Neil Bathon

A comment on social media from Neil Bathon, founder, FUSE Research Network LLC

Separating the facts from the hype of social media’s promise or menace has never been more important.

Is social media new and different — or a repackaging of traditional communications techniques? We invite promoters and skeptics in equal measure to weigh in on the veracity of what social media consultant, D. Bruce Johnston has termed, “nothing less than the transformation of how investment products will be packaged and distributed through social media.”

This week’s guest post is from Neil Bathon, founder at FUSE Research Network LLC and Managing Director at PMR Associates LLC.

Mr. Bathon has devoted his professional career to improving the productivity and effectiveness of the resources dedicated to the development and distribution of investment products and solutions.

Two way communications puts the 'social' in social media

Mr. Bathon recently commented on last week’s Social Media Memo post, RIA Steege turned to social media “to do opposite of what everyone else was doing.” To adhere to Mr. Bathon’s own standards for accuracy and courtesy, the following is published in unedited form.

“I am sure I am being overly simplistic but the article seems to suggest that Mr. Steege sent out an e-mail to a qualified list of prospective clients with an invite to a seminar.

“I did not pick up on (and do not get generally) the social media aspect of the initiative.

“I am all for using different mediums to reach people (phone, e-mail, website, posters, flyers, etc.). It seems like there is a desire to raise traditional sales and marketing tactics to a new special level and place mostly by the consultants and purveyors of social media services that are trying to differentiate themselves in order to build their business and gain clients.

“Said another way…if I use my Blackberry to put together a thank you e-mail in the parking lot of the B/D I just met with…and I attach a document that is relevant to what I just discussed with the broker…that is good follow-up. But if I use twitter to deliver a 40 character thank you, is that social media?

“Maybe it is definitional. For me, social networking is where people that have a common interest and connect or link themselves with the purpose of advancing their “cause”…whatever that may be…cooking, politics, hunting, etc.

“Also, the fact that people can use LinkedIn to find out how they are (or could be) connected to someone is, for me, a neat sales prospecting tool but unless we (at FUSE) develop a deeper bond and connection between folks where they ‘participate’ in something….I don’t think we have created a network.

“Just a thought… Neil”

Following the success of a social media campaign last summer in raising assets under management, Chuck Steege, a Registered Investment Advisor from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, recently explained what motivated him to experiment with the Internet’s newest marketing tools.

Mr. Steege’s sense of experimentation, in fact, flew in the face of a recently released report from Equation Research that stated that  ”not knowing enough about social media” was given as the #1 reason for not trying it. Mr. Steege readily admitted he knew little about keywords and third party blogging when he started and yet he continues to hold his own today on Google page 1 for keywords AMT+credit+refund, a business emphasis of Mr. Steege’s, as recently as November 11.

“ The primary driver,” Mr. Steege said, “was to do the complete opposite of what everyone else is doing. Furthermore, the only way to understand something is to try it yourself!  Nothing gained nothing lost.”

Equation Research also named compliance constraints as a frequently cited reason by financial professionals to avoid blogging, twittering, LinkedIn and other social media vehicles and techniques. Regulatory compliance was not difficult, Mr. Steege said for a couple of reasons. First, the content was educational in nature and not product driven. Secondly, he said the combined efforts of his “marketing team — Paula David, Bruce Johnston and John Drachman — was important because they look at marketing through the compliance lens.”  

Of all of the tools employed in his summer campaign, the one which contributed the most to business building was the access Mr. Steege had to the e-mail list of a regional center of influence, an estate attorney, who participated in the three-part series with him. For more details on how the program generated $40,000 in commissions and fees on an investment of less than $10,000, see Financial Advisor’s Small Media Effort Pays off Big.

According to Kasina and Horsesmouth, it’s official.

Financial advisers find American Funds’ adviser-only site the best, two-to-one, over nearest rival Pimco/Allianz.

Can creative, marketing and managerial professionals learn something from this achievement?
Web designer Zach Hedges of Actualize Media thinks so.

Why American Funds’ Adviser Center is the one to beat

“A solid social media strategy begins with a well-crafted web site. Believe it or not, the first thing that is right about this site is that the tagline provides a clear message: this site is about the advisor,” Zach said. “There are many sites out there where the ‘you’ is used for both customers and advisors.”

“The second strength is the intuitive navigation that step-by-step takes the adviser through the qualifying process. Well-organized and friendly to business-building, clearly marked prompts and suggestions keep the adviser from becoming overwhelmed.

“The hyperlinks provide transitions to statements like ‘let me show you what I mean’ which leads to further client qualification and a personalized hypothetical. Very cool.

“Third, the site shows you where to find more resources and support — in a way that leads to cross-selling opportunities.

“Attractive and conservative, the site seems designed for people on the move. Fonts are big and bold. The brand is American, red, white and blue all the way. This site just keeps on giving.”

Social media marketing is still fairly untested in the financial services world. A recent FRC Monitor noted, for example, that “… the asset management industry has been slow to use the technology effectively.”

That’s why we were very pleased when a Registered Investment Advisor asked us to write the copy, then develop and conduct a social media effort for his business. The project offered a compact example to marketing writers and managers for how advisors and money managers can raise assets by engaging their clients in the more informal, conversational ways provided by social media.

Social media marketing uses social networks, online communities or blogs for marketing, sales and public relations purposes. Our client, Charles “Chuck” Steege, CFP,^® asked us to build a three-part webinar program, Uncovering The Fortune That Lies Hidden In Executive Compensation, and conduct the program through the summers dog days.

“The program was very successful for us,” Chuck said. Using three webcasts, a press release, an email campaign and targeted third-party blogging, we were able to drive up the RIA’s page 1 Google presence, which served to create fresh momentum, interest and business.

The firm’s abundant appearances in financial blogs were used for marketing purposes. Sending a blog posting via e-mail to client is similar to sending a photocopy of a press clip. It establishes an advisor’s thought leadership. This project convinced us that applying social media’s free, readily available public domain tools to an outreach campaign is the short-cut to sales success.

See the whole case study on SlideShare here

For under $10,000, Chuck attracted four times that amount in new fees on some $4 million in assets. More importantly, he created a prospecting base of 21 high net worth individuals who wanted to know more about Chuck’s services in the next 60 days.

The experience showed us how low cost social media marketing strategies can contribute to increased assets under management.