Bank of America is doubling its spending on digital platforms in the hopes of making "real, live" connections with its customers, according to Claire Huang, the bank’s head of Marketing. "We're realizing that digital …is not just a flat little square box you have two seconds to look at," she said at Advertising Age's Digital Conference (via AdAge).
Bank of America plans to improve its digital presence with new texting tools, Twitter tools and self-produced webcasts. As a result it will be spending less on traditional outlets, such as TV and print.
Bank of America is the latest example of financial institutions trying many different strategies to to build - or rebuild - conversations with customers. In the wake of the financial crisis the industry has taken a huge reputation hit, both with the public and Congress. Institutions have turned to social media for community building, among other activities, says Lon S. Cohen, director of Communications at @ALSofGNY. (via Mashable).
Community Ties
The president of Nicolet National Bank, for example, has answered questions directly on the bank’s blog, for helping people with mortgage questions, fielding business loan queries, and general finance questions. "They have also blogged their thoughts on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), where the money has gone, and why their bank participated."
Mixed Messages
But if banks are going to participate in social networks they better make sure they understand, and accept, its free-wheeling culture. Big Money points to a recent Citigroup misstep that shows how easily these efforts can backfire.
On Feb. 1, it launched its New Citi Blog as a way to show Citi's fresh commitment to responsible banking, it said. "Yet from the start it appeared that Citi didn't quite know what the blog's true mission was or how much time and resources to commit to it. Not only did the bank launch the blog with a series of polished and very unconversational corporate messages, but it then neglected to post anything new for 15 days."
Worst of all, it ignored the one truly relevant Citi conversation raging at the time on blogs and Twitter - that Citi recently shut down the bank account of a gay social network, Fabulis because the site's content "was not in compliance with Citibank's standard policies."
"In this new confusing world of multiple social-media mixed-messaging and brand personas," Big Money concluded, "the New Citi silence on the Fabulis issue suggests the bank, along with many other companies, it should be said, has still to find its social-media voice."
