Social Media for Financial Services

Being someone who is headed into communications for the financial services industry upon graduation, Bliss PR's blog post "A cheat sheet to social media for financial institutions" caught my eye this week.

The post compiled and written by Abby Carr, Catherine Sherwood and Socialware shows an easy-to-read graph about the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Notice 10-06 that was issued early this year regarding social media communication. The industry is heavily regulated and it is essential that as a communicator you know your boundaries about what you can and cannot say, what to avoid, and the obligations you have.

FINRA's goal with Notice 10-06 was to discuss how firms and their registered representatives could use social media sites for legitimate business purposes in a manner that ensures investors are protected from false or misleading claims and representations. The "Notice" is intended to guide firms on how to apply communication rules to social media sites while staying within other regulations.

Topics covered in Notice 10-06 include: recordkeeping responsibilities, suitability responsibilities, types of interactive electronic forums, supervision of social media sites, and third-party posts.

A few of the things to avoid on social media? Testimonials, references to specific financial products, recommendations of specific investment ideas or styles, and endorsements.

Click Here to read Bliss PR's blog post.
Click Here to read the full Notice 10-06 (it's only 10 pages long!).