A joint study of 144 registered investment advisors by Pershing Advisor Solutions and Aite Group offers evidence that social media is more than an afterthought for advisors. Instead, it's a useful tool for reaching potential customers.

RIAs who used social media professionally reported that their annual income increased by 19% over the previous year. Assets under management also grew by 19%, and their client bases expanded by 21%. According to the study, advisors who did not use social media had income growth of just 6%, AUM growth of 6% and client base expansion of 7%. The study, entitled Creating Growth: The Increased Use of Social Media by Independent Advisors, was released in July.

Fifty-three percent of the survey respondents said they had a LinkedIn profile, followed by 39% who used Facebook, which has gained ground among professionals in the last year. Advisors can use Facebook's privacy settings to ensure that clients will not see personal content, says Allie Herzog, co-founder and partner of IntegratedPR, a public relations firm that specializes in social media. Among the 62 survey respondents who used social media, 42% said it helped them reach new prospects. Thirty-one percent said it generated awareness of their practice.

Interactive sites require more commitment than a one-way brochure, says Kim Dellarocca, a marketing and practice management director in Pershing's global marketing group. Clients respond to that. "Social media allows advisors to put a human face on their brand, and be more approachable," she says.

Another revelation from the Aite/Pershing report: Most age groups are well represented on social media sites. Forty-eight percent of advisors between ages 41 and 50 use social media, compared with 52% of those under age 30, a negligible difference. What's more, a separate study from MarketingProfs, released on July 29, found that the average age of Facebook's 400 million users is 37, helping to deflate the notion that social media is mainly for youngsters.