Social media is changing the way the world communicates, with almost four out of every 10 people across the globe now active on social media platforms. If banks are not utilising this channel to engage with customers, they could be missing an opportunity to deepen existing relationships or reach out to new audiences such as millennials. Many predict that within five years’ time, customers will use social media as their primary source of bank communication.
However, being active on social media is not just about taking general content and posting on it on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or WeChat. To be successful, banks need to design relevant, interesting and stimulating content that customers will not only consume but also share – effectively amplifying their digital distribution channel. In addition, visual communication, such as video, picture stories and infographics, has risen in importance as the way people absorb information has evolved.
Employees should also be considered an important part of a social media strategy; however, most banks remain reticent to let them post bank-related content on their personal pages, profiles and feeds, citing security, regulatory and risk-related reasons.
But banning staff from engaging in social media is not a sustainable strategy. Although criminals can exploit social media for their own ends, including creating fraudulent accounts and using phishing techniques to gather personal information, educating staff on how to participate in social media safely can actually help in the prevention of cyber attacks.
In addition, innovative start-up companies that fall under the ‘regtech’ (regulatory technology) category are developing solutions for monitoring and recording social media activity to ensure banks are compliant with regulatory requirements in different jurisdictions.
Social media usage has expanded beyond purely communication and marketing/sales to encompass risk management, customer service, product development and recruitment. It is time banks took a deeper look at all that social media has to offer.
