U.S. asset managers in the dark on social media

Approximately one-third of U.S. asset management firms have no social media strategy, according to study released on Monday from Stanford, Conn.-based Greenwich Associates.

That is one of the key findings of a new study from Greenwich and PAICR, the asset management marketing association, in which 71 asset management senior marketing executives in the U.S. were interviewed about their firms’ usage of social media marketing.

According to the study, 32% of the firms have no social media marketing strategy, and only 38% of asset managers use paid (or sponsored) advertising on social media. Instead, most firms rely on “organic” postings to social media sites.

“If asset management firms are serious about leveraging social media to increase brand awareness and drive sales leads and awareness, they need to formulate a sponsored advertising strategy across multiple social media platforms to enable them to direct content to specific demographics,” says Richard Johnson, vice president market structure and technology at Greenwich and co-author of the report, in a news release.

Compliance and regulatory concerns are the main reasons that executives give for not engaging on social media, according to the study, followed by a lack of buy-in from senior management. Additionally, social media companies “need to work with the financial services industry to provide better metrics to measure ROI and help asset managers manage their compliance obligations,” the study says.

“It is no longer sufficient for asset management companies to limit their marketing channels to traditional media. If asset management companies do not develop their brand and connect with customers on social media, they risk losing out to competitors who do,” adds Dan Connell, head of the market structure and technology practice at Greenwich and co-author of the report.

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