Wall Street Starts Writing Online
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Solita Marcelli’s LinkedIn account just crossed 100,000 followers.
What makes that so unusual is that she isn’t a flamboyant marketing person selling a self-improvement course.
Solita is the chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS’ Global Wealth Management arm.
It’s rare for people working at big, traditional brokerage firms to have such large followings.
The few exceptions tend to be CEOs. JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon has 1 million followers on LinkedIn; Sergio P. Ermotti, the CEO of UBS, has 265,000.
People on the Street often argue that they don’t or can’t post on social media because of “compliance” restrictions i.e., the myriad of rules on marketing that dictate what financial professionals can and cannot say.
It’s true that compliance is a hurdle, but it’s a low bar.
The real reason more financial professionals don’t lean into social media is limitations by their employers, the conservative culture on Wall Street and the fact peers don’t publish.
That is starting to change and Solita’s account is a prime example.
There is no question that having a direct pipeline to communicate to stakeholders — from customers to colleagues to regulators — can be immensely valuable. It complements advertising and PR and often reaches potential clients you didn’t know existed.
LinkedIn right now represents one of the great information arbitrages in modern media history.
There are a billion people with LinkedIn accounts. It’s a “gated community” whose primary focus is networking and sharing information. Nevertheless, only a few percentage of the participants publish.
Never have so few published so little that is read by so many.
Solita’s account is notable not just for the size — 100,600 as of this morning — but the speed of growth: Her follower count has doubled in a year.
I attribute that to the consistency of her posts and the quality of the information.
She posts every few days, dropping recaps from the firm’s market research everthing from what the Fed is planning to market roundups. She also posts videos of panel discussions or interviews with colleagues at UBS.
Her tone is professional and even. She doesn’t overshare. There’s no cringe. Everything is relevant to the audience and meets compliance requirements.
There are a few things Solita gets right that are worth mentioning:
–Keep it short
–Post educational content
–Write about topics of interest
–Don’t require logins if your goal is reach
–Summarize each item (don’t post videos or reports with no explanation.)
The bar to participate isn’t that high. But you have to make the leap.
Solita has obviously cleared that hurdle.
BRIEF OBSERVATIONS
SHORTS: My son is a fan of vintage. Here he is eyeing my dad’s OG ripped jeans from the 1980s.
CHANGE: It’s almost impossible to believe what large parts of New York City looked like forty years ago unless you were here. I remember this.
GOING THE DISTANCE: “I’d buy an electriv vehicles but it cannot go far.” People would say that and some still do. Technology always takes time.
TIM FERRIS: “Text If this were the only thing I accomplished today, would I be satisfied with my day.” Not the worst advice.
BIG WHEELS: I had one of these as a kid and it may have been the greatest thing I ever owned. I can still remember the sound the wheel made against the asphalt, the smell of the plastic and the feel of my weight on the seat.
