketinghelliphelliphellip37


But there are a host of other what wersquod call ldquoevergreenrdquo hurdles that keep investment managers away

gt Often (but not always) the hurdle is Compliance and even just the chilling effect that there is a Compliance review

gt Sometimes itrsquos Sales and their pragmatic insistence that Marketingrsquos job is to make the donuts (translation produce collateral) Theyrsquove also held the trump card in knowing the customer better Wersquod argue that the surge in independent financial advisors calls for a broadening in the thinking of how to meet the customerrsquos information needs Whatrsquos needed to meet Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney home office expectations may be very different from what the independent LPL certified financial planner or independent wealth manager team will expect from you going forward

gt Oh and also letrsquos blame IT because theyrsquore the ones that conspire with Legal to block access to a broadly defined list of social media sites Itrsquos lamentable that to be a forward-thinking marketer in financial services today is to accept that yoursquore going to have to experience most of the envelope-pushing capabilities on your own time at home At least until you can understand them well enough to make the case for why theyrsquore appropriate at work

gt Finally if wersquore honest sometimes Marketing just canrsquot summon the time to learn the energy to drive forward or the imagination to see how other industriesrsquo ideas would apply here Letrsquos be fair This industry has been through something and it shows on your face and in the step of your walk Who among you has had time to think about this stuff

For as long as it takes you to review the next several pages we ask you to shake off all that Letrsquos not dwell on the friction and the stress

What follows is a snapshot of whatrsquos going on and what several marketers are today delivering in the broad category of social media We donrsquot represent this to be comprehensive We expectmdashand hopemdashthat this eBook quickly becomes out of date as mutual fund and ETF firms accelerate their rate of adoption

We propose 5 friction-less ways you can begin to embrace the principles of social media into your marketing Wersquore looking at isolated tactics selected to get you thinking about a digital presence as opposed to a Web site strategy To get working on it soon is to be early enough to experiment and learn If nothing else what we hope to convey is that for you at this time in this industry social media is not something you can sit out

Introduction (contrsquod)


Investment ManagersFinancial AdvisorsHave Similar Objectives

Financial Advisors

Investment Managers

Have suffered recent revenue losses

Have some rebuilding to do in the eyes of their clients

Are focused on content for both attracting new business and for serving the information needs of their clients

Welcome it for use with clients

Produce content for advisors to use

Are actively pursuing new and creative ways to grow their businesses online

The next move is yours Marketing


A Common Response

For many years that was a valid reason for not taking part in what consumer marketers were doing We donrsquot think that can continue to be an excuse for these three reasons at the very least

gt Across the board Compliance officers are favoring communications that assume clientmdashnot financial professional onlymdashuse While previously the concern might have been that the intermediary relationship would be threatened todayrsquos environment requires a reset Are you effectively communicating with investors Thatrsquos what supports most advisorsrsquo needs most of the time

gt More than ever the Web is commingling audiences and financial advisors are showing a preference for being where the investors are Investment management companies that develop an understanding of these new settings and how to engage will be at an advantage

gt Your customer base is in transition with an unprecedented number of financial advisors preferring to become independents Asset management companies admit to knowing the least about independent financial advisors yet some believe that distribution success will turn on your better understanding what advisors now need Using social media to engage with advisorsmdashespecially the independents who are today the most active onlinemdashis a meaningful way to become better acquainted The company that bets it all on email blasts will be disappointed we believe

Is it conceivable that you are imposing limitations on your marketing that have the unintended effect of limiting your ability to be relevant to your target audience

ldquoBut wersquore focused on theintermediaries not the end investorrdquo

ITrsquoS DIFFERENT ON THE WEB

Of course you know that

More specifically the ability to use a hyperlink to link from one Web page to a prospectus offering on another Web pagemdashacknowledged by the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) more than 10 years agomdashis nothing short of liberating

If your communicating has been weighed down by rules that apply to standalone print communications the best practice examples that follow may open your eyes


Facebook page of Cathy Curtis certified financial planner and investment advisor

Social Media Adoption by Financial AdvisorsEXAMPLE

Facebook pages


Video blogs by Doug Simmang financial advisor who also comments extensively on his site about what he believes to be the shortcomings of active investment management

