The financial services sector has historically been behind other consumer-facing industries in adopting social media as a mainstream channel. Yet it was reported last year that 43% of people buy financial services a result of a recommendation received through social networks.
It seems the industry is now opening up. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney caused a stir when it announced its intention to allow some of its financial advisors to use Twitter to communicate with customers. Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, began testing social media internally before considering a wider rollout to consumers
For current thinking on the sector’s use of social media, Pearlfinders has spoken to financial institutions.