By John Ginovsky

Bankers definitely are interested in how Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the rest of the social media channels can help them—but still are looking for answers. That’s what ABA’s Corporation for American Banking has found recently, through surveys and focus groups. Based on banker feedback, CAB has solicited proposals from a number of companies as part of the due diligence that may lead to a CAB endorsement. Product demos are underway now, and an endorsement decision/announcement is likely in the second quarter of 2012.

Tech Topics talked with CAB representatives and others at the association to find out what the bankers they’ve spoken with are saying about social media.

 

 

• Tech Topics: What has CAB learned about what bankers really want as far as social media is concerned?

Lisa Gold Schier, senior vice-president, CAB: Based on banker feedback, we’re focusing on two areas. One is sentiment monitoring, which is helping bankers understand where and how the bank’s name has been used on the web. The other area is compliance.

Kimberly Smith, director, CAB: The compliance piece is more on the front end, helping the banks with their postings. If a bank wants to put something on Facebook, [the compliance product] would help make sure the information is accurate and meets any type of regulations the bank itself may have. [The content] would go into a portal where it would sit to be approved by an administrative person in the bank before it would go to the web.

 

 

• Tech Topics: What are bankers saying about social media, in general? Why are they interested?

 

Gold Schier: They see they can use this to talk about what they are doing within the community. Not so much as an ego thing but to say, for example, “Do you know we’re going to be over at the veteran’s home today?”...It can tie into what the bank might already be doing but didn’t have a good avenue for sharing with the community.

We’re starting to see a little bit more about banks using it to reach out to specific communities. They might have a LinkedIn network and a way to reach certain clientele that way.

Smith: A lot of bankers are looking for a way to build their brand awareness, as well.

Denyette DePierro, senior counsel, ABA: One way community banks and regional banks have an advantage is their discrete geographical footprint.…There’s a bank in Texas that actually has started a LinkedIn group with a focus on female entrepreneurs, almost their own chamber of commerce of sorts…They then invite those people into the bank for in-person meet-and-greet networking functions.

John Capotosto, director, ABA Marketing Network: It has evolved so much that we know [social media] as another marketing channel to develop business through social networking, community outreach.

 

 

• Tech Topics: Is the ultimate point of social media to get people to go into the branches or to log on to the online banking site?

Capotosto: [One outcome] would be to drive customer acquisition and provide the underpinning of customer loyalty…When Joe on his Facebook page shares his opinion or experience with a particular bank, that can go to 100 other people. All of a sudden it’s the word-of-mouth marketing, which really becomes a strong thing.

 

 

• Tech Topics: How does a banker measure all this?

Gold Schier: That’s one of the things we’re looking at as we go through the due diligence process. To be able to know who clicked through, where they went, what they ended up purchasing.

DePierro: The technology has developed so you can measure return on investment, when you couldn’t three years ago. We’re also hearing back from bankers about the need to track “soft ROI.” That’s when your CEO goes out to a community meeting and people start their conversations with, “Hey, I saw that great YouTube video your bank posted!” That kind of feedback is a form of measurement.

http://www.aba.com/CAB/default.htm

About the Author John Ginovsky is contributing editor of ABA Banking Journal and editor of the publication’s TechTopics e-newsletter. For more than two decades he has written about the commercial banking industry. In particular, he’s specialized in the technological side of banking and how it relates to the actual business of banking. He previously was senior editor for Community Banker magazine (which merged with ABA Banking Journal) and was a staff writer for ABA’s Bankers News.

[This article was posted on February 8, 2012, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com.]

TrackBack URI for this entry