EXAMPLEEmbedded video

on Web sites

Social Media Adoption by Financial Advisors


Adam Zuercher certified financial planner and CPA uses the presentation sharing platform SlideSharenet to distribute his presentation

EXAMPLEPresentations

uploaded to content sharing sites


9 Who Says You Canrsquot | copy 2009 ndash Rock The Boat Marketing | TwittercomRockTheBoatMKTG

1 Prepare Your Content To Go

2 Think In Bite-Sizes

3 Embrace The Tweet

4 Get Out and Meet Some People

5 Give A Picture It Will Go Further

Who Says You Canrsquot5 Friction-less WaysInvestment Management Marketers Can Take Part in Social Media



We understand your interest in investing in the brand value of your own domain Our fear is that you are at home setting the table and lighting the candles for guests who are not coming You need to take your story on the road

CONTENT YOUR MOST LEVERAGEABLE ASSET

More than ever before across all industries content is being used to market thought leadership products and solutions (For more on this see David Meerman Scottrsquos How Will You Create a Worldwide Rave ebook)

Investment management marketers are fortunate to have deep rich content available Itrsquos time to leverage its power and appeal to the advantage of your brand and your business For specific recommendations on how investment management marketers can establish an online newsroom see SwanDog Strategic Marketingrsquos The World Has Changed Part 1

Most asset management companies conscientiously and consistently add to their Web sitesmdashmarket commentaries fund updates educational pieces Still and all the frequency of your updates is not likely to be able to compete with the prolificness of SeekingAlphacom or YahooFinancecom Itrsquos a poor use of an advisorrsquos time to check daily or even a few times a week to see if yoursquove added anything to your site since his last visit

We urge you to rethink ldquostickyrdquo as a primary Web site goal Instead make it possible for an advisor to show interest in your contentmdashas evidenced by his arrival on your sitemdasheven just once sign up for a feed and receive your content updates on his own terms in his own RSS feed reader


RSS FeedsItrsquos a mystery why RSS feeds are not more common on asset manager sites

Itrsquos not a technology hurdle Your IT group could set you up with a feed by the end of this week Your Compliance is unlikely to have objections

And advisors are known to like them and use them Since kasina three years ago documented advisor interest RSS as a means of taking control over onersquos content consumption has become only more popular


Example Northern Trust offers a variety of content feeds


Example T Rowe Price uses RSS to deliver customized daily prices


Example iGoogle Gadget

RSS can be employed in other ways too

In mutual fundsrsquo early Web days the daily NAVs were by far the sitesrsquo most visited pages Today of course fund prices can be accessed on sites that aggregate all fundsrsquo prices American Century offers this Google gadget for users of iGoogle home pages Users can customize the list of funds they want to track add the gadget to their home page and from then on see their daily prices in context with everything else on their customizable iGoogle page

This is the only mutual fund-related Google gadget offered by an investment manager

Above How iGoogle offers the gadget To the right is how the customized list of funds would appear on an iGoogle page


Wells Fargo Advantage Funds makes its podcasts available off its sitemdashbut broadens the offer by delivering them through iTunes too

Example Podcasts


A one-time download of this iShares widget enables users to track leading and trailing indexes on their desktop

This customizable Fidelity widget is the only mutual fund-related widgetavailable from Windows Live Itrsquos also downloadable from Fidelityrsquos site

Examples Widgets


2 Think in Bite-Sizes

The rest of the world may never know the depth of content locked up and hidden in Adobe Acrobat files on investment management Web sites But you domdashand we challenge you to find ways to better leverage it

An 18-page Adobe Acrobat document on the markets represents a significant amount of work by high-priced talent The writer did his or her job by providing the content itrsquos Marketingrsquos job to assure the contentrsquos broadest distribution You can do more than just add its headline to the top of a list of headlines on a single page on your Web site

Enter the blog by now a common content form on most Web sites but rare on an asset management site It took Vanguard until this year to launch one and like most money manager blogs the Vanguard blog canrsquot accept comments In fact broad awareness that ldquoCompliance would never allow us to publish commentsrdquo may have discouraged consideration of blogs altogethermdashthat and the awareness that blogs require a steady stream of content

Whether you ldquoatom-izerdquo your content or not you can expect others will This is a natural extension of what wersquove known that salespeople have done in the field for yearsmdashwholesalers rarely show every slide in the deck

