As we mentioned in this week’s Mutual Fund Monitor – Advisor update, Franklin Templeton’s Mark Mobius has entered the social media waters by launching a blog and Twitter profile. Over the past several months, I have had many conversations with mutual fund executives about how best to tackle social media. Indeed, at the recent MFEA Star Awards conference, social media was one of the most-discussed topics. In light of this, it is refreshing to see Franklin Templeton launch this blog and there are some useful takeaways for fund executives to learn from:

  • It’s a well designed blog separate from the main Franklin Templeton website. This creates a nice reading format without too many distractions.
  • Photography is used throughout including an image of Mr. Mobius, which helps to personalize the blog.
  • The blog integrates Twitter updates.
  • Compliance issues are addressed without being overbearing. Specifically, the issue of comments is dealt with by saying comments are welcome, but “we won’t be posting them just yet. However, they will be read and will help guide future topics. So please, continue to send them my way.” This is similar to Vanguard’s initial approach to the comment issue when that firm launched www.vanguardblog.com. Eventually, the firm decided to publish select comments anonymously, an approach Franklin Templeton should consider if the feedback it receives is valuable.
  • In what could be described as a compromise with regard to the comment issue, there is a post voting tool, which allows users to rate the post on a 5-point scale. While not as robust as comments, this allows at least some form of reader input. It also will help Mobius and Franklin Templeton to get a better feel for the topics that most interest readers.

These factors aside, the posts are interesting to read, which matters more than any comment or post rating feature. They don’t feel like a rehash of an investment or research report, but rather they add color to the broader emerging markets investing landscape. Granted, this is based on only two posts, but so far Franklin Templeton and Mr. Mobius deserve kudos for launching this blog.

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