BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Over the last few years there can be no doubt that social media has changed the way that we operate as individuals and as a society. Yet the impact on professional and financial services (beyond retail banking) has been almost non-existent.
This is because of a fear and fundamental misunderstanding about what social media means to the individual professionals themselves. Baz Gardner, founder of The Social Adviser and himself a former successful advice professional, is setting a new standard and leading the world of professional and financial services in a revolution in how they do business. He believes that those who adapt to the new reality of 'social business' will be the future leaders in their industries, and those who do not will become redundant quickly.
In order to showcase what the future looks like, The Social Adviser is launching the world's first social advice summit — AdviserEdge 2013 (www.theadviseredge.com) — to be held over 3 days on the Gold Coast, Australia in February, and this event is already capturing the attention of the Australian financial services and accounting industries.
This event also coincides with the formal launch of the business The Social Adviser (www.thesocialadviser.com) and will be showcasing the results of some of the 60 plus 'early adopter' client firms that have been through The Social Adviser's cloud-based programs over the last year.
Through a range of online tools and strategies, Baz shows financial and professional services firms how to manage actual relationships, develop word-of-mouth referrals, and build trust at scale using digital and social media, the key ingredients for successful growth of any relationship-based business.
"We have been very selective with our initial clients, and over the last year have put more than 60 firms (our 'First Followers') through our programs. These clients have ranged from accountants and financial advisers, to lawyers and business development managers. Their results have been ground-breaking," said Gardner.
Over the last 12 months, Baz Gardner has become a household name in the financial services community for his work to raise professional industries into a new social age. He has had more than 60 paid public speaking engagements, was rated as the best speaker ever for a Count Financial Services event, and has enjoyed stellar audience feedback from some of the country's largest financial services firms.