Online though the content is in the public domain and you can exert no control over the pieces that people (financial advisors investors the media) will extract

What do you know about how your content is being used online Thatrsquos where you start as monitoring is among Marketingrsquos responsibilities Once you know what can you learn from how real live people are interacting with it

How your audience uses what you create can be a powerful input to continuously improving the relevance of your work A contemporary marketing communications effort needs to have a content strategy that considers post-delivery issues opportunities and a feedback loop


We call your attention to Navellierrsquos Market Observations blog as a best practice example ofhow to unpack some of the content that today is published in one big dense package under a single thin headline

As shown in this example each blog post is no more than a few paragraphs long The narrative explains a single chart that can be expanded for viewing or printing

Note that the blog accepts comments encourages social bookmarking and can be followed via RSS

Example The Power of a Single Chart


Herersquos the tweet promoting the slide

A self-described aspiring trader uploaded a single Grantham Mayo slide to Scribd then embedded it as content for his sitemdashand then used Twitter to announce its availability

Example The Re-Use of a Single Slide


Examples Advisorsrsquo Use of Content

Advisors who commit to Twitter or maintain their own blogs need valuable content These are just a few examples of the content theyrsquore creating

What did advisors think of your due diligence meeting Previously you might have strained to read their handwriting on a survey returned on their way out the door Now theyrsquore using it as a source of content for their blog And the example below suggests that some portfolio updates are actually getting read and quoted

Above left A recent Freedom Financial Solutions post published Tony Hixonrsquos notes from a Selected American Shares meeting Above right Adam Zuercher quoted a Selected fund update


From our perspective Vanguard Investments is by far the social media leader in the investment management space Notice how Vanguard uses social media to collect and publish feedback ( of users and assigned) on its News amp Media content

Web analytics and online monitoring are other standard sources of feedback and insights

Example Transparent Content Consumption


1 and 2 leads us naturally to the microblogging phenom Twitter

3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER

The SEC has had a Twitter accountsince August 2008 when then-Chairman Christopher Cox announced ldquoThe SEC has to bejust as functional and just as technologically adept as any corporation todayrdquo

Yes people are using Twitter to let others know when theyrsquoll be shampooing their hair That is what it is There are business reasons for you to explore Twitter For visibility to establish your authority and relevance with the content you distribute to gather customerprospectsrsquo insights to gain competitive intelligence to develop sales leads etcetera

Asset managers today are the only piece of investment product distribution not represented on Twitter Financial advisors are out there shareholders are out there the media is out there

Everyone on Twitter today is still learning about its power even as every day brings more Twitter-based applications launched in the beta stage We implore you to join the learners People who dismiss Twitter remind us of those who dismissed the Internet 10 to 15 years ago At that time the Internet was believed to have value for only geeks not seniors not the affluent certainly not top producers


Example Your Content Is Circulating With or Without Your InvolvementWhile marketers toil over advisor-only communications they intend to make available to a limited number of favored distribution partners others are interacting with pieces of your public-domain content in the context of the rest of their lives Thatrsquos how Twitter works

Pimco is a ready example because itrsquos one of the most tweeted-about money managers according to our monitoring The tweet shown below is an example of a random line out there in the Twitterverse a search result for Pimco

In contrast asset managers could use Twitter as another more effective way to get the word out When a portfolio manager or investment strategist is scheduled to appear on CNBC donrsquot you today send a hasty alert to your Sales force This is the same idea The next step would be to follow up the appearance with a value-packed line of what was said with a link to your site for more information

Therersquos no fighting thismdashand why would you want to stop people talking about your company We encourage investment management marketers to come to the conclusion that other brands have The conversation is happening with or without you itrsquos time to take part To date AdvisorShares is the only investment management firm wersquove been able to find active on Twitter Shortly after we published this eBook on May 5 we discovered that Pimco has been using Twitter since March 31 Its handle PIMCO_tweets

Herersquos an example of a chocolate chip cookie-eating entrepreneur publishing what he found to be a highlight of a Pimco appearance on CNBC


Above left Herersquos an example of a random tweet on April 16 2009 about Eaton Vance A click on the URL (shortened to save characters) shows that the link went to content on Zackscom about Eaton Vancersquos funds

