About half of mass affluent and high-net-worth investors report that they are more likely to engage with advisors who use social media, especially YouTube, according to a survey from fintech firm Advisor360.
The survey of 2,000 wealthy investors also found that different generations and genders are more likely to gravitate to different platforms, Rich Hart, senior vice president of corporate development at Advisor360, said in an interview. The company released a preview of the survey results and plans to release the full report in October.
The one platform that all generations and both sexes agreed would be influential in persuading them to engage with prospective advisors was YouTube, the firm found.
“Some 49% of wealthy investors of all age groups and genders said they would engage with an advisor they see on YouTube. So, if you’re an advisor firm interested in reaching across generations and building credibility and authority, YouTube is probably a great place to start,” Hart said.
Sarah Howes, vice president of advisor marketing at Commonwealth Financial Network, said some of the firm’s fastest-growing advisors are hiring or outsourcing professionals to create videos and podcasts they post on YouTube and across social media. The result is “quick, snackable bites of helpful information that clients and prospects crave,” she said.
According to Advisor 360, 41% of investors said they'd engaged with advisors who posted on Facebook or LinkedIn.
That number dipped for Instagram (36%), X/Twitter (35%) and TikTok (34%).
From a generational perspective, older boomers (ages 68 to 80) reported they’d be most likely to interact with an advisor they saw on YouTube (45%) and LinkedIn (42%), older GenX and younger boomers (ages 52 to 67) prefer YouTube (47%) and Facebook (43%), older millennials and younger Gen X (ages 36 to 51) prefer YouTube (53%)and Facebook (50%) and older Gen Z and younger millennials (ages 20 to 35) prefer Instagram (56%), followed by Youtube (49%).
“There is clearly a generational divide in preferences, but we were surprised at the findings as they relate to investors of different genders,” Hart said.
Wealthy men investors said they were most likely to engage with an advisor they see on YouTube (50%) and LinkedIn (46%), followed by X/Twitter and Facebook, which tied at 46% favorability.
Women favored advisors who use YouTube (47%) and Facebook (46%), followed by Instagram (40%) and TikTok (38%).
“Advisors need to understand where their clients are and for purposes of wealth transfer, typically the husband passes away first, so if you’re on social media and you want to retain those assets you’d probably want to be on both Facebook and Linkedin,” Hart said.