The power of Facebook for your firm

Julian Webb, head of UK DC and platform sales at Fidelity International, explains the power of social networking

The tech bubble burst in 1999 because reality overcame the early hype of the internet. Over-inflated share prices collapsed when investors remembered the basics of company valuations such as turnover, earnings and profit.

But a decade later, it is clear that some of the optimists were right; early, but right. Virtually all businesses have an online strategy. Three-quarters of UK households are online, and last year, 31 million people in the UK bought something on the internet.

Lives woven by the web

The internet is woven so completely into the fabric of life today that it is difficult to imagine getting by without it. Some people are connected all day long. Their smartphone wakes them up in the morning and soothes them to sleep at night. It will tell them what their friends are up to, keep them up to date with the news, and help them get to and from work while streaming music and videos on the way.

These are not a group of nerdy tech-savvy people: user-friendly devices such as the iPhone are making this behaviour normal. If the financial services industry does not move with these people, it risks becoming disconnected – literally – from its entire customer base.

Along with user-friendly devices and mobile technology, social networking has allowed the internet to seep deeper into our lives. Social networking is as much a revolution as the internet itself. The phrase instantly brings to mind the dominant sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

But there is more to social networking than these giants. Social networking is about the democratisation of the internet and these leading sites are pioneers of a social phenomenon. For ten years, what you found on line was what corporations had put there. Now, it is much more about what users have contributed.

Social networking becomes much more than these few mega-sites. The chat rooms, ‘have your say’ sections of news sites, review sites, blogs and other user-led pages are part of it. There is a social network online for every interest, and their power to mobilise opinion has been made dramatically clear in Tunisia and Egypt, where protestors have used social networks to organise demonstrations that attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.

So, is a tool that can topple a government of any use to a financial adviser? The commercial potential of social networking is enormous. It can give you exposure to billions of people through a medium people trust.

With little effort and zero financial outlay, you and your practice can make clients feel more involved in the process of financial planning and help them feel connected to their portfolio. You can add immeasurable value to the service you offer by reminding clients that you have your finger on the pulse of their portfolio and, very subtly, you can fill the gaps between regular review meetings and form a deeper, more productive relationship with them.