Social media has become a powerful and permanent way for consumers to learn about and trust in brands. Yet community banks and credit unions are struggling to leverage this tool’s full potential.
According to the 2015 State of Bank and Credit Union Marketing, 86.5% of the 439 financial institutions surveyed are on Facebook, but only 20% felt it was effective for customer and member engagement. A staggering 93.5% said Twitter is either not productive or only marginally productive. And while one in every six financial institutions are using LinkedIn to acquire new customers/members, only 10% said they are very successful with their efforts.
In the face of so much frustration, financial organizations might be tempted to move their marketing dollars elsewhere. But that would be a short-sighted mistake. Today’s borrowers expect the brands they work with and trust to be active on these sites. Social media is the dominant way that people ages 36 and under learn about new things, with Facebook and Twitter outranking search engines for content discovery, according to a survey of 1,800 millennials by customer experience firm SDL.
Today’s Connected Borrower
Social media is now a pervasive platform for consumers to gather information, comparison shop, and engage with trusted brands. In the U.S., social media users access these sites for 2.7 hours per day, according to the 2015 State of Marketing report. Facebook leads the pack by far, with 71% of online adults logging on last year. LinkedIn and Twitter tie for the second most popular social platform, with 28% of online adults using each site in 2014.
Using social media to market to and engage with consumers is the new normal. An overwhelming 92% of marketers think social media is important for their business, according to the 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Of global marketers, 44% are currently using social media engagement and another 27% are piloting or planning to use it in the next 12 months, according to the 2015 State of Marketing report.
Learn the:FiveBestPractices For Financial Institutions To Effectively Leverage Social
