Financial Services Collaboration and content management

English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I attended the Financial Services Collaboration and content management summit put on by Business Development Institute (BDI) yesterday (May 14th) in Philadelphia.  A really good mix of presenters and presentations (mostly about social media) that gave just the right level of detail (IMO).  The talks generated some good questions and for me some new insights into making social media and collaboration successful in Financial Services (and most other industries as well).

Here are my take-away and confirmations:
1. Rolling out social media takes serious planning and in the best case a clear idea of what will be achieved by doing it.
2. Having senior management buy-in is key to the success of social media deployment
3. With respect to marketing, weaving social media into the overall marketing plan typically makes the most sense
4. Social media is not a destination, it is a place you live.  So, to be effective you have integrate it into your overall work, plans and life!
5. Social media monitoring can be used for at least 3 areas of business:
    - detecting issues with your company, products, etc
    - finding leads for your company, products, etc
    - Better customer services e.g., Creating "Wow" moments for your clients where you go the extra mile
6. Be selective about who you empower with social media, E.g., Kelly Hoffman at Janney Montgomery Scott selected advisors to be part of the social media rollout program that they believed would be active and would represent the company well
7. The power of social is very effective if you think of your company as a group of individuals who have a circle of friends that trust your employees more than your brand or your marketing.

And, of course, it is always nice to be in Philly on a sunny spring day in the historic part of town. After the conference I had a great Amber Ale at the Triumph Brewing company with my friends Victoria Khazan and Todd Weidman.

Have an outstanding day!