Twitter use can help provide valuable career advantages for financial advisors, but they should proceed with caution, advisors said.
Twitter feeds can easily start out as thoughtful discussions and spin out of control into virtual shouting matches, said Rick Kahler, a CFP and president of Kahler Financial Group in Rapid City, S.D.
Twitter, Facebook and other platforms can be leveraged in a way that can positively increase your social profile in the financial services industry, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Wealth Management and Investment Management at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth in Santa Monica, Calif.
Gerber, however, also cited the pitfalls of social media, noting a social media scrape himself recently that drew a heavy backlash from Trump supporters after a political tweet.
“I made a huge mistake," he said. "Because my reach had grown to a point where my following was so large, the alt-right attacked me.”
He called it a learning experience. “What we realized is that if we tweet about politics or retweet about politics, we need to do this in a very innocuous manner," Gerber said.
Other industry professionals have developed methods for keeping the peace on Twitter.
Avoiding specific topics has proved to be a useful tactic for some advisors. Winnie Sun, financial advisor and founder of The Sun Group Wealth Partners in Irvine, Calif., said she avoids political and religious discussion altogether. Avoiding these topics can keep you out of trouble, she explained.
Sun, who described the atmosphere on her Twitter as “one big love fest,” said Twitter can be instrumental in expanding a financial advisor’s social reach. Recently, The Sun Group was able to secure an additional $20 million in AUM after signing a 401(k) deal that came from a Twitter follower, she said.
Twitter creates a space where advisors can gain access to people they may not otherwise have access to, said Kahler.