(PART 3 of 3)
We have a lot of community banks and credit unions asking us about Social Media. "How can we…?" "Should we…?" "Can you help…?"
Well, to all you community banks and credit unions … Yes we can! Yes you should (probably)! Here’s how…
As you consider Social Media, or as you craft your plan, consider the following:
RESPONSIBILITIES /RESOURCES
If social media is all about getting people talking, than the most important resource in social media are the people who DO the talking. The structure of each organization is different … some institutions allow tellers to post, some only allow management. Identify the structure that best fits your culture.
You must first identify your Social Media evangelists - those individuals that use the social media tools to engage a given audience and share ideas, service, solutions and company information. Then create an “Authority Flow Chart”: A hierarchy of responsibilities from those that contribute, to those that police and approve to those that handle negative comments.
RESPONDING TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
No one likes negative feedback. But negative comments will happen whether you’re on Facebook and Twitter or not. It is important to document who will respond, what your response will be, and the method you will use to respond -- on the site page or with a phone call -- if a negative comment is made by social media. This is an opportunity to proactively address issues and manage perceptions. The worst thing you can do is to ignore negativity and pretend it never happened. In general, you should view negative comments as a gift and take the opportunity to learn what is not working in your process. This can actually help you to provide better customer service.
No one likes negative feedback. But negative comments will happen whether you’re on Facebook and Twitter or not. It is important to document who will respond, what your response will be, and the method you will use to respond -- on the site page or with a phone call -- if a negative comment is made by social media. This is an opportunity to proactively address issues and manage perceptions. The worst thing you can do is to ignore negativity and pretend it never happened. In general, you should view negative comments as a gift and take the opportunity to learn what is not working in your process. This can actually help you to provide better customer service.
BUILDING A FOLLOWING
“Social,” by its very definition, is communal. It is at its most productive when you are reaching people and getting them talking. That said, a core objective of any social media initiative is to build a following.
“Social,” by its very definition, is communal. It is at its most productive when you are reaching people and getting them talking. That said, a core objective of any social media initiative is to build a following.
This does NOT mean that a single-minded focus on “Likes” is appropriate. It is better to build quality contacts over sheer quantity. To accomplish this, you must have a relationship focus to your communications rather than simply a transactional focus. Collecting “Likes” is one measurement … facilitating quality conversations is a much more important one.
TRAINING & GUIDELINES
Each employee is a representative of the bank or credit union brand - in and out of the office. The general rule of thumb is, “If you wouldn’t make a comment to the company president, don’t post it online.”
Your social media plan should include detailed guidelines including:
- Employee Code of Conduct for Online Communications
- Employee Personal Social Network Policy
- Corporate Social Networking Policy
- Corporate Blogging Policy
SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES
Avoid these common Social Media pitfalls:
- Running specials all the time
- Waiting for people to find you
- Running contests and games constantly
- Blocking negative feedback
- Waiting 24 hours to respond
- Not connecting your channels
- Not continually monitoring
- Simply focusing on “Likes”
MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community. We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate MOMENTUM and yield the greatest RESULTS for your bottom line.
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