Social media is all over in our daily life. If we put aside the unnecessary hype about social media – it is still an important tool for us to keep in touch with our friends and family. Today social media have not yet surpassed telephone but it is very close to it.
We all personally or professionally use many tools offered by social platforms to stay in touch – like photo sharing, short messaging, video calling etc.
Social Media and Business:
Social media has many forms and used by many businesses. We use Twitter and Facebook to market our blog and business and planning to expand the reach in future.
For any business this platform can bring tremendous opportunity and no wonder that businesses all over the world are using this tool to deliver and serve their clients.
Wouldn’t It Be Nice If You Are There?
A growing number of Internet users are using social media to communicate. It would be really nice if our banks are actively participating in social media.
Participation in Social Network by Banks:
Ignorance or Ignoring?
If you go to Canadian banks (big 5) website then in their contact page there is no mention of social media whatsoever, except Scotia and TD.
When we looked at the twitter accounts of big Canadian banks – for some it looked like have just reserved the name and then forgot about that.
Upon visiting the web site of CIBC, we found that they have option to share their articles in some social sharing sites but nowhere they have mentioned their official twitter account.
It is not only about opening an account with the social sites but also to actively engage with the customers and users. Only two banks are active on that front right now. Others are waiting and watching them but eventually they will participate.
TD has been active on Twitter for some time now, Scotia is fast catching up with them.
On-line safety and privacy:
We have noticed a nice practice by TD – once they mention any twitter user who may be their potential customer – they quickly delete the tweet. May be a bit overkill but better safe than sorry.
Facebook:
The banks are on Facebook too. It is being used more for brand establishment than user interaction in most of the cases.
Other Media:
Apart from those they also have presence in other media like YouTube, Google Plus, Blogs etc. Only two of them have active and helpful RSS feed in their site. This post alone is not enough to cover it all. We shall look at it some other day.
Reasons For Lack Of Participation:
Well, in one word, they are still skeptical.
The policy makers in the big banks probably do not play Angry Birds.
- It will take time to catch-up. They are also not sure about the possible impact of this exposure – positive or negative?
- In a larger perspective there are still a lot of off-line users and client base to serve.
- The social media users are not that strong in numbers, yet.
Future Of Social Media:
Social media is going to serve the generations to come. The platforms will change but the essence will remain and thrive.
We have only one life, i.e. there is no difference between our virtual and physical life. We are fast adapting to the new digital era.
There will be a time when everything will be on-line including customer service. Sooner or later the banks who are sitting on the sideline will appreciate that there is more to the concept of being on-line than just on-line banking.
What do you think?
We are also on Twitter – @canmort