Example Redistributed Fund Company Content


Tweeting Within Your LimitsThe prospectus offering requirement is something asset management marketers can never get too far away from Have you thought that Twitter was out of bounds for you because the 140-character tweet wouldnrsquot accommodate a message and a prospectus offering

We are not and never have been Compliance officers but we know and like some According to our Compliance friends you should be able to tweet for the very reason that asset managers can create online banner ads without a prospectus offering (in many cases depending on the actual message) Because an ad or a tweet is a link away from the prospectus offering on your site

You can do this Itrsquos just a matter of organizing for it in the same way that your company prepared to communicate using a Web site You may get more elaborate as you get more experience but start by giving one or two trusted marketing communications staffers the responsibility of creating the tweet getting it approved sending it and archiving it all according to FINRA record-keeping rules

This is what financial advisorsmdashmany of whom lack the infrastructure that you havemdashdo in order to comply Itrsquos that important for advisors to be engaging online

All brands that use Twitter need to exercise caution As communicators subject to regulation caution is something you are accustomed to building into the way you approach all communications It should be a communication strength of yours not a handicap

To repeat You can do this


Twitter Quick-StartWe could do hours on what Twitter can do for you and how but herersquos our quick-start recommendation

1 At the minimum start listening Listen to whatrsquos being said about your brand and your products Searchtwittercom for your companyrsquos name people product categories Your search will produce results and offer you an RSS feed to continue to follow

For example Our monitoring seeking accounts created by the top 25 fund companies has identified two companiesmdashFidelity Investments and American Century mdashthat have created accounts but posted no updates

2 Next establish an account so you can start following financial advisors publications whoever you care about Remember that this is a business account and that who you will follow will be public

3 Once yoursquore organized to start talking why not start out tweeting about the availability of your content as you produce itmdasheach commentary presentation etc Call out a specific insightmdashdonrsquot make the mistake that so many Web sites make in their headlines (ie ldquoFirst quarter commentary now availablerdquo)

Based on our monitoring as of this date only AdvisorShares and PIMCO_tweets are posting updates to their Twitter accounts

Your tweet will need to be written for impact so use your 140 characters economically Yoursquoll get the hang of it and develop a certain voice once you start tracking which tweets get the most pick-up and do the best job of driving traffic to your site and interest in your company How will you know Turn to your Web analytics for real-time insights



The more you know about your customer the better you can serve them And yet previously marketing teams of intermediary-distributed mutual funds had little direct access to financial advisors There was the rare travel with wholesalers and the shared subscriptions to Investment News and Registered Rep But mostly marketing mandates were based on information trickled down from the field

Thanks to the Webmdashto financial Web sites and now to Twitter and other social networksmdashthe financial services marketer who wants to understand the customer has a direct pipeline Whatrsquos more Marketing is in a position to take the lead and help Sales better understand the independent advisor customer and prospect

In a recent blog post we discussed the influence of some of the well-followed advisors on Twitter and suggested that they are the new corner office producers

Advisors who ldquoretweetrdquo (translation forward a Twitter post) or otherwise direct hisher followers to your content are linking their personal brands to yours Itrsquos tantamount to an endorsement

The value of a referral is something well known in the financial advisor world We mention it here because the better you know your audience the more relevant your content the more likely you are to catch the attention of influential online advisors Doesnrsquot that beat hoping someone will forward an email

MIND THE TWITTER PROTOCOL

There is a protocol to be followed when seeking to join any community and thatrsquos true online across-the-board in the Twitterverse and especially when yoursquore hoping to follow customers and prospects Proceed with care The Twitter wikilists several resources for establishing a Twitter identity


Where Are Advisors Online

Facebook Financial advisors are known to have Facebook pages personal pages at the very least A search for ldquofinancial advisorrdquo brand pages shows sparse results although thatrsquos likely to change

Financial Advisor Forum A new but growing moderated forum of the most active (online) independent advisors founded by advisor Russ Thornton

LinkedIn LinkedIn is the leading business networking site Advisors are showing an interest in networking with known connections as well as in new business development

Participation as of May 4 2009Total US current ldquoFinancial Advisorsrdquo 35750Total US current ldquoFinancial Plannersrdquo 6002bull Smith Barney 2550 current ldquofinancial advisorrdquo namesbull Wachovia 1750 current ldquofinancial advisorrdquo namesbull Raymond James 576 current ldquofinancial advisorrdquo names

