18 Astonishing Social Media Stats for Financial Advisors

March 26, 2014 by Amy McIlwain

Have you been wondering if your target demographic is using social media?
Can you reach them? Do they want to interact with a financial professional on social sites? The answer is YES! Not only are more boomers, seniors, and affluent consumers using social media, they’re engaged and sharing information. If you’re not on the social media bandwagon yet, you should be, and here’s the evidence to prove it.

Your Target Demographic is Using Social Media

• 4 Two-thirds of American adults with an investment account have profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. (Crew Network http://bit.ly/11PgTiK)
• The 55-64 age bracket is the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter. (Business Insider http://read.bi/1aXmSYN)
• More than half of investors over the age of 50 access Facebook regularly. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/1eWnDxz)
• 75% of Senior Corporate Executives watch videos on business sites every week. 65% go on to visit a vendor’s website after watching a video. (Earnest Agency http://bit.ly/PmMulV)
• 71% of advisers say their target clients are active on LinkedIn. (LinkedIn http://linkd.in/YaTQuf)
• 60% of boomers and 40% of seniors say watching online video on sites like YouTube has become an important part of their day. 75% of boomers and 68% of seniors report taking some sort of action after viewing a video. (MediaPost http://bit.ly/1evgLrb)
• 41% of seniors were encouraged by an online video to share a link of the video to someone. (MediaPost http://bit.ly/1evgLrb)

Affluent Consumers are Using Social Media

• 70% of millionaires have profiles on one or more platforms. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/NnJdFd)
• The average household income of a LinkedIn user is $109k. (Advisor Websites http://slidesha.re/bOu0Dz)
• The share of millionaires using social networking has doubled since 2010. 55% had Facebook profiles in 2013 compared to 26% in 2010. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/NnJdFd)
• More than two-thirds of millionaires 47 and younger use LinkedIn. (Think Advisor http://bit.ly/15tWKOE)
• 98% of affluent social site users ($100,000-$1 million) agree that Facebook is for social communication rather than professional interaction compared to Twitter (84%) and LinkedIn (78%). Ultra-high-net-worth users ($5 million+) are more likely to see LinkedIn as a social, rather than professional site over other income groups. (Think Advisor http://bit.ly/15tWKOE)

Social Media Users are Interacting with Financial Institutions

• 90% of affluent consumers ($100,000-$1 million not including primary residence) use social media. 44% of these users engage with financial institutions specifically. (ClickZ http://bit.ly/12t9iCP)
• 45% of Mass Affluence ($100,000-$1 million not including primary residence) investors consider Facebook a source for investment and financial needs, while 42% would go first to LinkedIn. (Millionaire Corner http://bit.ly/1eWnDxz)
• Of the U.S. consumers who opened a full-brokerage account last year, 40% researched their choices online. (CrewNetwork http://bit.ly/11PgTiK)
• In 2012, 62% of advisors on LinkedIn brought in $1 million or more in assets under management. (http://linkd.in/YaTQuf)
• Slightly more than one-third of U.S. online adult Twitter users agree with the statement, “I often recommend financial products and firms that I like to my friends and acquaintances,” compared with 21% of U.S. online adults overall. (Social Media Governance http://bit.ly/eO5fki)

The evidence is staggering! Social media is giving financial advisors access to a pool of affluent potential customers in your target demographic. Even more important, social sites are creating the context and platforms for financial conversations and information sharing to take place. I’m not sure what’s more astonishing, the stats or the possibilities!

Originally Posted at NAFA Annuity Outlook on March 18, 2014 by Amy McIlwain.