It appears that the wealthy in this country have begun to embrace social media more and more in the last year, and they definitely have a favorite social network.
The Social Network, that is: Facebook.
According to a report from strategic consulting firm Spectrem Group entitled “Social Media and Affluent Households,” the percentage of American millionaires current using Facebook has doubled over the last year to 46% in 2011.
The report broke down the levels of wealth into three different groups: First, the mass affluent who have a net worth of $100,000 to $1 million. Second, the millionaires who have a net worth of $1 million to $5 million. Finally, the Ultra High Net Worth Investors who have a net worth of $5 million to $25 million.
The mass affluent outperformed the millionaires, totaling 55% using Facebook. 47% of Ultra High Net Worth Investors are currently on the network.
The next most popular social media service for the wealthy is LinkedIn. 22% of the mass affluent, 19% of millionaires and 26% of the Ultra High Net Worth Investors are registered users.
Led by Facebook, the social media era has finally arrived for the nation’s wealthiest investors, with nearly half the nation’s millionaires now logging onto the social network. Wealthy investors are also interested in reading blogs by trusted financial advisors. The message is clear. Learning how to effectively use social media and financial blogs is critical to the future success of financial services firms. Providers who fall behind run the risk of frustrating their investors and losing customers,
The interesting statistic involves the relatively miniscule percent of the $100K – $25 million population who are using Twitter. Only 5% of the mass affluent, 3% of millionaires and 6% of the Ultra High Net Worth Investors are on the service.
If the nation’s wealthiest investors are learning that they need social media for their future financial success, what does that say about Twitter? Do the rich see it as non-vital to their goals?
Why would the wealthy flock to Facebook in droves but stay away from Twitter? Is it because Facebook is an older service and somehow feels more established? Do the privacy settings on Facebook and LinkedIn appeal to the investors? On Twitter, you basically have to set your feed to private or let everyone follow you – there is little grey area.
Why do the wealthy overwhelmingly prefer Facebook? Let us know what you think.