Twitter Guide for Financial Services Professionals · Engaging content and regular tweets are key...

for

Financial Services

Professionals

By Roger Edwards and Neil Cameron

Updated to include

FCA Guidance from

FG15/4

for Financial Services Professionals

Follow us: @Roger_Edwards | @NeilCammo 2

Should you be on Twitter?

It isn’t just a way of communicating with friends; it can be a really useful tool for

business too. You can use it to find new clients, discover what people are saying

about your industry and what questions they are asking. It’s all about

engagement.

Here’s why we think you should be on Twitter.

Your clients are using it

Your clients are probably talking about you (in an market capacity)

Your competition is probably using it

You can use it to search for new clients, and engage with existing ones

You can use it as a customer service tool

You can use it to create content for your website and make your clients aware

of new content

Have a read through the guide and if you have any questions please feel free to

contact us.

Regards.

Roger and Neil

@neilcammo@roger_edwards

https://twitter.com/Roger_Edwards

https://twitter.com/@neilcammo





What is Twitter?

Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ service.

Users share ‘tweets’, messagescontaining 140 characters or less totheir followers.

Twitter is one of the surprise success stories of the last decade. It hasmuch traction with many advisers and appeals particularly to mediasavvy advisers and journalists.

Advisers say that more of their clients are “following” them so it is also agood customer communication channel.

It’s also good for directing people to blogs, websites, and for telling yourfollowers about interesting news and views in the market.

Twitter has over 200 million global active users, and over 3,000 tweetsper second.

More than one sixth of the UK population is on the platform.

The UK is the fourth-largest market for Twitter in the world behind theUS, Brazil and Japan.





5 Facts about Twitter

Twitter was created nine years ago in March 2006

By 2012 it had 500 million registered users posting 340 million tweets every day

Twitter is one of the most-visited websites in the world

On January 22, 2010, a NASA astronaut tweeted from the international space

station - unfortunately it wasn’t quite as memorable as Neil Armstrong's famous

words when he landed on the moon!

It was called Twitter because the founders thought the definition, 'a short burst

of inconsequential information', summed it up perfectly at the time





Setting up your Twitter Profile

Think of your profile as you would your CV.

Twitter users are constantly window-shopping for valuable people toconnect to.

For your biography, you may wish to strike a work/life balance. Youshould, of course, tell users of your credentials and areas of ability. Butyour followers’ motivations for connecting may be to get an insightbeyond your industry and working life. They may also be interested inyour hobby as a photographer, a competitor in triathlons or in your localcharity work.

Include a profile image. Choose one that makes it easy for users to findyou when searching; a corporate headshot or passport photo is perfectlyeffective. Never leave your profile with the default “Egg”.

List your company website or blog, and perhaps a personal blog even if itis about something unrelated to your industry, providing you want toshare it with clients and peers.

3 top tips for setting up a Twitter profile:

Keep your biography short but tell people what you do

Upload a banner image

Include a photo of yourself





Who are you going to follow?

Time to decide who you’re going to follow and why.

For up-to-the-minute news, choose a selection of news organisations

such as Reuters (@Reuters), BBC News (@BBCBreaking) and TheAssociated Press (@AP).

If you want to network with industry names, then you may decide tofollow influencers such as IFA Pete Chadborn (@PeteChadborn), IFA Lifeblogger Phil Billingham (@PhilBillingham) and Professional AdvisorEditor Scott Sinclair (@scottjsinclair).

It is good practice to adopt a ‘phased’ approach. When your following issmall, it’s best to follow users whose influence is not disproportionate toyour own.

If you have 50 followers, someone who has 10,000 followers might notfollow you back. Someone who has 80 might.

A good indicator is to see the number of members that the user follows.If a user has 10,000 followers, but follows 15,000, then they are muchmore likely to follow you than someone who only follows 500.

Top tips for increasing followers:

Follow users with smaller communities Have a clear idea of who you are going to follow - their industry,

interests, content Follow users who your followers follow Tweet to people you don’t follow using their @handle Actively re-tweet content from those who don’t follow you and they

may follow you Search and follow those who you meet at industry events. Engaging content and regular tweets are key to increasing followers





Let’s get Tweeting

Here are some questions people often ask about tweeting basics.

