Mutual fund marketers and compliance officers are cautiously cheering the social media guidelines from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

D. Bruce Johnston, distribution media consultant for DBJ Associates, and Advisolocity, a new social media forum for advisors, said this week, “The financial professionals I’ve been speaking with are feeling good about FINRA’s hard work.”

He cited two areas he termed positive for advisors and money managers looking to expand their social media presence.  “Archiving technology, for one, is here today to meet the FINRA rules requiring record retention.”

The requirement for in-house development of social media policies is a big plus, too, Mr. Johnston added. “It’s more work in the beginning for a firm, but it will allow a lot of smart flexibility. Some firms have already said that they want to use interactive blogs  to emphasize thought leadership and subject matter expertise only — and leave investment marketing to their web site. Why not make that the official policy?”

Mr. Johnston invited interested professionals to register and download their complimentary copy of  One-2-One, How Social Media Lets You Have 1000 Conversations at Once, directly from the Advisolocity blog.

Mutual fund marketers and compliance officers are cautiously cheering the social media guidelines from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

D. Bruce Johnston, distribution media consultant for DBJ Associates, and Advisolocity, a new social media forum for advisors, said this week, “The financial professionals I’ve been speaking with are feeling good about FINRA’s hard work.”

He cited two areas he termed positive for advisors and money managers looking to expand their social media presence.  “Archiving technology, for one, is here today to meet the FINRA rules requiring record retention.”

The requirement for in-house development of social media policies is a big plus, too, Mr. Johnston added. “It’s more work in the beginning for a firm, but it will allow a lot of smart flexibility. Some firms have already said that they want to use interactive blogs  to emphasize thought leadership and subject matter expertise only — and leave investment marketing to their web site. Why not make that the official policy?”

Mr. Johnston invited interested professionals to register and download their complimentary copy of  One-2-One, How Social Media Lets You Have 1000 Conversations at Once, directly from the Advisolocity blog.