{"id":5133,"date":"2017-08-17T10:54:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T17:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.investmentpal.com\/?p=5133"},"modified":"2018-06-12T20:58:13","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T03:58:13","slug":"uncomplicated-social-media-policy-financial-services-professionals-3-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.investmentpal.com\/uncomplicated-social-media-policy-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncomplicated social media policy for financial services professionals \u2013 3 examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to surveys conducted by American Century Investments, financial advisory firms with a formal social media policy or guidelines increased from 60% to 74% from 2012 to 2015.\u00a0 Over the same period, advisors reported reduced regulatory concerns, greater social media participation and consequently increased gains from social media<\/a>.\u00a0 Is the absence of a social media policy impeding participation in social media in your firm?<\/p>\n

Putting together a well thought out social media policy need not be a complex process.\u00a0 In addition to clarifying do\u2019s and don\u2019ts with financial professionals, a well-crafted social media policy can also build trust with clients and prospects.\u00a0 In this post, we select 3 examples of social media policies from 3 firms \u2013 an independent financial advisory firm, a 500,000 employee credit union and a century-old bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Revolution Capital (an independent registered investment advisor based in Cambridge, Massachusetts)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"revolutionlinkedin.com\/in\/douglassoons\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 facebook.com\/revolutioncapital\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 revolutioncapital.net\/blog<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Revolution Capital Social Media & Blog Policy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Revolution Capital has adopted the following guidelines for our social media, website\u00a0 and blog:<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We will strive to have open and informative dialogues with our readers;<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. We will protect the privacy of our clients and readers;<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. We will correct inaccurate or misleading positions in a timely manner;<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. We will not delete posts or comments unless they violate our policies;<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. We will disclose conflicts of interest;<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. We will credit our sources;<\/em><\/li>\n
  7. We will respect intellectual property rights;<\/em><\/li>\n
  8. We will review comments in a timely manner;<\/em><\/li>\n
  9. We will approve all comments relevant to the post except those that we deem inappropriate or defamatory, that include profanity, or that threaten the privacy of individuals or organizations;<\/em><\/li>\n
  10. We will not post specific investment advice or recommend specific investment products in our social media or blog posts;<\/em><\/li>\n
  11. We welcome third-party comments on our social media and blog sites, but our inclusion of these comments is not an endorsement and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of our firm<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Updated: 1 January 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0See revolutioncapital.net\/data-privacy<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2. Vancity (credit union in Canada, with $20 billion assets, and 500,000+ members)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"Vancity<\/strong><\/p>\n

    linkedin.com\/company\/vancity\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 facebook.com\/vancity\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 @Vancity\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 instagram.com\/vancitycu\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 blog.vancity.com<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Social Media Policy for Vancity Employees<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

    (policy portion of guidelines)<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. I will never disclose member information or discuss a member\u2019s financial situation on social media because I know that protection of members\u2019 private information is paramount. The same is true for confidential information about Vancity and its employees.<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. I will be myself online.<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. I will always be respectful and will never say something online that I wouldn’t say in front of my grandma.<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. I will always be truthful and if I inadvertently make a mistake, I will make every effort to correct it as soon as possible.<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. I will use casual, friendly language.<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. I agree that profanity and hateful language is never appropriate.<\/em><\/li>\n
    7. I will always be transparent and identify myself as a Vancity employee if I am discussing Vancity online while not using an official Vancity account.<\/em><\/li>\n
    8. I will remember that what I write in social media cannot be retracted and becomes a permanent part of the public record. I will think twice and write once.<\/em><\/li>\n
    9. I will always be respectful and polite when I disagree with someone on social media.<\/em><\/li>\n
    10. I know it is not productive to get into an argument with someone online. I know that when online conversations go sideways I can choose not to respond or I can ask for assistance from my manager.<\/em><\/li>\n
    11. I will make sure that my social media activities don’t interfere with my job. Helping members and colleagues takes precedence over any social media work that needs to be done.<\/em><\/li>\n
    12. I will not give financial advice unless I am qualified to do so. If I give financial advice on social media sites, I’ll keep it general and won’t mention specific rates.<\/em><\/li>\n
    13. I will only discuss specific investments and returns if I am qualified\/registered to do so.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Updated: September 13, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

      See complete policy and guidelines at vancity.com\/AboutVancity\/News\/SocialMedia\/Guidelines<\/em><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      3. Centennial Bank (a century old FDIC commercial bank based in Tennessee)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"mycentennial.bank\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 linkedin.com\/company\/centennial-bank-tennessee\u00a0 |\u00a0 facebook.com\/CentennialBank1916\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 @centennial1916<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Participant Code of Conduct \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

      \u00a0 <\/strong>(portion of policy)<\/em><\/p>\n

      This social media space is a public forum. By participating in discourse herein, the participant implicitly agrees to adhere to the following rules:<\/em><\/p>\n