How financial services can hit their social media sweetspots

HOW TO HIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SWEETSPOT

Michael Taggart
Head of digital and social
MRM

Suddenly, everyone is talking about Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and the rest.

The UK’s biggest and best brands are selling their wares, promoting themselves and conducting customer services on the social web.

But what about financial services?
A bank, insurer, adviser or fund manager tweeting? Wouldn’t that be a bit like...

...watching your dad dance?
But what about financial services?
A bank, insurer, adviser or fund manager tweeting? Wouldn’t that be a bit like......

Then there are these issues
1. Compliance

Then there are these issues
1. Compliance
2. Financial services are boring

To work out how to hit your sweetspot, you need to understand:

Where social media came from, what it has changed and why that matters;
How to join the conversations that could affect your business or maybe already are;
How to influence those taking part;
And how to check if your efforts are working for you...

Where social media came from, what it has changed and why that matters;
How to join the conversations that could affect your business or maybe already are;
How to influence those taking part;
And how to check if your efforts are working for you...without looking like a dancing dad.

But let’s start at the beginning

But let’s start at the beginning
Before the world changed

In the 1980s, most businesses communicated only like this

It reached you like this

And like this...

But it wasn’t exactly a conversation

Then, along came the internet...and communications looked more like this

People soon realised that if they could talk to the company, then they could complain, review and ask inconvenient questions.
So marketers removed ‘unhelpful comments’.Which led to people questioning the point of engaging with a company that censored real conversation, when you could interact with peers instead?

So this happened...and it changed everything

The social web is about multi-faceted communication where you follow people, and people follow you. And every user is at the centre of a network of people and ideas that that are relevant to him or her.
The reason people went online in the past was so that they could see things, experience things, and search for things. The reason people go online today is to be a part of other people's communication. To be connected, to be there, to be available, to join the conversation.

That’s why these are so popular

UK social media usage by numbers
26m active users (42% of pop.)
5m active users
17m active users
4m active users

It means you can’t dress up poor products in shiny packaging anymore
IT’S RUBBISH ONCE YOU GET THE PACKAGING OFF!
OUR PRODUCT IS BRILLIANT, LOOK AT THE PACKAGING!
?
!!!!

So how do you
sell your financial services
on the
social web?

Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
PERMISSION
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission
Permission

That means you don’t always talk about yourself…

That means you don’t always talk about yourself…
...you help others and share
content that will be useful to them

And when you are talking about your products, you don’t market them…

And when you are talking about your products, you don’t market them…
...you share them

Start by listening...to find out
What people are saying about you, your competitors and your industry
Who the influencers are in those conversations
Where they ‘hang out’ on the social web

Why? So you can...
Join the communities that matter to you
Identify critics and turn them into advocates
Identify advocates and turn them into evangelists
Generate sales leads
Gather feedback
Spot threats before they become crises
Defend your reputation by responding to negative feedback

MRM conversation audits
Measure metrics
Make sense of data in relation to business objectives
Make recommendations

Content Marketing

When you can’t get in the media,
create the media
Good content marketing is:
Unique
Useful
Polished
A good match with the media channel

We’ll help you...
Prepare your content ‘to go’

We’ll help you...
Think in ‘bite sizes’

We’ll help you...
Embrace Twitter

We’ll help you...
Embrace Twitter
Make a blog your ‘content engine’

We’ll help you...
Embrace Twitter
Make a blog your ‘content engine’
Become a curator

Community Building

We’re digital natives who know the rules of engagement...we’ll help you
Feed the beast
Promote your community and their stuff
Engage in realtime

Crisis Management

We’ll help you...
Listen
Assess
Act decisively
Fish where the fish are
Be polite
Take control
Redirect the crisis
Follow up

Word of Mouth

We’ll help you...
Influence the influencers
Energise brand advocates
Create ‘social proof’

To have your cake and eat it...
HAVE YOUR
CAKE AND
EAT IT!

CONTACT
Michael Taggart, MRM
Email: michael.taggart@mrm-london.com
Twitter: @michael_taggart
Blog: www.mrm-london.com
Tel: 020 3326 9913
Mob: 07780 008939

Attribution
All images used under Creative Commons licence:
SLIDES 1, 9,10, 11: Sweet Sunday Afternoon by Mankamundo
SLIDE 6: Dancing Dad by MrManc
SLIDE 7: No Entry Painted1 by Satguru
SLIDE 8: Yawn! by QuinnAnya
SLIDES 12, 13: Blue Marble (Planet Earth) by Nasa Goddard Flight Centre
SLIDE 15: Reading the newspaper by pedrosimoes7
SLIDE 16: Television Desert Dream by canthc
SLIDE 17: Radio by…
SLIDE 18: One Way Ewell2 by SatGuru
SLIDES 32, 33: Ear by Menage a Moi
SLIDE 35: Arsat Fisheye Test by The Nige
SLIDE 42:Overflowing Ants by Jaxxon
SLIDE 43:Attendees of the 1898 Indian Congress [Afraid of Eagle, Sioux] by Boston Public Library
SLIDE 44: Licorne2 by Pierre J
SLIDE 46: I don't think you have washed this bit by Eleda
SLIDE: 49: Day 163 – Happy Birthday by Christophe Verdier

How financial services can hit their social media sweetspots

by Michael Taggart

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