The recent AMI Viewpoint research paper makes for interesting reading for advisers, particularly those who might deem themselves somewhat undercooked when it comes to all things social media-related. According to the research, while 88% of advisers said they use Facebook, 59% LinkedIn, and 59% Instagram, just 11% use TikTok or YouTube, and only 18% were active on Twitter. Each to their own of course, and firms might be determining that it is on those first three channels where they have the best chance of having content seen and picking up leads. However, when it comes to the younger generation, then you might surmise that the websites and social media channels that advisers themselves use, might be someway distant from those used by those younger potential clients. This appears to be a bridge which needs building because 90% of Generation Z use TikTok and YouTube, and it appears to be this younger generation who are more engaged with, for example, protection and who are less likely to use a price comparison site than older consumers. Perhaps they feel less confident in ‘doing it themselves’ but this research potentially opens up a new front for advisers, because if you can channel your content, marketing, services, etc towards this generation then you are likely to get a positive response. The big question however tends to be ‘How?’ I’ve attended various sessions on how advisers can build an online social media presence, and to say the general response amongst the room tends to be muted, would be something of an understatement. But, we neglect this communication channel at our peril, particularly when it comes to how younger people are engaging with financial services, and the ways and means by which they digest financial ‘advice’. I write ‘advice’ like this because it will be quite clear from a lot of content on TikTok that this is, for the most part, not being delivered by advisers, instead it is merely money-savvy people who have eyed a gap in the market and are filling it. The problem of course can perhaps be easily defined as the ‘Martin Lewis’ issue. You’ll recall similar arguments over the course of the last 20 years made by advisers who bemoaned Lewis’ influence and worried about his lack of professional qualifications or advice knowledge, when it appeared to many in the industry that he was delivering exactly this. Why TikTok could be a winning tactic for advisers 06 WINTER MORTGAGE NEWSLETTER Bob Hunt CEO Paradigm
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