Twitter Find advisors to follow usingTwellowcomTwibscomWeFollowcom

Publishers will tell you in aggregate where financial advisors are but these social networks offer a way to get to know (follow) individuals


Influential Advisors Online

Web SiteBlog Twitter HandleBehavior Gap Carl Richards is the Family Chief Financial

Officer (CFO) also serves in a research capacity for multiple financial firms Hosts a BlogTalkRadiocom show

BehaviorGapcom Twittercombehaviorgap

Cathy Curtis Certified financial planner owner of firm focusing on women and money

Curtis Financial Planning Twittercomcurtisfinancial

The Money Geek

Samuel H Fawaz CPA CFPreg of YDream Financial Services Inc a registered investment advisory and financial planning firm

The Money Geek Twittercomthemoneygeek

Jeff Rose LPL certified financial planner Good Financial Cents Twittercomjeffrosecfp

Greg Skidmore President and Chief Investment Officer at Belray Asset Management formerly of Smith Barney

Belray Asset Management

Twittercomgregskidmore(10000-plus followers)

Russ Thornton Fee-only advisor Thornton Wealth Management and founder of the Financial Advisor Forum

ThorntonWealthcom TwittercomRussThornton

Adam Zuercher

Certified financial planner Freedom Financial Solutions

Prudent Investing Twittercomadamzuercher

Herersquos a sampling of financial advisors using Twitter


A Side NoteIn investment management companies across the country there are Sales and Marketing people who are convinced that financial advisors wonrsquot wear t-shirts

We submit this T-shirt from the popular and well-regarded Behavior Gap as evidence to the contrary The Behavior Gap has developed brand fans among financial advisors who are clamoring for this shirt and have used Twitter to alert their followers when the shirt arrives

Your challengeHow to spend less time justifying the case for accelerating an investment in logowear and more time working on creating brand fans What is it about your businessrsquo value proposition that will engage advisors as Behavior Gap (the thought leadership the message delivery and the t-shirt) has


Web SiteBlog Twitter Handle

Advice America A developer of financial planning tools and other applications for advisors Gary Kinghorn is director of marketing and product management

Advice America blog Twittercomgkinghorn

Advisor Products (Andrew Gluck)

CEO of marketingtechnology company serving independent investment advisors has been sponsoring a Financial Crisis Webinar series

AdvisorProductscom Twittercomagluck

David Glickman Former strategist and marketer with Fidelity Investments now helps financial advisors with their retirement income-related issues

Retirement Income Practice Management

TwittercomDavid_Glickman

IFA Life The leading social networking Web site for professional financial advisers and Life Planners worldwide based in England Created the Twitter Directory of Financial Planners

IFA Life TwittercomIFALife

Kristen Luke Principal of Wealth Management Marketing a firm dedicated to providing marketing advice and support for financial advisors

Financial Marketing Wire

TwittercomKristenLuke

Lawain McNeil President and chief marketing officer The Advisor Lab Hosts Social Media Bootcamp for advisors on BlogTalkRadio

AdvisorBloggercom Twittercomlawain

Mark Astarita Issues news and commentary on the law of the financial markets

SECLawcom - The Securities Law Blog

Twittercomastarita

Elmer Rich III Principal of Rich and Co providing consulting and coaching to RIAs and TPAs

Getting Rich--Growth TwittercomElmerRichIII

Susan Weiner A CFA who helps financial professionals increase the impact of their writing on clients and prospects

Investment Writing Twittercomsusanweiner

Bill Winterberg Technology specialist for financial planners FP Pad Twittercombillwinterberg

Advisor SupportHerersquos a sampling of active Twitter users whose work includes supporting advisors in some way


Publisher Name Twitter Account Description Twitter HandleAdvisorPerspectives Online publication for advisors with high and

ultra high net worth clientsTwittercomAdvPerspectives

ETF Trends Online publication tracking the ETF market TwittercomETFTrends

Financial Planning magazine

Marion Asnes editor-in-chief Twittercommarionasnes

FundMojo FundMojocom provides investors and financial advisors with deep financial intelligence through systematic data collection correlation and analysis

