Noise

Those tweety, texty, bloggy, tubey, linky, webby thingies in FS.

This week, bakehouse interviewed Chef Nick Bamford, one of UK’s leading IFAs. Nick spoke to a packed IFA audience at the eerie snow-covered Thistle Tower Hotel in London about Social Networking in Financial Services. Nick runs Informed Choice with his son Martin.

bakehouse: As a IFA business, is the internet useful to you and if so, in what ways?

NB: Internet has always been high up on our agenda in terms of channels. We constantly optimise and measure the success of our digital offering. We have recently invested into re-vamping our website, which doubled our site traffic over the past 2 months. Our website is packed with advice, blogs and latest news so the average visit time has also went from 2 to a more satisfying 4 minutes. Best of all, we’ve seen a 16% increase in the number of customers who come to us via the internet.

bakehouse: How do you find the time and resources for this?

NB:The fact that Martin is a bit of a whizz kid helps! He’s rarely seen not blogging, tweeting, texting, You-Tubing, Linking-In – you name it, we’re doing it. That brings us close and personal with other IFAs and a wide range of customers, but also means we can be fast and reactive, as well as listening to what people say and trying to craft our proposition to address the market needs.

bakehouse: What is the relevance of social networking to your business?

NB: Social networking is a recent addition in the Informed Choice armoury, yet it is very much in the spirit of how we’ve always thought and worked. Informed Choice is about openness, sharing and talking – so it’s a natural way for us to communicate.

bakehouse: In what particular area would you say you get ROI on your social networking activity?

NB:  Look at it this way: we are a relatively small firm (13 people) – yet we get talked about all around the country. We are told there are some IFAs out there who wait to see our fund information blogs and posts before making recommendations to clients. It not only helps strengthen our brand, but is an excellent PR support. Another obvious win is recruitment: we get so much exposure thanks to our activity on  ifa life and other professional sites that someone from the north of the country contacted us recently via email with an enquiry. We met, we talked, and she is just the right fit for us!

bakehouse: How is the IFA community set for harnessing social networking in their work?

NB: There is certainly a lot of interest – as the success of the conference shows. But you have to remember that still only less than 50% IFAs have a website these days – and even using computers is not a given amongst all firms. On the other side of the market, you have IFAs understanding that social networking gives them a perfect opportunity to reach some audiences difficult for them to target otherwise – like Gen X.

bakehouse: What is the role of providers in social networking area? Who do you see actively doing it?

NB: That’s a tough one. In terms of harnessing the internet technology, providers are further behind the curve than IFAs. With the WRAP platforms increasing in popularity, knowledge has been moving away from product providers who either miss the skills or motivation to become leaders in the field.

bakehouse: Are IFAs looking to product providers to help them move into social networking?

NB: There are a few well-functioning IFA networking groups, particularly in the protection and lending areas. There is definitely scope for providers to be heard within these groups, as well as help IFAs to build up social networking communities in other business areas.

STOP PRESS. And on the subject of social networking, bakehouse communications will soon be hosting a Social Networking Breakfast Meeting. With our industry expert Chef, you’ll hear the latest trends, the news, views, developments and opportunities offered by social networking in the financial services sector.

A date in March 2010 is being considered, but if you’d like to register your interest in attending, please contact Nick Baker on nickb@bakehousecommunications.com.