The factors that make social media posts more engaging

Fundamental Research analysed over 9,000 posts by asset managers looking at topics discussed as well as the sentiment and performance of the posts

Key points:

• Fundamental Research analysed over 9,000 social media posts of 20 leading asset managers, looking at the topics discussed as well as the sentiment and performance of the posts
• Most asset managers received the highest level of engagement on LinkedIn, while engagement on Twitter was much lower
• Overall, the most engaging posts were the ones that share insights from a reputable source, as well as posts that share more individual stories as opposed to taking a more generic approach to topics such as diversity and International Women's Day

Asset managers' social media posts that share insights from a reliable individual in their company receive higher levels of engagement than posts with only a link, according to Fundamental Research.

We analysed the social media posts of 20 leading asset managers during the first five months of 2020 over 9,000 posts in total looking at the topics discussed as well as the sentiment and performance of the posts.

Most asset managers received the highest level of engagement on LinkedIn, while engagement on Twitter was much lower. For the ten asset managers who were active on Facebook, half of them saw engagement levels that were higher or in line with their LinkedIn engagement levels; for the other half the engagement with their Facebook posts was dwarfed by their LinkedIn engagement levels.

The asset managers published more than 1,500 LinkedIn posts during the first quarter of the year. The most frequent topics were related to 'market', 'ESG', 'coronavirus', 'economy' and 'crisis', as shown in the graph below.

The size of the bubbles represents the number of posts related to each topic. The sentiment analysis evaluates opinions, sentiments, and emotions of the post itself, not the sentiment of the reactions to the post. Posts are classified as positive (1 or above) or negative (-1 or below) as a result of the difference between the number of positive vs negative words in each post.

Overall, the most engaging posts were the ones that share insights from a reputable source, as well as posts that share more individual stories as opposed to taking a more generic approach to topics such as diversity and International Women's Day.

As an example, for posts with the keywords 'Coronavirus', 'Covid-19' or 'pandemic', the most engaging posts had some degree of explanation from a reliable or renowned employee, such as the asset manager's senior economist or investment director. In contrast, the least engaging posts were mostly followed by a link instead of a personal insight by a senior individual at the firm. Furthermore, 45% of the least engaging posts were reposts, compared to only 8% of the most engaging posts.

Within the theme of ESG, we are seeing that more individual stories receive higher levels of engagement than posts of a more generic nature. February and March saw a high amount of posts about LGBTQ rights and International Women's Day. Asset managers' posts with inspiring, personal stories of influential women in their company received high levels of engagement, compared to posts where women were mentioned in a broader context or in relation to their wealth and investments.

Similar to the posts related to the Corona crisis, the best performing posts on the environment and sustainability are linked to insights or data presented by a reputable source. Reposts performed worse than original posts; 50% of the least engaging posts on ESG were reposts, compared to only 2% of the most engaging posts.

During these unprecedented times, people are looking for guidance and knowledge on what is happening, so it is vital for asset managers to share their insights and give expert advice. Original social media posts that include commentary from a reliable source within their company or inspiring, personal stories of employees will therefore see the highest levels of engagement.

Keep track of your professional development and knowledge with CPD Hub; our free-to-use platform which allows you to earn, track and report all of your CPD learning. Bank your CPD points for this article and access a wealth of other content by experts from leading financial institutions.