TwittercomFundMojo

MorningstarAdvisor Leslie Banks Director of Marketing Financial Communications

Twittercomlesliebanks

RIANewsFocus ldquoHuman-filtered newsrdquo for RIAs TwittercomRIANewsFocus

SeekingAlpha Stock market news from SeekingAlphacom a very active market site characterized by the level of engagement of its users (see the articlersquos comments) In April 2009 introduced its own FollowFollowers list capability

TwittercomMarketCurrents

StockTwits ldquoAn open community-powered investment idea and information service You can think of it as Bloomberg for the little guy and galrdquo

TwittercomStocktwits

Herersquos a sampling of active Twitter users representing media properties offline and online

Media On Twitter


5 Give a PicturemdashIt Will Last Longer and Go Further

Credible sources tell us that nobody says that anymore Maybe it has something to do with the ubiquitousness of camera phoneshellip

Thatrsquos too bad because the saying had a point that we will now try to co-opt Drowning in a sea of words (HTML text) online your audience today is showing a true preference for pictures They tend to spend more time with a good picturemdashspecifically visualizations of complex often data-based stories and they like to forward the pictures on

The next page shows some popular visualizations which financial advisors have enthusiastically exchanged with their Twitter friends and followers this year Wersquove written about visualizations previously and cite these here as examples of financial communications that are resonating

What do pictures have to do with social media They are an underexplored content form that has viral power you can tap as a means of building your brand meeting new people and creating content that advisors rely on and turn to repeatedly In other words pictures last longer and go further maybe than your words

Despite the embarrassment of data riches in your world investment management marketers produce a far greater volume of text-based financial communications We believe itrsquos time to redirect some of that effort into creating pictures Count on your audience and their audiences to be receptive

ldquoTake a picture it will last longerrdquo


Visual guides to the Financial Crisis

Examples Data-based Visualizations

The New York Timesrsquogeography of a recession

How Far Have We FallenA comparison of bear markets


The Return On Your InvestmentWhat exactly will our five suggestions do for you

While ROI typically stands for return on investment some social media enthusiasts talk about a different ROI the Risk of Ignoring

Simply put here we recommend that you evaluate the return on your social media participation in terms of what you learn from engaging

In order to know that yoursquore going to need some analytics in place Think of the engaging and learning as just two parts of a communications cycle that also includes meetingsharingreactingtweakingtestingrefining None of which can be done if yoursquore not on top of what yoursquore going to measure and how

Yoursquoll need analytics capability for what happens on your own domain and yoursquoll need to take advantage of other systems that are available for tracking and monitoring your content and messaging as itrsquos distributed

To say much more would be to go beyond the scope of this document but we urge you not to give measurement short shrift The analytics that can be harnessed to evaluate your effectiveness are a significant piece of the enthusiasm that surrounds social media

UH IS IT TOO LATE TO MENTIONhellip

Social media participation alone will not compel a financial advisor to distribute your investment products

What you can expect You will have more information on whatrsquos being said about your brand and your competitors you will deepen your understanding of what content advisors value you will be there when needs are being expressed

Your listening should lead to better brand positioning inspired product design and management a more real-time CRM more relevant marketing and better informed sales interactions


What would you do if you knew you could not fail Thatrsquos the luxury of many businesses in non-regulated industries some of whom are blazing the trail in social media today Theyrsquore to be admired and envied at the same time

Wersquove focused this report on ldquofriction-lessrdquo ideas as a means to get the investment management marketer thinking about some tactical social media possibilities for brand presence customer engagement new customer acquisition using content to marketing and overall positioning the company as committed to timely relevant communicating We know the limits you operate within and wouldnrsquot want you not to try because regulation imposes higher hurdles

Please donrsquot forward this to your Web team to ldquowork onrdquo Itrsquos an unrealistic expectation to ask the Web team to lasso something that encompasses all aspects of marketing (branding marketing communications product marketing public relations customer service research) and marketing systems (customer relationship management email marketing Web analytics)

As with anything your best prospects for success is to develop a strategy that considers your firmrsquos opportunities and challenges capabilities resourcesmdashand constitutional fortitude for planning to forge relationships and to do business in a dramatically different contemporary way

