Italian banks are becoming increasingly social. This is stated by a survey carried out byAbi in collaboration with KPMG Advisory: l85% of the banks interviewed is present on social channels and a further 7% are ready to be present in the next year. Overall, therefore, between those already present and those planning to be, more than 9 out of 10 banks are interested in the issue.
Among the social networks, the presence on four channels stands out in terms of quantity: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn, in fact, are the most used social platforms. On average, each bank present on these channels has activated 7 between profiles and social pages.
According to the research, the profiles of the banks also touch on topics of a different nature than merely economic ones. The topics of social conversations touch on very varied areas and can range from the promotion of art and culture to sport and tourism, that is, all those topics that can "engage" people. 83% of banks have defined an editorial plan for social media.
Among the banks, then, there are some differences between the so-called territorial multi-channels and those which, on the other hand, are native digital. The territorial multi-channel banks are committed to the continuous enrichment of content, also on non-financial topics, and to the evolution of user involvement tools. They are investing time and resources in listening and monitoring the network and increasingly offer a customer assistance service on social networks.
Le digital native banks, are in an advanced stage of development of social platforms and use these channels to promote their brand and their products and services with communication that, in terms of form and content, takes on innovative features. Communication on social profiles is daily, in many cases updates occur several times a day, and the activities concern customer assistance, financial education and prize competitions as well as commercial development.
In terms of objectives, 73% of the banks in the sample aim to strengthen their image and develop their business through social networks. 83% of banks believe that conversations on social media can be related to the purchasing decisions of current and potential customers.
The tools most used by banks to communicate on social networks are images and photos, text-only posts and viral multimedia contents, such as videos, which are used by 83% of banks. Two-thirds of banks are currently engaged in analysis activities to get the pulse of the market.
Management of social channels is considered campaigns from banks. 97% maintain control of it, with a totally internal team or through a mixed team, made up of bank resources supported by external agencies/companies. From an organizational point of view, the perspective is multidisciplinary and multifunctional, with the involvement above all of the marketing and commercial functions, followed by the units dedicated to communication and external relations.
