Outskirts Press, INC.

Social media is as a big of a paradigm shift for the financial services industry as the internet was. On the one hand we have some advisors jumping into Social Media initiatives with such things as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter without any defined purpose, strategy or real understanding of the media. Conversely a financial services firm, or practitioner, who avoids social media does so at their own risk. This book will help you understand Social Media and web 2.0 strategies so that you can make an informed decision on how to effectively use the technology. Even if you do not feel that your business needs to utilize these tools it is critical to be aware of what they are and how they work as these forms of communication become the norm from cradle to grave and womb to boardroom much like email has. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and LinkedIn are no longer ‘teenage fads’ but are being used day in and day out by most of your clients, employees and vendors. Gaining a basic understanding of these technologies, how they work and what they can be used for is critical to your success if not you viability in the future. Even if you personally decide that the use of social media is not for you this book will serve as a basic reference. Co-written by a top producing financial advisor and a social media expert this book is for those in the financial services industry but will serve as a guide to anyone who is interested in social media as a marketing an communications tool. Cidney Carver- held several high profile internships related to Social Media, served as Chief of Content for Erik Qualman (Socialnomics) and had several articles published on the topic of Social Media all before graduating from Suffolk University with a degree in Public Relations in 2011. Cidney currently lives in Tel Aviv, Israel and continues to consult on PR, marketing and techonolgy and write on the topic.