Social media is an important channel of interactive, two-way messaging for many industries, and banking and financial institutions stand to greatly benefit from using this medium to help distribute information. Although social media outlets provide opportunities for banks to engage with current and potential customers, there are also obstacles that banks must overcome to implement a successful social media strategy. One of the most complex issues facing financial institutions in this realm is that of online reputation management.
While some banks seem to be behind the times when it comes to adopting social media and new technologies, it is not always because of a lack of desire to integrate them. Rather, these financial instructions face a number of challenges in the area of digital reputation management, namely in facilitating a large volume of comments – and not all of them positive.
One major challenge in managing the client feedback issue is the allocation of resources dedicated to social media management. Limited resources pose an even greater challenge to a company that has so many client-facing interactions in touchy circumstances. For instance, a person who has just learned that his bank has foreclosed on his home might direct his angry tirade at the financial institution. This situation has the potential to lead to a very public outburst on social media. This customer service orientation skews the purpose of instituting a successful social media program.
Even in cases where banks might have the allocated resources to maintain control of customer relationships via social media, another threat to implementation of a successful program pertains to federal and state regulation. In this regard, there are numerous stipulations in place as to what can, and what cannot, be done on social media. In fact, it’s so highly regulated, that in some financial service industries, these companies are forbidden from “liking” others’ content, as it may be considered an endorsement. Along the same lines, in some cases banks cannot “share” content unless it has been vetted for regulatory purposes by a professional association.
[quote]With so many legal and regulatory mandates in place to how social media managers may address certain issues, these efforts can become more complicated than in other industries.[/quote]
Luckily, banks are not without options. For instance, they can implement social media listening to help inform them of customer service issues before they become larger, unmanageable issues. One approach is to integrate a plan that encourages positive feedback and reviews, which has potential to catch fire and become contagious among the audience.
In fact, the team at BIGEYE’s Orlando marketing agency has significant experience in working with financial institutions to help develop their social media marketing campaigns, incorporating strategies for digital reputation management as a component of the plan. Through ongoing digital research and strategic planning, we can help your bank address these needs to implement a successful social media initiative, while keeping in mind resource management to implement cost-effective solutions.
If you’re interested in learning more about how BIGEYE’s social media team can offer valuable insights to grow your business’ reach through proactive social media measures, please contact us for a consultation, and to learn more about our services.
