Banking and Social Media, The New Paradigm - the 4 Main Components of Social Media Strategy III/IV (Client Acquisition)

Components of Social Media Strategy

• Corporate Branding (find blog post here)
• Personal Branding (find blog post here)
• Client Acquisition (this blog post)
• Client Retention (future blog post)

3) Client Acquisition

6 Tips How to Use Social Media for Personal Branding

1.  Use those social medias, which are right for YOU and which fit YOUR needs. (Myspace might be great for a musician who wants to become more famous, but rather not for a bank employee who is looking for a new job).
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2. Set realistic goals and remain focused
   
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3. Plan your Social Media activities properly
   
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4. Be interactive. Social Media is not just about loading up your personal data. Interact and communicate with your contacts online
   
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5. Generate and provide value for your Social Media friends, contacts and followers
   
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6. Measure the degree of achievement for the goals you set. 

Learn more about this topic at the SKO-TrendShops  2012  "Personal Branding mit Social Media"

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Banking and Social Media, The New Paradigm - the 4 Main Components of Social Media Strategy II/IV (Personal Branding)

 

Components of Social Media Strategy

• Corporate Branding (find blog post here)
• Personal Branding (this blog post)
• Client Acquisition (find blog post here)
• Client Retention (future blog post)

2) Personal Branding ...for Client Advisors

 

In general to support their corporate branding its helpful that companies encourage employees in their activities to build up an own valuable web presence with social media. A positive and professional personal branding of employees will reflect on the company in a positive way.

When the individual web presence of employees is important for companies in general e.g. a food company, how important must it then be for a bank, to whom clients entrusts with all their savings.

In our days, when evaluating new employees HR responsibles very often research in the internet as well. Some companies (→ report Wall Street Journal Online February 2012) are not interested anymore in receiving CV's but ask potential candidates to send them links with evidence on their web presence.

Hiring the wrong person can generate a loss of a full years salary. Bad client advisory and wrong investments can cost far more. Therefore as a potential client, I would be very interested to learn more about the person to whom I entrust with all my assets and all my confidential information, before even transferring my funds. Funny enough many of my colleagues working as client advisors do not have a web presence at all, no XING, no LinkedIn and no Facebook.

Again if I wanted advisory service on investing a fortune o a few millions, I would asks my Relationship Manager to give me access to at least his Facebook, XING and Facebook profile. A relationship manager not having a web presence doesn't need to be bad. Only I would not have the transparency I want. Would a HR responsible hire a candidate where he can not make a clear judgment due to lack of information. No he wouldn't!...Neither would I and should a client accept a client advisor where he can not judge properly.

Therefore it should be of big interest for banks, to coach their client advisors on the crucial elements and the key content of personal social media profiles. Client advisors should understand how having a convincing CV and description of the own personality can have a positive impact on future or even existing clients. Reading recommendations by other XING, LinkedIn members, finding out that there are some common contacts or even seeing on Facebook that their future client advisor has a social life and is a great person will certainly influence wealthy individuals in a positive way.

Of course the above mentioned may not be needed to consider for 60 year old clients. For 25 year olds, who spend an important part of their life on Facebook or social medias in general I certainly would recommend to give it a few thoughts....at least.

Keep in mind “Facebook might be tomorrows golf court. Instead of fighting to have a good golf handicap, Relationship Managers maybe should rather fight to have a good web presence”

... to be continued  --> Social Media Strategy "Client Acquisition and Retention"

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Banking and Social Media, The New Paradigm - the 4 Main Components of Social Media Strategy I/IV (Corporate Branding)

  

Predictions on banking industry

• Assuming moderate and stable economic growth, we expect total household wealth to rise by more than 50% in the next 5 years from USD 231 trillion in 2011 to USD 345 trillion by 2016 (CS Global Wealth Report 2011)
• Administration costs will increase, profit margins will decrease
• Competition among banks has been increasing and will increase further

Banking will remain an interesting business to stay in, but a tough one. In order to prosper, Social Media is crucial

Components of Social Media Strategy

• Corporate Branding
• Personal Branding
• Client Acquisition and Retention
  

1) Corporate Branding

 

Twenty years ago, marketing and corporate branding for banks was a no go (at least in Switzerland). From the outside you could not even recognize that it was a bank. As we all know, this has changed and marketing and advertising has become very important for banks as well.

The next step is/is going to be corporate branding with Social Media. The current branding with Social Media reminds me a bid of the first car after the horse-drawn carriage. This car still looked pretty much like horse-drawn carriage. Same with Social Media. Banks keep on relying on what they know and so,  they apply the usual marketing approach and methods. 

Keep in mind, 20 years olds spend plenty of time online, on Facebook for example. They are there for having fun. Becoming a fan of a bank's Facebook page is not so much about fun. So banks give them fun on Social Media. Why not offering something similar to FarmVille  --> a social network game on Facebook. On the top FarmVille had 80 million users. 

Instead of letting them build there own farm:

• Let them build their own bank. Let them compare with their friends. Show a ranking. Let them form teams to build the bank together. 
• Give them a possibility participate in a social network stock trading game. Generate scenarios and provide them informations, on which they can try to predict future development of their stocks. Teach them like that, the basics about stock markets. 
• Or instead of calculating based on their Facebook data, what animal they are or how many children the will have, give them the possibility to find out, what “investment personality" they are”.

 The list can be extended arbitrarily but in brief you just have to provide fun and value.

Corporate Branding (this blog post)

Personal Branding (find blog post here)

Client Acquisition (find blog post here)

Client Retention (future blog post)

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