What’s a Tweet?

It’s a 140-character message.

What’s a Retweet (RT)?

It’s re-sharing or giving credit to someone else's Tweet. They usually looklike this:

RT: @JoeBloggs I really enjoyed @DuncanBannatyne on Dragon’s Den

You could add your own comment after the “body” of the retweet.

RT: @JoeBloggs I really enjoyed @DuncanBannatyne on Dragon’s Den ~YES he was on top form tonight

The Twitter Desktop and Mobile Apps now let you retweet a “quotetweet”. This shows the original message plus your own commentseparately.

What’s a Feed?

It’s the stream of Tweets you see on your homepage. It's made up ofupdates from users you follow.

What’s a Handle?

This is your username.

What’s a Mention (@)?

It’s a way to mention another user by his username in a Tweet (e.g.@mashable). Twitter tells users when @mentioned. It's how to havediscussions with other users.





What’s a Direct Message (DM)?

It’s a private message between two people. And it’s not restricted to 140characters. You can decide whether to accept a direct message from anyTwitter user, or only from users you are following. Think of the customerengagement possibilities here.

What’s a Hashtag (#)?

It’s a way to highlight a topic of conversation or participate in a largerlinked discussion (e.g. #AmericanIdol, #Obama). A hashtag is a discoverytool that lets others find your tweets. You can also click on a hashtag tosee all the tweets that mention it in real time — even from people youdon't follow.

What’s the best use of 140 characters?

When tweeting, research #hashtags. Hashtags are the most effectiveway to increase the reach of your tweets, but if used ineffectively;your tweets won’t enter the desired trends and thus won’t reach awider audience. Observe the tags that your followers use, click onthem and read a selection of the tweets contained within the trend.If you find tweets that are relevant, then it is very likely that is arelevant hashtag worth incorporating into your future tweets.

Shorten links in tweets. If you’re using Hootsuite, you can shorten alink by pasting it into the link box and clicking the ‘SHRINK’ button. Oryou can use sites like bitly.com and goo.gl to shorten links. They giveyour tweets a cleaner appearance and you can monitor click-throughs, and see how much you are engaging your community.

If you’re sharing a link, aim for a Tweet with 120-130 characters. Thiswill let people Retweet without editing.





How can I keep my followers happy

Managing your account is known as ‘community management’.Essentially this consists of recognising what is most popular among yourfollowers or ‘community’ and responding to user interactions andadvocacy.

The key to using social media is encouraging conversations. It is muchmore interactive than more traditional media.

Below is a list of some best practices in managing your community andkeeping your followers engaged:

Respond promptly to interactions. Think of users’ mentions as emailsthat you wouldn’t want to ignore.

Don’t be afraid to retweet. Re-tweeting isn’t a sign of endorsing auser, or the opinions they expressed. It may simply be pointingpeople to an interesting point of view – even an opposing one. It isn’twise to retweet slander or gossip though.

Don’t sell. Blasting out tweets offering your services is not interestingor professional. Tweet things that show you know the issues facingyour clients. Actually suggesting your clients buy certain funds ormortgages clearly isn’t allowed. There is no room for the wealth andrisk warnings.

Use a community management app. There are a number of browserapplications and web-based apps that you can use to track yourTwitter growth and ongoing activity. The best free community appsinclude ‘Hootsuite’ and ‘SocialBro’.

Keep your Twitter account active. The most successful Twitteraccounts update regularly. It’s easy to say, “I don’t have time” – butTwitter is available as an app on all Smartphone and tablet deviceplatforms, so you can tweet on the go. By its very nature, Twittersuits busy lives.





