Three Best-Practice Uses for a Facebook Bank Page
Let’s face it, when we think of banks, we tend to associate them with a set of values that are perhaps the diametric opposite of the feelings social networking elicits within ourselves, as members of the general audience. Facebook is all about making and maintaining friends, Twitter is about being in the know, and YouTube keeps us entertained. Banks, well—rarely do any of the above. This is especially true in light of the attitude changes brought on by the global financial crisis, with respect to both banks and money. On the one hand, the world as a whole seems to have become more cautious as to what to invest in and when; the focus has shifted from consumption to credit. On the other hand, banks have lost what precious little trust they had previously garnered from their consumers, as many of them collapsed notoriously.
However, the situation has not always been like this. Immediately after World War II, during the golden era of the Baby Boom, banks were being perceived as companies with a face and a personality. Going to your closest branch, to send money, deposit it, or withdraw it always entailed human interaction. Similarly, accessing a loan would put the client in close contact with a sales representative, who would guide them through the process, which was at once exciting and somewhat confusing. Perhaps in an effort to harken back to those olden, more carefree days, banks are now taking to a new resource, which is putting them back in touch with their client. Social media interaction is not exactly face-to-face, but it is one-to-one, to the extent to which feedback, communication, and all other forms of interaction are unmediated, in real-time, and genuine. Let us then take a look at three of the best ways banks are using their Facebook profiles.
Bringing People Together
The sense of community is one of the best goals to strive for, in terms of corporate communication. However, when the company faced with such a goal is most often regarded as an impersonal entity, which denies people loans and mortgages, the goal becomes further complicated. That being said, there are many ways in which banks can, and do build communities via Facebook. The Bankwest Facebook, for instance, fan base growth is taking place organically, as the bank’s social media team posts a balanced mix of informative and non-promotional posts. They may not have the largest number of fans on the Australian banking market, but their strategy is perfectly suited for turning their social media profile into a safe place for communication, client support, and news.
Developing Better Products
What many companies overlook, when it comes to their social media profiles, is that they allow them direct access to a wealth of otherwise difficult to access information about their clients. Not only does Facebook allow one to target advertising campaigns based on various demographic and location variables, but the platform is a communication tool, first and foremost. In other words, companies seeking to develop new and improved products, which require testing, tuning, and lots of focus groups, can just go ahead and crowdsource their newest ideas. Feedback will be honest and timely, and, as Mashable reports on 1st Mariner Bank, it may just get bankers to come up with a new and improved financial lifecycle for their products and customers.
Selling Themselves in More Innovative Ways
Marketing and promotion via social media is something that needs to be handled with great care and involves bearing in mind both the constraints of advertising laws, as well as the site-specificity of social media. That being said, social media is all about creating an immersive experience for the user, making him or her feel as if they are part of an empowering community. One American Bank has developed an information hub with advice from the bank’s top financial experts, thus rebranding itself as a gold mine for advice aimed at less savvy consumers. It’s a great approach for a smaller bank, with fewer financial resources at its disposal – but with a lot of vision to its credit.
Category: Social Media
