Top Broker-Dealers Show Twitter Some Love

Have you noticed how the CEOs of two of the top broker-dealers (LPL and Raymond James) have embraced Twitter in the last several weeks?

As part of my work on AdvisorTweets.com (here’s some background on the site I sold in July 2011), I was closely tracking broker-dealer adoption of social media. Back then, I followed tweeting financial advisors from independent b-ds but I believed that an important step would be for the head honchos and corporate staffs to see Twitter's value.

I’ve been tempted to drop everything and dig into exactly who’s doing what nowadays. I’m controlling myself, I’m not going to go all compilation-crazy now (except, see the bottom of the post). But, the two notes below may pique your interest (and that of your sales and account colleagues).

Knowing that Twitter is an increasingly valued channel for key broker-dealers, what could your firm be doing to fully explore the opportunity?

Engaging LPL Public Profiles

LPL has multiple Twitter accounts, including at least three belonging to people who tweet like people—Chief Market Strategist Jeffrey Kleintop (@JeffreyKleintop), CMO Joan Khoury (@JoanKhoury) and CEO Mark Casady (@MSCasady).

I’ve liked Mark Casady for his human-ness since I knew him from Scudder in the 1990s and see how that translates into what he’s doing with his tweets. Many of his tweets are business-focused, as you would expect. Below I’ve hand-picked three tweets representative of how he’s sharing and engaging.

Even before Scudder, more like 100 years ago, I worked as an investor relations consultant. “Never walk into a client’s office without knowing exactly where the company’s stock price is,” I was told.

Great advice and... If someone in your firm wants to do business with Casady, think of the conversational advantage he or she would have just by following him (or really any financial advisor or business contact) on Twitter. (And, of course, there are CRM implications for those ready to get systematic about it—for more on that, here’s an early post on the subject.) 

Raymond James Focuses On What’s To Be Learned

Raymond James corporate has been building up its Twitter accounts, too, with individual accounts also focusing on research, recruiting and special initiatives. It’s not CEO Scott Curtis’s Twitter account (@ScottCurtisRJ) that I find remarkable, it’s the support he gives Twitter as an information source in this Financial Planning video. (The site doesn’t allow embedding, you’ll have to click here or on the graphic to go watch the video.)

With its “surveillance program,” Raymond James (and other firms) are telling financial advisors that information found on Twitter is worth consuming, if not sharing. Could that include your content?

A Twitter List of Broker-Dealers

I've been keeping a Twitter list of accounts that belong to broker-dealers. It includes the research, investment, recruiting and even a few marketing accounts that I’m aware of. Today, I’ve flipped the @RockTheBoatMKTG Broker-dealers list from private to public so you can either follow it or use it as a basis for compiling your own list. It's a motley list of 22 as of now, with multiples from LPL and Raymond James. A few accounts do 90% of the tweeting. You'll see.

Listen, learn and adjust. (And if you know of additional firms that belong on the list, please advise.)

2013: Time To Show Some Personality (And All That Implies)

In my experience, it’s impossible to have a conversation with an asset management firm interested in social media without talking about PIMCO and Bill Gross. The discussion can be challenging. The PIMCO and Bill Gross mastery of social media is atypical, and should not be the basis on which most firms set their expectations and make their plans. 

PIMCO’s dominance is on Twitter, the social platform that makes the most sense for thought leadership-producing investment companies. But unlike what's usually required to be successful on Twitter, there is no conversation in the give-and-take sense. @PIMCO follows exactly one account (@PIMCOFoundation). The account never re-tweets, let alone acknowledges others’ tweets.

Click to read more ...

Make No Mistake About It: Twitter Is For Customer Service

When you’re on the receiving end of a customer service line, you field a wide range of random inquiries and comments. And, that's exactly what happens—and what investment companies should anticipate—when it's time to hang a shingle on Twitter. 

Here are a few examples of comments directed to firms recently. Many customers just prefer this channel for giving feedback. This selection of tweets also provides a view of the breezy way Twitter users search for information. I once received a random tweet: "@RockTheBoatMKTG, I just heard about crowdsourcing. Explain."

Be aware that unlike the odd question or request that comes in via other channels and meanders through an organization in search of a reply, the response clock on these tweets ticks in tripletime.

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Lurking Made Easy By Twitter

It’s been a hot week so I thought I’d keep this post light and non-taxing.

By now, some if not most asset managers are finding a way to monitor social sites for mentions of their subject domains, their people, their products and their competitors. More than a few are all-in, having made serious investments in industrial strength tools.

Here’s an easy, no-cost way to keep an eye on what other mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) firms are doing on just one site, Twitter.

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3 Ways Asset Manager Tweeting Is Evolving

Asset manager tweets have gotten more interesting in the last several months. Here are three ways I see the mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) tweeting evolving.

• In the content that’s being shared
• In prompting people to talk back
• In engaging in dialogue

Click to read more ...