WASHINGTON – Three out of four bankers believe social media is important to their banks and 66 percent plan to increase spending on social media resources this year, according to a new report released today by the American Bankers Association. “The State of Social Media in Banking,” an initiative by ABA’s Endorsed Solutions Group, highlights the results of an ABA survey of 780 banks of all sizes. The survey measures how banks are managing social media programs, what results they are getting, what they wish they could do better, and what opportunities and challenges are on the horizon.
“The great majority of banks have realized that they can’t afford to be on the sidelines when it comes to using social media,” said Christine Walika, executive vice president of ABA’s Community Bank Group. “With millions of Americans connecting on social media every day, innovative banks are winning big by connecting with customers in an engaging, interactive and personal way.”Overall, banks’ use of social media is still in its formative stages, with only a quarter of institutions having used social media for at least five years. One third have been using social media for three to four years, 18 percent for one to two years, and 12 percent just got their feet wet within the past year.
The report also identifies which social media platforms banks use for marketing purposes, top reasons banks use social media, how banks are using social media and what banks wish they could do better in this arena. It culminates with a list of 10 top takeaways for banks evaluating their use of social media.
To download a complimentary copy of the report, visit aba.com/SocialMediaSurvey.
The American Bankers Association is the voice of the nation’s $16 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ more than 2 million people, safeguard $12 trillion in deposits and extend more than $9 trillion in loans.