Young Millionaires Rely More on Social Media to Communicate

Americans are relying more and more on text messages, Twitter, Facebook and mobile apps to stay in touch, shop and conduct business. Wealthy investors are no exception to this trend.

Young Millionaires – investors with $1 million to $5 million – are leading the trend among wealthy investors to rely more on social media than phone calls and email to communicate and obtain information. Thirty percent of Millionaire investors 54 and younger say they rely more on social media than traditional channels to communicate. Older peers - those ages 55 and older - are less avid users of social media with just about 13 percent saying they rely more on social media than phones and email.

About half of U.S. Millionaires, who accounted for 8.4 million households by the end of 2010, own smartphones and are using the mobile devices for more than just talking, according to a Millionaire Corner survey conducted in June. Only 4 percent of Millionaire smartphone owners say they use the technology exclusively to text and talk. More than one-half send e-mails via their smartphones, and more than half have used the technology to access financial accounts.

These affluent investors are part of a growing base of consumers using their cell phones to conduct much of their daily business. About 83 percent of Americans from all wealth levels own some type of cell phone, and 35 percent own a smartphone of some type, according to a report released on Tuesday by Pew Internet, a project of the Pew Research Center.  More than 90 percent of the smartphone owners surveyed by Pew use their phones to take pictures and send or receive text messages. Nearly 85 percent use the mobile devices to access the Internet, while 80 percent send photos and videos via smartphones. More than three-fourths use their smart phones to send or receive email.

Millionaire Corner research shows that more than one-third of Millionaires 54 and younger own tablets. The tablet users tend to be doctors, lawyers, corporate executives and managers who use their tablets primarily to send and receive e-mail.

Investors 54 and younger are also more likely to rely on social media than television, such as newspapers, magazines and other traditional media, to obtain information. Thirteen percent of those 54 and younger depend more on social media for information, compared to 5 percent of investors ages 55 to 64 and virtually none of the investors 65 and older.

Younger investors are the most likely to consider a financial advisor’s social media presence when choosing an advising, and would follow a trusted advisor on Twitter if possible.