BlackRock’s iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, has been named the No1 asset manager using social media, according to a study released by the financial marketing services firm, kasina.

The study evaluated 53 investment managers and emphasised how each engaged with advisors, policyholders and investors. Rankings were based on an analysis of the availability of content, quality of that content and user experience on five social media platforms, including blogs, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. BlackRock was also recognised with a No1 ranking for its LinkedIn program.

"The results of the kasina study recognise our ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of sophisticated investors in an increasingly digital world," says Eileen Loustau (pictured), Head of iShares Digital and Social Marketing at BlackRock. "Social media has allowed iShares to create a dialogue with financial advisors and end investors in a way like never before, but it's not enough to just have a social presence – you need to listen, respond and provide value. From offering the latest insights on the markets to demystifying some of our industry's most challenging issues and answering questions in real-time, we view social media as critical to our ability to be a resource for today’s sophisticated investors."

Recognising that advisors and investors were increasingly looking to social media platforms for information, iShares started focusing their efforts on social media in late 2010. Today their anchor property, iSharesBlog.com, distributes educational content, original infographics, market commentary and a diverse range of videos on a daily basis. iShares has been able to extend the dialogue and further the reach of their content through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

iShares recently used social media to help explain the often misunderstood process of ETF creation and redemption through a six-minute animated video called The Story of ETF Creation.

"The creation and redemption process and the liquidity it can provide are critical to understanding the benefits of ETFs but despite our best efforts to explain it through traditional media, we often found that people were still confused," says Loustau. "After developing a short animated video that explained creation and redemption through a simple metaphor of a flower shop we were then able to distribute it via our social media networks and create a virtual 'a-ha' moment within our community of followers."