The following is being republished with permission from Commonwealth Financial Network's Adviser Technology Buzz blog. To read more from that blog, click here
The above title is an interesting question for my first official blog post.
For years, I have been discussing the very real benefits of social media with our financial advisers.
As I was flying home from our national conference in San Antonio in November, I reflected on my time there and the feedback I heard regarding social media. Much as in the past few year, the social-media sessions had been packed, and many of them were standing room only.
Interestingly, these sessions tended to focus on Facebook, LinkedIn and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. Blogs were rarely mentioned.
Now I find myself asking, “Why not?”
I have historically viewed blogs as diatribes made by people who think that they are important and who want to make sure others think that they are important, too — a modern-day soapbox, if you will.
But recently, as I have subscribed to and read the incredibly valuable information that has come through my esteemed colleague (Commonwealth Financial's vice president and chief investment officer) Brad McMillan's blog,
The Independent Market Observer , I've had a change of heart. (Thank you, Brad!)
And with that change of heart, I have a newfound appreciation and sense of the benefits that can come from blogging.
Observations that seek to inform others and help them shape their views on any given topic — or, in the case of this blog, adviser-focused technology — can add value to people's lives. No one I know has enough time to do everything that they want to do, and they certainly don't have the time to read up on all that is happening in the world.
Becoming a trusted information source is absolutely critical to a blog's success, as no one will stay subscribed to a feed if all it does is ramble on and on. Bloggers have to get to the essence of the point that they are trying to make in a succinct fashion.
Further, with so much of the media moving toward 140-character information bites, taking advantage of the blog format to make a more lengthy point and attracting readers via a bit.ly or other tiny URL can be a nice way to drive traffic to your website and create more brand awareness.
