January 28, 2026
How many financial advisers use social media is a question we hear regularly from advisers themselves.
It usually comes up because it feels like everyone else is doing it. LinkedIn looks busy, advisers appear active, and firms seem to be posting confidently about what they do. In reality, what we see across the firms we work with is far more mixed and often much quieter than it looks on the surface.
At Plus Group, we support advisers with the operational side of running their firms, including admin flow, client servicing, and the areas where marketing overlaps with day-to-day workload. When social media comes up in those conversations, it is rarely about ambition or growth. It is almost always about time, confidence, and how it realistically fits into an already full week.
So how many advisers are actually using social media, and what does “using it” really mean in practice?
Before looking at numbers, it helps to be clear about definitions.
In most firms we work with, there is a big difference between having a profile and actively using social media. Many advisers have a LinkedIn profile because it feels expected. Far fewer are posting regularly, engaging with others, or using it deliberately as part of how clients and prospects experience the firm.
A common situation we see is an adviser who set up their profile years ago, shared a handful of posts, then stopped. Technically, they are on social media, but it is not part of their working routine.
When advisers ask how many financial advisers use social media, they are usually asking how many are showing up consistently rather than occasionally.
There is no single definitive number, but platform data, industry research, and what we see day to day all point in the same direction.
Most UK financial advisers have a LinkedIn profile. A much smaller proportion post anything at all in a typical month. An even smaller group post consistently and engage with comments or conversations.
In practice, most advisers fall into one of three groups. They are either not posting at all, posting sporadically when they remember, or posting in short bursts before stopping again. The group showing up regularly over time is much smaller than LinkedIn activity might suggest.
This matters because it changes how competitive social media actually is for advisers.
Social media creates a distorted picture.
You tend to see the same advisers repeatedly. Those who post consistently are surfaced more often by algorithms, which makes them feel far more numerous than they are. Advisers who do not post regularly are largely invisible.
What we see in most firms is advisers comparing themselves to this visible minority and assuming they are behind. In reality, they are often much closer to the average than they think.
This perception gap is one reason social media can feel intimidating even when uptake across the industry is relatively low.
The main barrier is rarely belief.
Most advisers understand why social media matters. They know it helps people become familiar with them before a first conversation. They understand that clients often look them up online. The challenge is fitting it into the working week without it becoming another source of pressure.
A typical example we see is an adviser planning to post regularly, then missing posts because client work took priority. One missed post becomes a few weeks of silence. Restarting then feels harder than stopping ever did.
This mirrors the same time pressure we see in where financial advisers lose time in the week, where important but non-urgent tasks are crowded out by immediate client work and admin.
One reason consistency is hard is that social media often sits outside the normal workflow.
It becomes something advisers do if they have spare time, rather than something integrated into how the firm communicates. When workload increases, social media is usually the first thing to drop.
What we see working better is when social media is treated as a light, ongoing activity rather than a separate project. Short updates. Simple observations. Reflections from real adviser experiences rather than polished content.
Advisers who approach it this way are far more likely to stay visible over time, even during busy periods.
When advisers do post, the content is usually simpler than expected.
It is rarely deep technical insight. More often, it is commentary on common client questions, observations from meetings, or reflections on patterns they see in their work. These posts tend to resonate because they feel familiar and grounded.
A common misconception we see is advisers thinking they need to say something new or clever every time. In reality, consistency and clarity matter far more than originality.
This aligns closely with what we see in financial adviser marketing done effectively, where steady, understandable communication tends to outperform sporadic bursts of highly produced content.
Clients rarely engage publicly with adviser posts.
What we see instead is social media quietly reinforcing familiarity. Clients mention posts in meetings. Prospects say they feel like they already know the adviser. Conversations start more easily because the adviser feels less like a stranger.
This happens even when posting is not constant. Presence matters, particularly when it feels natural rather than forced.
Another reason advisers hesitate is concern about getting it wrong.
They worry about compliance, tone, or saying something that does not land well. This leads to overthinking and, in many cases, not posting at all.
What we see is that most advisers are far more cautious than necessary. Simple, factual posts based on experience are rarely problematic, especially when they avoid advice and focus on observation.
This caution mirrors what we see when advisers first look at how financial advisers can work with outsourced support safely. Uncertainty leads to avoidance, not because the risk is high, but because the process is unclear.
Not every adviser wants social media to become a big part of their week.
What we see working best is advisers posting often enough to stay visible, without it becoming something they constantly think about. That usually means showing up regularly, engaging with others, and letting activity build naturally over time, rather than posting in bursts and disappearing again.
Consistency matters more than intensity, but it still needs to be frequent enough to feel current and intentional.
Social media becomes sustainable when it does not rely on memory.
The advisers we see posting most consistently are not necessarily the most confident or creative. They usually have some structure around it. That might be prompts, reminders, or a simple way of turning everyday adviser experiences into posts without starting from a blank page each time.
This is where tools like Halio tend to fit quietly into a firm’s workflow. Not as a marketing platform in the traditional sense, but as operational support for showing up regularly without it becoming another mental load.
When posting becomes part of the routine rather than something advisers remember to do when they have spare time, consistency improves almost automatically.
So how many financial advisers use social media?
Most have a profile. Many are inactive. A relatively small group show up consistently. That means the bar to stand out is lower than it appears.
For advisers considering whether social media is worth the effort, this context matters. You are not competing with everyone you see in your feed. You are competing with a much smaller group than you might think.
Social media use among financial advisers is far from universal.
What looks like widespread activity is often the same advisers appearing repeatedly. For most firms, social media is present but inconsistent, used sporadically rather than deliberately.
Advisers who approach social media calmly, as a regular but manageable part of how they show up, often find it supports trust and familiarity without adding significant pressure. Over time, that steady presence becomes another quiet part of how the firm communicates, rather than a task that constantly slips to the bottom of the list.
How many financial advisers in the UK actively use social media?
Most advisers have a LinkedIn profile, but far fewer use social media actively. In practice, only a relatively small proportion post and engage consistently over time.
What does “using social media” actually mean for a financial adviser?
For most advisers, it means showing up regularly enough to be visible and familiar, not posting occasionally and then disappearing. Having a profile alone does not usually influence client perception.
Why does it feel like every other adviser is posting online?
Because the same advisers appear repeatedly in feeds. Social platforms surface consistent posters more often, which makes them seem more common than they actually are.
Why do advisers struggle to stay consistent with social media?
Social media often sits outside the normal workflow. When client work and admin pressure increase, posting is easy to deprioritise unless there is some structure around it.
Do clients really notice adviser social media activity?
Yes, but usually quietly. Clients often mention posts in meetings or say they feel more familiar with an adviser before speaking, even if they have never liked or commented publicly.
Is there a risk in advisers posting on social media?
Most risks come from overthinking rather than posting. Simple, experience-based observations that avoid advice and product detail rarely cause issues.
Do advisers need to be very active for social media to be worthwhile?
They need to be consistent enough to be remembered. Sporadic bursts followed by long gaps tend to have little impact compared to steady, ongoing presence.
What helps advisers make social media sustainable long term?
Structure. When posting does not rely on memory and is supported by simple prompts or routines, it becomes much easier to maintain alongside client work.
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