Training and Branding
The SEC, FINRA and the Investment Industry Regulatory
Organization of Canada (IIROC) require firms to demonstrate that regulated
persons have had training on the appropriate use of social media as it pertains
to rules and regulations, according to Belbey.
A very senior financial adviser might require more technical
training, Belbey said, while a member of Generation Y may very well be familiar
with how to use social media “but need to be trained on what’s appropriate on
social media as it pertains to their livelihood.”
And because of the tremendous reach of social media,
training should extend well beyond compliance to how to harness its power. “The
best, most successful campaigns go a step further where they not only show the
registered people how to build your network, how [to] engage with your followers,” Belbey said.
Some firms take more steps to manage their brand. Belbey knows
one firm that hires photographers to take official profile pictures of its
advisers.
“They want their adviser against a blue background, they
want them to wear a suit and a tie or a dress, they really want to control the
image from the ground up,” she said.