Comments on: Vanguard Blazes a Social Media Trail for Mutual Fund Firms http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/05/29/vanguard-blazes-a-social-media-trail-for-mutual-fund-firms/ Competitive Intelligence for the Financial Services Executive Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:58:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: James McGovern http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/05/29/vanguard-blazes-a-social-media-trail-for-mutual-fund-firms/#comment-106 James McGovern Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:07:39 +0000 http://www.cinsightblog.com/?p=332#comment-106 Thanks for all of the comments everyone. For the record, I don't think 1,500+ fans in just one week's time is all that bad. You have to start somewhere. Thanks for all of the comments everyone. For the record, I don’t think 1,500+ fans in just one week’s time is all that bad. You have to start somewhere.

]]> By: Alan Maginn http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/05/29/vanguard-blazes-a-social-media-trail-for-mutual-fund-firms/#comment-105 Alan Maginn Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:03:59 +0000 http://www.cinsightblog.com/?p=332#comment-105 I think that’s a fair question, Jerome. As I mentioned in a post back in March (see http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/03/27/social-media-and-roi-mixing-oil-and-water/), measuring the ROI of a social media strategy is a challenge for financial services firms as it is for many businesses. But with the relatively low costs associated with something like maintaining a Facebook page, I don’t think it makes sense for these firms to sit on the sidelines until they figure a concrete way to measure success. In the meantime, I think it’s too early to get a handle on what Vangaurd will accomplish with their blog or Facebook page; one thing we’ve noticed from other financial services companies is that it seems to take several months before firms hit their stride. I think that’s a fair question, Jerome. As I mentioned in a post back in March (see http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/03/27/social-media-and-roi-mixing-oil-and-water/), measuring the ROI of a social media strategy is a challenge for financial services firms as it is for many businesses. But with the relatively low costs associated with something like maintaining a Facebook page, I don’t think it makes sense for these firms to sit on the sidelines until they figure a concrete way to measure success. In the meantime, I think it’s too early to get a handle on what Vangaurd will accomplish with their blog or Facebook page; one thing we’ve noticed from other financial services companies is that it seems to take several months before firms hit their stride.

]]> By: Jerome http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/05/29/vanguard-blazes-a-social-media-trail-for-mutual-fund-firms/#comment-104 Jerome Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:29:24 +0000 http://www.cinsightblog.com/?p=332#comment-104 ....Now what? Vanguard has millions of investors, and less then 2,000 FB friends. Assuming they get more blog readers and more FB friends, which I hope they do, what does this do for their marketing ROI? And how can you, or they prove it? Not trying to be confrontational, but I'm curious to see where it all goes from here... -Jerome ….Now what? Vanguard has millions of investors, and less then 2,000 FB friends. Assuming they get more blog readers and more FB friends, which I hope they do, what does this do for their marketing ROI? And how can you, or they prove it?

Not trying to be confrontational, but I’m curious to see where it all goes from here…

-Jerome

]]> By: Pat Allen http://www.cinsightblog.com/2009/05/29/vanguard-blazes-a-social-media-trail-for-mutual-fund-firms/#comment-103 Pat Allen Fri, 29 May 2009 17:56:16 +0000 http://www.cinsightblog.com/?p=332#comment-103 James, we agree with your assessment that Vanguard is the undisputed social media leader in the asset management industry. In addition to the Facebook page and blog, we like the the transparency of its rating capability on its News page--not as rich as comments would be but in the spirit! There are a few other companies that are delivering social media features, albeit spotty. We identified them in an ebook we produced earlier in May to provide some encouragement to investment management marketers. It's offered as a free download on www.rocktheboatmarketing.com. We're familiar with your broader report on financial services and social media, and thought you might also be interested in learning that today we published a social media directory tracking asset manager, broker-dealer, financial advisor and investment media adoption. These are early days but, given the benefits, we're optimistic! James, we agree with your assessment that Vanguard is the undisputed social media leader in the asset management industry. In addition to the Facebook page and blog, we like the the transparency of its rating capability on its News page–not as rich as comments would be but in the spirit!

There are a few other companies that are delivering social media features, albeit spotty. We identified them in an ebook we produced earlier in May to provide some encouragement to investment management marketers. It’s offered as a free download on http://www.rocktheboatmarketing.com.

We’re familiar with your broader report on financial services and social media, and thought you might also be interested in learning that today we published a social media directory tracking asset manager, broker-dealer, financial advisor and investment media adoption. These are early days but, given the benefits, we’re optimistic!

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