Over the past few years more and more banks have starting looking at social communications as another media outlet to sell products and services and even as an attempt to heal our wounded economy. Upon initial examination most banks looked at Social as their way to reach that elusive and prized Generation Y, but as they participated in the conversation they quickly found it was much more far reaching then that young demographic. However, any company that has attempted to navigate this social space has come to the conclusion that it is not a stand alone marketing tool, useful in replacing our more traditional tools or as a panacea, but rather as a value added component of the big picture.
There is an ever increasing number of regional and community banks that truly understands the impact of Social now and, more importantly, in the future. Strategically utilized, it will help retain and recruit customers from the large mega-banks. We have seen a surge in regional and community banks using Social Communications in innovative ways and have picked up on five key strategies:
1. Build a sense of community
What is the connotation when you hear the word “bank”? Conservative, stuffy, imposing, and unapproachable are a few adjectives that come to mind. That won’t make you rush to your nearest bank, but smart financial institutions are learning what will. They realize that now, more than ever, if they focus on relationships and building a sense of community then they can easily attract and retain customers. Banking is truly a retail business and should speak to and adopt the personality of the customers it serves. We want our bank to be friendly and approachable, and utilizing Social Communications can get us there. These are the days of engage, engage, engage. Gone are the days of sell, sell, sell.
2. Research
If you need to know what customers think of your products or services, Social allows for a way to enlist them for feedback. We have found a highly engaged social community will give you great insight into your organization and provide you the opportunity to provide better service.
3. Customer Service
Your social networks are a great customer service channel. More and more customers are using social channels like Twitter to get quick customer service questions answered. Take that great in-branch customer service and showcase it online by being responsive and engaging.
4. Marketing
This one is pretty obvious, but needs to be mentioned. Banks that are using social communications to brand themselves are integrating social channels into their existing campaigns and, in some instances, creating new social specific campaigns to foster a sense of community. The additions of social media tools now allow for solid, trackable marketing results.
5. Transparency
Today we find a tremendous amount of distrust in our financial institutions due to the financial meltdown of the last several years. In order to overcome this distrust, banks have turned to the social channels to become more transparent and build back that trust. What better way than to answer questions than on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog, where interactions are in real time and can be extremely transparent.
Talk is Cheap 