Even if itrsquos a baby step the next step is to take one

Your Next Step

About Rock The Boat Marketing

Rock The Boat Marketing LLC is a consulting boutique specializing in digital marketing strategy for financial services companies

Founder and Principal Pat Allenrsquos financial services experience is a blend of marketing and publishing It uniquely qualifies her with her network of hard-working professionals to help financial services companies draft and execute on digital strategies

Patrsquos resume includes several years in senior marketing and communications positions with Chicagorsquos great investment management companies (Claymore Securities as Director of Marketing Calamos Investments as Director of Web Channel Development Morgan StanleyVan Kampen Investments as Director of Marketing Communications and Scudder FundsKemper Funds as Director of Electronic Communications) and several years in senior editorial and publishing roles for retail bankingrsquos leading professional services organizations (BAI as Director of the Publishing channel and the US League of Savings Institutions as Senior Editor) Shersquos been consulting with investment managers and associations intermittently since 2001

Since 1996 when she led a wee team in the development of the intermediary industryrsquos first Web site (Kempercom) Patrsquos passion has been directed toward the speed-to-market communications advantage and measurability of digital media

Services includebull Digital strategy consulting bull Content strategy consultingbull CRMdatabase marketing bull Web analyticsbull Social media bull Training

27475 Ferry RoadWarrenville IL 60555(630) 717-2899

wwwrocktheboatmarketingcom

New address effective August 1 2009Rock The Boat Marketing30 S Wacker AveSuite 2200Chicago IL 60606

What do people do when the boatrsquos rocking

They rethink the positions theyrsquove taken

Would you like to be notified when the next Rock The Boat Marketing ebook is available Please send an email to inforocktheboatmarketing to subscribe

Design by Lotsa Luck Design


Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet

Example Your Content Is Circulating With or Without Your Involvement


Tweeting Within Your Limits

Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter



The Return On Your Investment

Your Next Step

Slide Number 37


IntroductionThis was going to be just another post on my blog Earlier in the day Irsquod skimmed through a handbook on Twitter for teachers and then I came across a whitepaper about digital strategies for pharmaceutical companies My instinct was to draft a post that would seek to appeal to financial services marketersrsquo sense of shame Really Do we really want to be the last industry that embraces the power of social media

I say ldquowerdquo because I worked for many years inside investment management companies and I work for them today asa consultant I understand the forces that conspire daily to keep financial services marketing from innovating or evenfast-following

The financial crisis which has required cutbacks on marketing spending staffing and even planning is onereason that mutual fund companies ETF providers and othermoney managers are conspicuous by their absence in social media

Just about everybody else is wandering in See the growing lists on

bull Social Brand Index

bull A List of Social Media Examples

bull Ongoing List of Social Media Efforts from Banks Credit Card Financial Institutions and Lenders

Contents

Social Media Adoption by Financial Advisorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

1 Prepare Your Content To Gohelliphellip10

2 Think In Bite-Sizeshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

3 Embrace The Tweethelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

4 Get Out and Meet Some Peoplehellip27

5 Give A Picture It Will Go Furtherhellip33

The Return On Your Investment helliphellip35

Your Next Stephelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

About Rock The Boat Marketinghelliphelliphellip37













Financial Advisors

Investment Managers









A Common Response














Facebook pages




on Web sites










3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37













Financial Advisors

Investment Managers









A Common Response














Facebook pages




on Web sites










3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37


A Common Response














Facebook pages




on Web sites










3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37




Facebook pages




on Web sites










3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37




on Web sites










3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37









3 Embrace The Tweet




























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37

























Example Podcasts




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37




Examples Widgets






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37






























3 Embrace the Tweet

THE SEC AND TWITTER





















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37

















































The Money Geek









Adam Zuercher



























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37
























Twittercomastarita














TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37








TwittercomFundMojo









Media On Twitter































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37































Your Next Step















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37















Introduction



A Common Response

Slide Number 6



Slide Number 9


RSS Feeds




Example Podcasts

Examples Widgets






3 Embrace the Tweet




Twitter Quick-Start




A Side Note

Advisor Support

Media On Twitter




Your Next Step

Slide Number 37

who says you can't? 5 relatively friction-less ways even

Documents

social media adoption

power of social media

principles of social

list of social media

social mediamay

broad category of social

financial services marketing

boat marketing twitter