Specific types of tweet

Linking to an article:Has the #RDR had a positive or negative impact on your clients? Ow.ly/i6UHiTips: Integrate hashtags Pose questions Shorten links A link is equal to 20 characters

Notification of event:I’m attending @LifeCompanyA’s #IFA conference today and will be live-tweeting some insightsTips: Use the target account’s handle If attending an event, find out if there is a hashtag. The host will

promote it in the days leading up to the event, and if there is, use it.If there is not a promoted hashtag and you intend to live-tweet, useyour own to enable you to keep a record of the thread of tweets.

Live-tweeting quotes:“Increased regulation is a good thing for the financial advisory industry”@roger_edwards at the #ConferenceTips: Use speech marks State their employer. If the company has Twitter, use their handle. If there is an event hashtag, use it. If not, you can create your own. Do not paraphrase without making it clear that you are doing so. Keep using the promoted hashtag, or the one that you have created. Sign-off at the end. Example sign off – “That concludes today’s

#Conference coverage, thanks for following and for the RTs”





What makes good Twitter content?

Write about things you’re comfortable with – like what you woulddiscuss in a normal business or networking conversation, thoughobviously without breaching any confidences.

Twitter conversations converge on the trending news. You may want tocomment, retweet other views or point people to interesting views inthe media from journalists or financial experts. Simply reading yournews feeds can help you see what’s setting the agenda.

If you want to comment on breaking news, sign up to RSS feeds on thewebsites of established financial news websites/agencies such aswww.moneymarketing.co.uk, www.ifaonline.co.uk andwww.ftadviser.com or for consumer news to sites such aswww.thisismoney.co.uk or www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk.

If you are following trade sites, remember that if clients are your mainaudience, they may have less interest in the details of the RDR or aEuropean directive, but they will want to know what it means for them.

If there is a quiet period, you could retweet some articles or tweets thatyou like. You might offer an interesting or topical ‘quote of the day’ fromindustry leaders and commentators, strategists and economists frominsurers and fund managers.

And of course join conversations unrelated to your industry.

If you want to offer your opinion, make it obvious that this is yourpersonal account. You can do this by adding a disclaimer in your accountbiography. Many users simply write ‘Views my own’.

Many people worry about setting out their views on social media butyou can encourage debate without necessarily making controversialstatements.



http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/

http://www.ftadviser.com/

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/

http://www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk/



However, you may want to comment on a news event, policy or actionfrom a company you don’t agree with.

Some people and firms may wish to avoid this entirely.

Think this through carefully and make sure your views are well measuredand justified. If you want to blow off steam, it is probably best left forindustry only forums or perhaps even for down the pub.

And you may even want to praise things as well.





Using Twitter Search to Build your Business

You can build your followers and find ideas for your business websitecontent using Twitter search.

Twitter search is a powerful tool which you can customise to shine aspotlight on potential customers in your area. Or you can use it to findout what people are saying about certain topics. Or what questions theyare asking about companies and products. Most of us just enter singlewords into search – when in fact it’s easy to be more specific andtargeted.

Try some of the following Twitter search terms:

Search for tweets containing two words: Adviser Insurance

Search for an exact phrase: “Independent Financial Adviser”

Either/Or: “Life Insurance” or “Critical Illness”

A specific hashtag: #Financial Adviser

A specific user: @roger_edwards

Only tweets with links: Add filter:links

Positive tweets about a subject: Add :) – try this with companies youdeal with!

Negative tweets about a subject: Add :( - try this with companies youdeal with too!

Exclude retweets: Add –RT

Exclude a subject: Add –savings – useful for focussing on specifics forexample “Financial Advice” –savings

Search a location: Add near:London – use this to find potentialclients for example “Life Insurance” near:London

Contains a question: Add ? – great for finding out what people areasking about a subject.





Our two favourites are as follows:

Firstly, location specific searches. Say you are an adviser in Manchesterand you want to find out who is talking about ISAs.

Simply type in:

ISAs near:Manchester

In the list of results you will obviously find competitors and providers,but you’ll also find potential clients to follow. If they follow you backthen you could engage them and potentially turn them into clients.

And secondly, questions. Find out what questions people are askingabout companies and their products.

Type in:

“life insurance” ?

You’ll find a whole list of questions which you could use to create articlesor blogs for your website – each answer is one article.





