YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media forums are likely to be used by investors to gather information on new products and services, according to a Spectrem Group Report.
The "Social Media and the Investor" report is based on a survey of 500 financial decision-makers in households with $50,000 or more in annual income who spend at least two hours per week on the Internet.
Seventy-seven percent of investors who read blogs said they are likely to consult them for financial product and service information. Nearly half (46%) of YouTube users and 41% of Facebook users would seek investment information from these forums. Social media networks are also popular sources for developing new investment strategies and seeking buy/sell advice, respondents said.
Sixty-nine percent of LinkedIn users are likely to consult their LinkedIn networks on investment issues and 63% of Twitter users would pay attention to investment tweets, according to Chicago-based research firm Spectrem.
More than one-third (36%) of investors said they are interested in receiving information from their advisors or corresponding with them through social media. Among investors under age 35, this figures rose to 53%.
