According to a recent
survey of 1,500 defined contribution retirement plan sponsors conducted by
Cogent Research, sixty-three percent are using some form of social media to communicate
with plan participants.
This phenomenon is
strongest among mid-sized plan sponsors, whose plans have total assets between $20
million and $100 million. Typically, plan sponsors use websites and blogs,
LinkedIn, Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. Within this group, 77 percent use some
form of social media, with websites or blogs being the most popular and
LinkedIn being the second most popular. The use of social media was lower among
large plan sponsors, representing plans with more than $100 million in assets,
where only half use social media.
Based on these findings, a
social media strategy should be an important part of any plan sponsor’s
communications plan. If a social media strategy is not already in place, plan
sponsors should evaluate how to implement one and provide plan participants
with additional avenues to information about their retirement benefits.