#socialmediafs is the Twitter hash tag given to the first day of a conference run by Philip Calvert of IFALife.
Having had an horrific journey through snow and ice yesterday, it was pleasing to see my efforts being rewarded by it turning out to be a really interesting day, with many and varied expert speakers, ranging from IFA firms to Google UK. The theme of the event revolved around the growth of social media and the potential for financial services firm to embrace it effectively. The audience comprised one-man band IFAs, product providers and solution providers – an eclectic mix!
The presenters and topics for the day were:
Alan Stevens, the Media Coach
Successful online PR strategies for IFAs and financial brands
Jaime Steele, North Financial Management
How to build a successful Social Media and online strategy within a financial planning practice
Nicola Webber, Digital Director at The Gate
How to build a Financial Services brand with Social Media
Thomas Power, Chairman of Ecademy
Know me, like me, follow me – Why Social Media matters in Financial Services
Mike Linskey, Director of Fincision Financial Services Business Consultancy
How the internet will drive the future of financial advice. The ‘perfect storm’ creating a golden age for distributors, manufacturers and early adopters
Lee Provoost, Technology Strategy at Headshift
Social Customer Self Service in the Financial Services sector
Nick Bamford, Chief Executive of Informed Choice
Is an online execution service the big opportunity IFAs have been waiting for?
Robert Pink, Financial Services at Google UK
Marketing through a Digital Lens – using the Internet to target and communicate with your customers
What struck me was how receptive the less knowledgeable businesses were to the new (to them) concepts – there were people making copious notes.
So what did I take away from the sessions?
Well – it has become vital to have a digital marketing strategy – an integrated strategy that encompasses the conventional and the digital, that projects the image, values and proposition of your particular business. Social media is emerging as a vital part of prospect or client contact – for some organisations, as we have discussed in previous blogs, it can augment knowledge of your product or service by direct contact with your target market, both good and bad.
Will it go away? Most certainly not – with Google adding realtime content into their natural search algorithms, live, relevant information is going to be even more important; that means businesses generating engaging and compelling content as a natural part of their output. Not doing it means missing out – not getting the attention of an audience who are using social media sites more than watching television, even those who were thought to be out of the ‘internet generation’, who are incidentally, one of the biggest growth categories of services like Twitter.
So get planning now – actively research your options – it is important!
