“Everyone is on Facebook” is something that most of us have heard at least once.  This is something that people may even be inclined to believe, except for the fact that it isn’t true. The investor segment that many people think is not on Facebook are older individuals, but that is not the only type of investor that is not on Facebook. There are also other types of social media that are gaining in popularity among all types of investors, but what about Millionaires, those investors with a net worth between $1MM-$5MM, not including their primary residence?

Just over half, 52 percent, of Millionaires use Facebook, according to recent research from Spectrem Group. That means that nearly half of Millionaires are not using Facebook. Twenty-nine percent of Millionaires use LinkedIn, and just over a quarter use YouTube. These percentages vary significantly by age and occupation.

As one would expect, usage of social media is higher among younger investors. Over a third of Baby Boomers and nearly half of WWII investors do not use any social media platforms. Only 16 percent of Gen X investors do not use social media, and all Millennials use some type of social media platform. Eighty-two percent of Millennials use Facebook, and the same percentage uses LinkedIn. Two-thirds of Millennials use YouTube, and over half use Twitter. A few of the emerging social media platforms, Snapchat and TikTok, are still not used by a very large percentage of Millionaires, regardless of age, but 18 percent of Millennials are utilizing these two new platforms.

Educators are the biggest users of Facebook, and they are also the occupational segment that is most likely to be on some type of social media, with only 20 percent of Educators not on any social media. This is in contrast to a third of other occupations that are not participating in social media. Senior Corporate Executives & Managers are more likely than other occupations to use Twitter and YouTube, while Professionals are more likely to use LinkedIn.

What about using social media to communicate with a financial advisor? These percentages are still very small, with five percent or less of Millionaires using Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter to communicate with their financial advisor. That percentage jumps up however among a few different Millionaire investor segments. Seventeen percent of Professionals use Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, or Twitter to communicate with their financial advisor. Twenty percent of Millennials use Facebook Messenger or Twitter to communicate with their advisor, and 30 percent use LinkedIn to communicate with their advisor.

Among those investors who do not currently use social media to communicate with their advisor the percentage of who would be willing to do so remains small, with only six percent of Millionaires being willing to communicate with their advisor through LinkedIn and only four percent willing to communicate through Facebook Messenger. Fifty percent of Millennials would be willing however to communicate with their advisor through LinkedIn, and 20 percent would be willing to communicate through Facebook or Twitter.

Social media usage remains mostly what it’s intention was, for social purposes, and it is not surprising that the social media platform that is most closely aligned with business, LinkedIn, is the most used or considered platform for financial purposes. As the financial industry continues to evolve, and investors are becoming more familiar with alternative ways to communicate with their advisor outside of in-person meetings it will be interesting to see if social media ever takes a larger role in financial areas or if it will remain personal.