Compliance

Until recently this was the most significant barrier putting financial services professionals off using social media. Some individual advisers (or their Networks) did not feel comfortable about using Twitter as result.

Back in 2010 the FCA raised concerns about using Social to promote products. Many interpreted this as a wider concern about using Social Media in general.

The result. Some companies don't use social media. Others set up such draconian approval processes that they may as well not use social media.

The FCA's guidance paper published March 2015, FG15/4:Social media and customer communications: The FCA’s supervisory approach to financial promotions in social media, means there are no excuses now for not developing a social media strategy.

Yes a social media post could be a financial promotion if it plugs the features of a specific product and its performance and needs balance and the usual warnings (quite difficult with a 140 character limit). But this was true before the guidance so nothing has changed.

At a high level we’ve always believed the way to stay compliant on social media is to adopt the following approach.

“Don’t Push Product – Point to Great Content”



https://www.fca.org.uk/news/fg15-04-social-media-and-customer-communications



Any attempt to tweet or discuss the benefits of a specific productwithout the ability to consider the downside or include risk warnings isagainst the rules. So don’t tweet these with less regard for complianceissues than you would with your website.

This doesn’t stop you from commenting on issues, warning about deadlines, pointing to a guidebook, or suggesting that it's wise to insure your sources of income as part of financial planning.

A couple of other things to be aware of.

First, if someone else retweets your tweet you are not responsible for any additions they make.

Secondly, if you retweet someone else’s tweet, which might for example be praising your fund performance, then retweeting it will create a financial promotion.

Let’s not use "regulation" as an excuse not to engage in social. Don’t use it as a cover for not having a presence on social media. Use the FCA compliance guidelines and your intuition and common sense.

Every organisation has different filters for compliance and you will have to fit this information to your own firm’s policy and if you are an Appointed Representative perhaps your network's policy.

If compliance concerns held you back before, it's now time to look at your social media strategy again.

It's time to start creating great content and using social media to find potential customers, engage them, and point to your great content.





Here is some guidance on how to tweet and staycompliant.

Be non-specific when it comes to particular industry products orspecific brands.

Do’s The Isa deadline is fast approaching and the allowance can’t be

carried over. Please get in touch to discuss options I am at x conference today, hearing excellent ideas for coping

with inflation risks. Can't wait to share more.Don’ts Company x has brought out a great mortgage rate, please get in

touch while stocks last. X is a great fund. It’s sure to go up in these market conditions.

Get in touch now.When talking about news you don’t have to give your opinion. You canpose questions or simply say this view or that view is significant.

Do’s The Budget report is out, bad news for smokers again. The Budget report is due, full analysis on our website later. 10% tax brought back, is this a good thing or more complexity?Don’ts We think the Chancellor has left a big IHT tax loophole you could

drive a Range Rover through. No CGT reform. What an idiot! We have a great VCT fund, to stop the Chancellor grabbing your

money.

Maybe’s (dependant on how controversial you choose to be)

The Chancellor should have done more for savers. Missedopportunity!

Would have loved to see tax incentives for income protection,this time out.





Thank You

Thanks for reading the Twitter Guide for Financial Services Professionals.

We’d be delighted to receive your feedback.

Please follow us on Twitter and share your thoughts.

@Roger_Edwards | @NeilCammo

About the authors

Roger Edwards: Marketing specialist with 25 years’ experiencedeveloping and launching products in the UK financial services industry.Ex Marketing Director and Managing Director of Bright Grey & ScottishProvident, he is now a consultant and speaker on marketing strategy,content and social media. Roger is host of the Marketing Protection andFinance Podcast.

Website:www.rogeredwards.co.ukPodcast:www.rogeredwards.co.uk/MPAF

Neil Cameron: Media Relations Manager at Aegon and former Head of PR and Social Media at Bright Grey & Scottish Provident, with over a decade working in financial services PR. He is an advocate of social media, which is currently transforming traditional public relations.





http://www.rogeredwards.co.uk/

http://www.rogeredwards.co.uk/MPAF

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