Samantha Allen

Using social media is clearly possible -- some advisors have had great success with it -- and there’s no doubt that compliance is in some ways getting easier. Yet compliance is still widely regarded as a major hurdle.

Twitter just turned seven, Facebook nine and LinkedIn 10. That’s old in Internet years. So what’s taking the finance industry so long to join the party?

RIA firms can learn from the smart decisions and big mistakes made by Sierra Investment Management of Los Angeles.

Even when the long-term market trend is defined by falling inflation-adjusted prices, despite short-term ups and downs, there may be opportunities to root out profits.

“We have the opportunity to think beyond tweeting and posting about how this will fundamentally change products in this industry,” said Augie Ray, director of social media strategy for Prudential Financial. “It’s not just about getting content out – we certainly have to do that too – but there are a lot of changes coming in the next five years.”

The Financial Planning Association and the Foundation for Financial Planning are joining forces to boost the organizations’ pro bono efforts.

With a changing (and aging) membership, the Financial Planning Association is focusing on ways to remain as relevant as possible in a digital era.

By now you’ve likely mastered the big three: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. What about all the other social platforms out there?

There’s no point in spending your time tweeting and building your online presence unless you make it useful to your practice.

Your Facebook strategy for your practice should be different from your Twitter and LinkedIn approaches, with a more personal touch.

LinkedIn is tailor-made for referrals, unfortunately, most advisor's LinkedIn profiles are “abysmal." What can you do to stand out from the competition?

Facebook’s user base has grown to more than 1 billion. With more and more clients shifting their attention toward social media platforms, advisors should consider creating a stronger Facebook presence.

With a team approach focused on transparency and employee development, Truepoint continues to succeed not just on financial marks but also on the two metrics it tracks: client and employee satisfaction.

LinkedIn is the most widely used social platform among financial professionals. But are you getting the most you can out of it?

Social media relationships deserve your personal attention. Start keeping track of the people you connect with online.

Given the mix of personal and professional content that people share on Twitter, it could be a great resource for finding new clients.

LPL’s retirement plan division, LPL Financial Retirement Partners, launched the Retirement Partners Group to provide members with a unified national identity. RPG members will receive the benefits of a comprehensive branding and marketing effort and the opportunity to network with other top LPL retirement plan advisors.

“If writing is not your strong suit, consider video blogging or posting audio content instead,” says Marie Swift, founder of Impact Communications.

A successful social media strategy will take time, so make your efforts as efficient as possible.

For the visually inclined, we've created an infographic to highlight some of the major shifts under way in demographics, technology and global wealth.