The role of social media in UK banking?
Social media is already part of the everyday life of most people on earth. Currently, no business runs successfully without a social media page and communication with its customers through it.
Banks are no exception in this trend, especially challenger banks took social media to the mainstream.
So, which platforms are a key focus of banks?
Facebook and LinkedIn dominate in terms of followers as might be expected from the audience and profile of the banks themselves.
I personally use LinkedIn to read updates on banks and also the audience on these platforms is mature enough to understand complexities and special terms used in the industry.
The analyses show Twitter and Instagram are less popular among the banking audience in terms of followers however some challengers are using these platforms to attract more customers. For example, Starling Bank has developed some exciting content for Instagram and demonstrated that if the content is right, an audience will engage.
I believe the importance of these platforms will increase among marketers as more challenger banks start introducing services for the younger generation customers.
For example, Instagram has a suite of tools available to help with engagement, for example, IGTV/stories/highlights and most recently reels, and these are not being used at all.
Very few of the banks are teaming up with influencers on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. Starling bank is an example of one that has an active influencer outreach program, which it showcases on Instagram.
Tiktok is another platform that is actively used by influencers. Recently, US challenger bank Step and Tiktok influencer Charli D’Amelio have also launched a $100,000 giveaway to mark the banking app’s launch.
What types of content are positively engaged with?
Research by NMD+ shows the following types of content had the most positive engagement:
- Technical difficulty updates
- New product features (e.g. Revolut rainbow card in support of LGBTQ+)
- Traditional banking features that customers may have forgotten about or never know about (e.g. left-handed checkbooks)
- Banking advice/tips, e.g. blog-style posts ( we found these had the most likes)
- Questions directed at customers, e.g. “Can money buy you happiness?” ( we found these had the most comments)
- Business achievements — most engaged with on LinkedIn
- Competitions (e.g. Starling bank’s holiday competition; we found these had the most shares)
- Scam/fraud prevention advice
- Charitable partnerships
- Statistics/facts
What types of content are negatively engaged with the most by customers?
Research by NMD+ also shows, the following types of content had the most negative reactions:
- Comedic posts
- Posts about employees except on LinkedIn
- Images with no context, link, or text explanation
Obviously, every platform has a target audience and purpose, therefore, the type of content banks share should be targeted to correctly engage with their customers.
What is the future role of social media in banking?
I believe the role of social media will further increase in banking and especially the fintech market as banks become more digital and integrated with customers' everyday life.
The future of banking is on social media platforms. The trend has already started in Asian countries where companies such as Tencent with its Wechat platform combine fintech, social media, and many more.
Banks and fintech companies in the UK and EU are already trying to build super apps, however, those are focus only on the financial life of customers whereas they should cover more than that. These companies eventually will start to integrate their service to other platforms including social media to win the ever-increasing competition.
