The significance of social media has never been greater. In this article, we’ll discuss how social media can make our lives easier and how banks can use them to their advantage. The average person spends more time on social media than any other activity in this digital era. Since hundreds of millions of active users are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, banks can’t ignore social media marketing.
What online resources can banks use?
A bank’s primary goal is to protect its clients (especially during economic headwinds) and offer them financial convenience. This concept is taken to another level by social media. Here are a few online resources banks could use:
Creating access to information
Social media marketing is a fantastic way to give clients more convenience. Many fear banks and only use their services when necessary. Lack of knowledge is the cause of this issue.
Social media is an excellent way for the financial services industry to share important information like interest rates, credit, loans, fees, etc. Customers are likely to find banks more approachable if they provide this information on a site like Facebook. The creation of educational content and images can achieve incredible results. Also, when specific information is put online, it can reach many people and be made easier to understand.
Consumer assistance
Customer service is undoubtedly a crucial part of using social media. When customers have problems with their accounts, the internet gives them a direct and honest way to talk about it. Typically, calling banks takes time due to traffic and delays in processing. Social media networks enable customer support to troubleshoot issues much more quickly. The best thing banks can get from social media is the ability to set up a team to help customers through live chat.
Bringing in new clients
Existing customers cannot guarantee a bank’s continued success. However, a healthy bank will balance the number of new and current customers. Financial institutions can use social media marketing to ensure this balance. For example, a bank may draw in new clients by offering incentives for customers to open an account with your bank. You need to use SEO techniques in your postings so that people looking for financial services can find your bank and its offers. That’s why it’s crucial to use social media to link to your main website. Visitors will go above and beyond and check the website for further information.
Advertising collaborations
Partnerships are the best way to motivate customers. An example of this would be special discounts offered to your bank’s credit card holders. Or you could hold an online contest with a prize from a linked partner. Again, customers will be interested because taking part in the post will help them directly.
The advantages of social media
There is a lot that marketing can accomplish with social media. However, banks must realize that social media offers some benefits that traditional channels cannot obtain.
Instant trend response
One must be quick to adapt to the fast-paced atmosphere of social media. As a result, marketing trends may be quickly identified and explored. Furthermore, it enables your bank to reassess and create a plan considering these developments. Additionally, banks that promptly capitalize on a trend will receive greater visibility and interaction due to how algorithms operate.
Establish public relations
By having a presence on social media, banks can talk to current and potential customers in a casual setting. Success on every network depends on having a “brand persona,” but Twitter and Instagram require it more than other platforms. A fantastic way to communicate your institution’s values and the guiding principles it adheres to is to provide a developed persona of your organization.
Cost-effective
Social media marketing is typically less expensive than its alternatives. To begin with, anyone who takes the time to learn about social media’s subtleties can join it for no cost, and anyone can comprehend the algorithms. You can pay a set amount regularly on social media platforms to boost the visibility of your posts. As a result, an online marketing effort benefits a bank while costing less.
Social media banking: What is it?
Although it isn’t official terminology, social media banking combines social media and financial service providers into a single phenomenon, where web portals make it simple to access a bank’s functions. It would save on printing expenses and promote crowdsourcing. And, more than ever, the focus will be on the customers’ needs.
Recommended practices for social media marketing include:
Start by making the main point clear: In the opening three seconds of a video, 63% of TikTok patterns with the highest click-through rate showcase the main idea or item. Users on social media have a brief attention span, so banks must communicate with them as soon as possible.
Utilise trends: Similarly, 21% of the videos with excellent view-through rates use current music, effects, or trends. To gain more visibility, banks could take advantage of trends like vlog-style and tutorial-style videos.
Humanise business: Instead of static photographs, banks can humanize their brand and message by using real people in their campaigns. You can develop a strong connection with the audience by using images and language that everyone can understand. Using information and messages that are raw and real is another way to make your business seem natural.
Be inclusive: One other technique to ensure your business comes off as genuine is to use inclusive images. Banks need to represent different groups on social media so the campaign will do well in many places. This includes the contents’ visuals, phrasing, tone, and context.
Get the basics right: Finally, remember the fundamentals. Videos for social media should always be full screen (vertical), high-definition, with music, voice-over, or a combination of the two, and should be succinct and to the point. In what ways do banks help society? In society, banks play a variety of roles. But to put it plainly, they represent the financial services industry and offer individuals financial solutions.
Reduce expenditures and effort: When teams, departments, and individual advisors use social media in concert, social activities are most effective. Most likely, a shared social media management platform is involved.
Both employees and brands can benefit from a content library. Content that has already been pre-approved and is compliant is available to staff. When employees share a consistent message that advances strategic objectives, brands are at ease.
There is no waste of time or money when everything is kept in one central library. The top two issues that financial advisers have with social media are addressed by this pre-approved library: Limited time & apprehension about making a mistake.
Offer centralized digital customer support: Customer service must adapt to the growing digitalization of the financial sector. Customers want to communicate with companies on the platforms where they currently hang out. That could refer to social media platforms like Facebook, and Instagram or messaging services like WhatsApp.
You may coordinate your customer assistance across all channels by using social customer service solutions. You can sync discussions with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) at the same time. This makes sure you adhere to compliance standards for both record-keeping and response times.
