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Startling response to Social Media in Financial Services

When the first text message came in at 08.00am from our first speaker of the day saying that there were no trains at all from Farnham and that traffic in Surrey was at a standstill, there was a brief moment of panic.  Yet more snow had descended overnight.

But slowly but surely, delegates for Social Media in Financial Services started to arrive at the Tower Hotel in London.  After a slightly delayed start we were underway.

Two days later and the dust still hasn’t settled.  The buzz that was created by the conference was startling to say the least and wildly beyond what we were expecting.

Being a conference about Social Media in Financial Services, we were expecting a few of the IFAs attending to post some messages to Twitter and the Web.  What we weren’t expecting was in excess of 500 tweets from attendees in the room and those following the event online.

Even financial planners in the USA picked up on the buzz and were following and contributing material.

The reason why there was so much buzz around the conference (which incidentally is still happening on Twitter today), was because the content was outstanding.  Speakers from The Gate, Google, LinkedIn, BT Tradespace, Headshift, the BBC, Fincision and YouTube hit exactly the right spot.  Our financial planner speakers Nick Bamford, George Kinder and Jaime Steele were particularly popular and proved how important Social Media is in a modern financial planning business.

Other major highlights were Alan Stevens the Media Coach and Internet psychologist Graham Jones whose anecdotes and considerable expertise shocked and amazed the audience.

But why does this matter?

It didn’t take long for a key point to emerge from the conference – that the consequences of RDR pale into insignificance compared to the impact that the Internet is having on the financial advice profession.  Change on a level never seen before in the industry is taking place right now.  

But many will see Social Media as theoretical nonsense that might have an impact at some point in the future, but it was loud and clear to anyone in attendance that its impact is being felt right now.

And those IFAs who don’t feel that Social Media has any relevance to their business or to the lives of their clients were in for a shock too.  Figures emerged which clearly showed that people of all ages now actively engage with sites such as Facebook.  The short message was that those IFAs who ignore this will miss out on exciting new ways to enhance their reputation, attract new clients and to engage with existing clients and professional introducers.

What happens next?

The wealth of material presented at the conference was staggering.  One delegate reported writing thirty five pages of notes and others are proclaiming the event as the best conference they have ever attended.

Over the coming days and weeks, IFA Life will be publishing notes, speakers’ slides additional materials and more.  Watch this space!

You will also shortly be hearing about the next Social Media in Financial Services conference, plus a series of Breakfast Briefings in conjunction with The Gate.

The good news is that the next conference will be this year, and you can register to receive discounted tickets if you act now.  Simply send an email to philip@ifalife.com asking to be put on the list, and you will be at the front of the queue for tickets.

Were YOU at Social Media in Financial Services?  If so, please follow this link and share your thoughts on the event.

If you missed out, take a look to see what has been said already: 

http://www.ifalife.com/forum/replies.asp?ForumID=3&TopicID=2579

IFA Life is producing a special PDF magazine containing notes, interviews, bonus materials and Social Media resources.  Providers are already asking about advertising opportunities.  Please contact Nick Page for details: page@pagemedia.co.uk

Philip Calvert
IFA Life


 

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Author: Philip Calvert
Posted: Friday, January 15, 2010 | 2:11:01 PM