5 July 2010
Social media can boost trust in Financial Services, says Saffron Building Society
Banks and particularly building societies should be increasingly looking to build online communities and engage with customers through the use of social media, according to Saffron Building Society.
With consumers feeling a lack of trust in financial services companies, social media provides an alternative option for banks and building societies to update customers on company developments and new products and engage with customers.
Though social media, the Building Society is also engaging with other stakeholders such as intermediaries, community groups, charities, journalists, and industry commentators.
Saffron Building Society uses a variety of social media techniques to expand its community online. Chief executive, Andy Golding writes his own blog offering his views on Saffron news, industry and economic developments and communicating with Saffron's members and staff.
Saffron has been leading the way in the bank and building society sector on Twitter with over a 1000 followers on its various feeds. Andy Golding uses his Twitter feed to communicate with members and stakeholders and the Saffron pages provide members with information, news and a forum to share opinions.
Saffron's Facebook and LinkedIn page also enable it to offer customers a flavour of what the company is about, display charity work, discuss products with customers and offer an online community in which other customers can talk to one another.
Chief executive, Andy Golding, who recently spoke at a Visible Banking workshop on the use of social media, says, "Communities are increasingly forming online as people use new and social media as a way to get advice, make connections and share information. As regional building societies like ours are community driven, social media provides a great opportunity to be a part of the discussions taking place online and to communicate with our members.
"This is the approach we take with our social media presence and the success is evident with our growing Twitter following currently larger than other bank or building society.
"The economic, financial meltdown gave everyone a good sense of just how closed in many financial institutions are, and how we need to make banks and building societies more transparent, more open businesses that people can get involved with and talk to on their own terms."
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