Additionally, you may employ social media bots to respond to straightforward customer care requests or direct visitors to already-existing resources on your website. To match consumers with the appropriate members of your customer service staff, you can even utilize bots to screen incoming requests.
A useful tool for creating a centralized social customer support program is Sparkcentral from Hootsuite (A customer care platform that helps brands to engage with their audiences and manage conversations seamlessly on messaging channels/social networking sites).
View actual business outcomes: Simply put, social media has demonstrable, tangible effects on your bottom line.
According to 81% of financial advisers who utilize social media, their social media initiatives have helped them acquire new company assets. In actuality, successful social media users who work as consultants report gaining an average of USD 1.9 million in assets.
According to Deloitte’s Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, young people are becoming more optimistic about their own financial positions. Overall, though, both of these groups continue to worry about their financial stability.
Campaign content and influencer marketing integration: A recent survey found that 75% of Gen Z and millennial customers who use social media to seek financial advice follow particular social media influencers that provide material on personal finance. 45% of those who sought help report acting on the advice.
It is obvious that influencers have a significant impact on the financial world. Real-time sharing of open, personal experiences will make viewers feel connected and inspire them to act similarly or based on what they see. It’s crucial to advise viewers to conduct their own research before making any financial decisions because influencers typically lack the same training as professional financial advisors.
Relationships between consumers and financial organizations are significantly shifting. Banks can benefit from the transition by utilizing social marketing to forge closer relationships with clients rather than falling behind. We go into more detail below:
Comfortable and secure
People can benefit from banks’ convenience. With a bank account, you have a safe and secure place to deposit money and know it’s being handled carefully. Banks also keep adequate transaction records if it becomes necessary to present them (taxes, etc.). The security at a bank is unbeatable, and there are many ways to ensure that no one else can get to your money without your permission.
Managing your money
The convenience of saving is another benefit of having a bank account. You will be able to live comfortably knowing that you won’t need to worry about money if you keep up with your savings account.
Transferring funds
Sending money to and from any place benefits the modern, highly connected world. You can count on banks to follow the proper steps to move money to the account you want without any problems.
Campaign content and influencer marketing integration
Influencers have a significant impact on the financial world. Real-time sharing of open, personal experiences will connect viewers and inspire them to act similarly or based on what they see. But it’s important to tell your audience to do their research before making any financial decisions since influencers usually don’t have the same training as professional financial advisors. Relationships between consumers and financial organizations are significantly shifting. Banks can take advantage of the change by using social marketing to get closer to their clients and keep up with the times instead of falling behind.
Four more tips:
Put compliance first
Your brain might spin with all the compliance obligations, including FINRA, FCA, FFIEC, IIROC, SEC, PCI, AMF, and GDPR.
In particular, to regulate independent advisors’ use of social media, it is crucial to have compliance protocols and technologies in place.
As you create your social media strategy for the financial services industry, incorporate your compliance team. They’ll offer valuable advice on the actions you should take to safeguard your brand.
All social media posts should go via the proper chain of approvals, which is equally vital. For instance, FINRA declares:
Before using any social media platform that an affiliated person wants to use for business, a registered principal must review it.
Keep a complete archive
Although this is a matter of compliance, it is significant enough to warrant mentioning separately. Firms and their registered representatives must keep records of discussions pertaining to their “business as such,” according to FINRA.
The minimum retention period for those records is three years. The interfaces between Hootsuite and compliance software like Brolly and Smarsh archive all social media communications for you. Your social media content will be saved in a safe database that can be searched, complete with the original context.
Carry out a social media analysis
You compile information on all of your company’s social media outlets in a social media audit. You also take note of any essential details pertaining to each. You will look for any phony or unofficial accounts at the same time so you can shut them down.
List every account that your internal staff usually utilizes to get started. But keep in mind that this is just the beginning. You must search for dated or dormant accounts as well as department-specific accounts.
Make a note of the social media sites where you don’t have any social accounts while you’re at it. Perhaps it’s time to create some profiles there.
Introduce a social media strategy
Your organization’s usage of social media is governed by a social media policy. Accounts for your agents and advisors are also included. Contact each of the pertinent teams in your company, including Compliance, legal\IT, information protection, marketing, public relations, and human resources, all of these teams ought to contribute. This will lessen compliance difficulties while assisting you in maintaining a consistent brand identity.
So that everyone is aware of the procedure for a social post, your policy will also specify team roles and approval processes. The annoyance that social media might not move as swiftly as some would like can be lessened by being clear upfront.
Security issues might also be associated with using social media for financial industry activities. Include a section in your social media policy that describes security precautions for social media’s less seductive features. For instance, specify how frequently software should be updated and passwords should be changed.
Conclusion
As financial markets change, digital means largely supplanted branch banking. Therefore, the bank’s ability to maintain sustainable development in the current environment hinges on its ability to transform into a digitally savvy company, especially in the marketing divisions.
Customers, especially young people who are tech-savvy, find it easier to look around, make purchases, and keep track of their portfolios online. So, the biggest problem in this area is getting the right product to the right customer quickly.
Nowadays, very few young people visit a bank branch since they find internet transactions much more straightforward. Today, it is far simpler to reach the millennial population online than in person at bank offices. Banks too have made several technological improvements that work with mobile and social media.
Social media makes it easy for brands/businesses to get quick consumer behaviour information and formulate marketing trends toward the target customers. Depending on how quickly banks understand the truth, it will decide their future.