The marketing landscape has changed for brands across the world. Naturally, the world we live in is no longer what it used to be. If any bank or credit union is going to keep up, they must learn how to navigate this new digital and social world. Why? Because this is now the world where consumers interact and engage online with family, friends, and yes – their brands.

Some industries have quickly adapted to change, and implemented social strategies. However, the financial industry is met with many restrictions that other industries do not have.

With growing concerns of how banks and financial institutions can remain compliant while utilizing social media effectively, we felt it important for banks and credit unions to learn how to balance the two.

#BankSocial reached out to Ben Pankonin, the CEO of Social Assurance, a social media management solution for financial institutions, to ask him a few questions.

The Interview

Ben, what are the biggest compliance concerns you see when working on social media with banks and credit unions?

“Some banks and credit unions still operate without adequate control in place of social. What do we mean by that? Simply handing the keys to all social accounts to an intern should be a concern for organizations of any size. However, setting up specific roles and responsibilities will keep you from scrambling, provide a framework for procedures, and give executives peace of mind.”

So what are some best practices banks and credit unions can use to alleviate these concerns?

“Obviously using the right tools within your social strategy can help alleviate some of the concerns these institutions may have. Often we see governance as a way to talk about the latest complaints we have on social media. Instead, we suggest that it is far better to spend your time figuring out an authentic voice and approaching new strategies.”

Do you believe banks and credit unions can have an effective social media strategy without violating compliance? If so, what should they focus on?

“Yes. It does require software, policies, and procedures to get there. But once those things  have been incorporated into your social media strategy, we believe that financial institutions of any size can create a compliant solution to social media.”

Lastly Ben, what advice do you have for banks and credit unions when creating a social media strategy (from a non-compliance standpoint, and more of a content standpoint)?

“Focus on building meaningful relationships digitally. In this day in age, even your closest family relationships are maintained through digital means. Tools are important, but so are relationships. If you execute social media well, you won’t just have more relationships, you will have deeper relationships.”

A big thanks to Ben Pankonin for taking the time to provide these powerful insights. It was truly great advice! Ben emphasized how important it is to use the correct tools when trying to remain compliant, while still creating content that is exciting and engaging for customers and prospects.

So What Are Some Tools That Banks Can Use?

Tools to help your FI monitor multiple channels.

Whether they are posting to Facebook, Tweeting on Twitter, or sharing photos on Instagram, many of your customers use multiple channels when using social media. This means, that your FI needs to be in a million places at once. Using a tool that allows you to monitor all these channels from a single location, will keep your FI organized and help ensure that you don’t miss any activity.

Tools to help your FI enforce social security.

As banks and financial institutions, we have read article after article about cyber security. It seems as though every other day, another retailer is announcing a breach. That being said, it is important to make sure that when expanding digitally, banks make sure their profiles remain secure. The last thing they want is to become the latest social media scandal. Making sure your profiles are secure includes, assigning roles and access-levels to your employees. While the president of your bank may have full access to all social media capabilities, an intern might not.

Tools to help your FI have control with record keeping.

Social media works in the time frame of now. Customers are constantly posting to, editing, and deleting, their social media platforms. Having the ability to flag content, and archive it allows your FI to keep track of all social media activity that occurs.

Tools to help you manage your content.

As your FI continues to post more and more, it can become challenging to keep track of scheduling and maintaining a consistent release of content. Using tools to schedule, create, and measure your content’s effectiveness, will enable you to create content that is more engaging and released more efficiently.

Hopefully these tools will help you create and implement your social media strategy. If you take your time to equip yourself with the necessary tools to remain compliant, there should be no reason why your bank  or credit union can’t execute a successful social media strategy.

Who’s with us? Let us know in the comments section below !

#BankSocialMedia Vendor Displays here in the exhibit hall this week! Stop by one of the many boths of vendors and exhibitors who offer a variety of consumber and business banking industries. Services offered by our vendors and exhibitors include check processing service providers, echeck processors and verification, chargeback alert services and credit card processor services. The exhibit hall will be open everyday between 10am and 4. Free lunch will be offered to all attendees in the exhibit hall. Stop by the vendor booths today!