According to a new study conducted by Brightwork Partners in conjunction with MassMutual Retirement, 71 percent of retirement plan participants use various social media sites. Of that group, more and more are turning to social media not just for social communication, but to learn about their retirement plan and options. In addition, a recent study by Cogent Research determined that 26 percent of U.S. adults use social media for personal finance and investing purposes.

Luckily, Colorado PERA has already spent a significant amount of time building up a social media presence to speak to plan members about these subject matters on platforms they are already using – through a blog, Facebook, two Twitter accounts, a Google+ account, and a Pinterest account.

In November 2012, PERA launched a blog aptly named The Dime Colorado. The blog was designed to speak to members on subjects that pertained to where they currently are in their lives, tackling issues like buying a car, saving for a house, and, of course, getting on track with a retirement savings plan. In addition, the goal was also to touch on subject matter that related directly to life as a public employee.

Yet, building the blog – its own lesson in thinking outside the box – wasn’t enough to spur the conversation and ensure that the PERA membership would continue reading what was being posted. A survey of PERA members revealed what social media channels the membership was using, with significantly more on Facebook than Twitter for example, and the survey also informed PERA where conversations should be created.

Since that time, PERA has tailored unique content to each social media channel, becoming an active member in conversations about the challenges facing public employees, personal finance practices, and life in the great state of Colorado. We are still sharing PERA news, but we’re doing so in a way that interacts with those who might see retirement as something that they can’t relate to at this point in their lives.

The way our world communicates is constantly changing – it no longer works to speak at people and expect them to be invested in your message. Through PERA’s use of social media we’ve learned that our members want to be engaged with us, but they also want information that they can use right now in their day-to-day lives.

PERA’s mission is to promote long-term financial security for our membership. We know that a holistic retirement plan is about more than just having a stable pension on which to rely, it’s also about the health of our membership’s entire financial picture. We hope that by broadening the conversation and utilizing these social media platforms PERA can connect with members in new and profound ways.

Take part in the conversation!

• Check out The Dime Colorado
• “Like” us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• +1 us on Google+
• Pin us on Pinterest