A $173-billion-AUM asset manager's marketing chief has two social media tips for fundsters on the advisor-sold side of the business: train your team, and provide FAs with the right kind of content, in the right way.

Those are two lessons that Mark McKenna, head of global marketing at Putnam Investments [profile], draws from the Boston-based fund firm's just-released fifth edition of its annual Putnam Investments Social Advisor Study. The survey draws on research, conducted with NMG Consulting, that included 1,014 participating FAs in November 2017.

The researchers found that 86 percent of FAs who used social media for business say that it has helped them land new clients. That's up from 80 percent in 2016, 79 in 2015, 66 in 2014, and 49 in 2013.

"The biggest finding is really that new and top tier advisors are really benefiting from an active social media presence," McKenna tells MFWire. "Advisors who are using social passively are really missing out on client acquisitions. The study is in many ways a call to action."

With that in mind, McKenna urges his fellow fundsters to remember that "social media is highly dependent on content or content marketing."

"You've got to be providing content in a way that advisors can share with clients," McKenna says. "Initially, if you're going to provide content, it's not about your brand."

"We're not pushing a product, we are promoting education," McKenna adds. "The posts that are the most successful are those posts that are adding value and are not pushing a product."

McKenna also urges fundsters to make sure that their teams are trained in social media.

"You've got to have your sales team and relationship team really steeped in social media practices," McKenna says.

The 16-page report includes a host of other information, including: which social media networks FAs use, how often they use those networks, how much AUA they've gained, how expert they think they are, and more. 

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