CorpComms Magazine

Social media brings real challenges to the banking industry, and more than half say that loss of control is the biggest issue relating to social media engagement, according to a recent MHP Communications survey.

The Social Media - Catching up with the Banks survey reveals that the heavy regulation of the banking industry has led to a breakdown in communications between banks and other social media friendly corporations.

More than 70 per cent of respondents said that they consider their industry to be behind the rest in terms of social media activity. None of the banks believed that they were outdoing another.

Even so, 16 per cent have a social media strategy, and more than one quarter are in the process of putting one into action. More than 40 per cent are creating a social media strategy, while three per cent have abandoned the idea altogether. And 13 per cent have not even thought about a strategy yet.

More than six out of ten banks think social media should be about building company awareness with their customers, while more than half view the platform as a way of creating visibility with their partners. Almost half of respondents see social media as a PR tool.

The majority of respondents believed traditional media was the most important type of media in terms of having the biggest impact on their reputation. Blogs were ranked fourth and Twitter came in fifth, while wall posts, viral videos and other social media were considered least effective.

The survey found that more than half believe that microblogging site Twitter will become more influential, and 48 per cent believe that LinkedIn will become much more important within the next year.

Andrew Nicolls, managing director at MHP Communications, said: 'There are now a host of successful examples of how banks can benefit from carefully planned social media engagement programmes. These range from improving corporate reputation to creating a better customer experience to using platforms as easily accessible news distribution channels.'

The major challenge is how the banks will be able to make better use of social media platforms such as Twitter, and whether these platforms will take over traditional media if used in the right way.

Nicolls said: 'Social media has become so common that it is now by definition mainstream and the line between traditional and digital media has undoubtedly become blurred at the edges. What is important now is the correct guidance and understanding of how to navigate a complex social media landscape.'

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit | Tweet