We can’t do that here! Overcoming Social Media Obstacles in Financial Services Communicating with customers in the 21st century While many companies that interact with consumers have been able to make social media a key part of their marketing and communications plans, financial services companies have had to tread lightly due to the various rules and regulations that govern the industry. Social media is here to stay and it's changing the way we communicate with our customers and with each other. A vast majority of consumers use social media to find recommendations before they buy products or services. They trust that information, share it with others and make decisions based on that information. And they want to be able to reach out to organizations and company experts directly to engage in online conversations. This can be a competitive disadvantage for organizations without a presence in the web 2.0 world. The light at the end of the tunnel We're past the point of whether or not to consider integrating social medial into a marketing and communications strategy. The questions now are "How do we do this successfully?" and "What are the best tools for us?". There are financial services companies that have overcome the hurdles to successfully incorporate social networking tools and applications into their plans and processes. Join Ed Lee, Director of Social Media from Radar DDB as he talks about some real life industry stories about preparing organizations to make a successful leap into the social media space and take away some practical ideas for incorporating social media into your strategy.