How Banks are Embracing Social Media

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/03/29/how-banks-are-embracing-social-media/
Most people need a bank account, so there will always be a demand for the banking industry. However, many banks do not see the reason to use social media, and have used traditional marketing in the past. One reason banks should use social media is to understand customers. Social media is full of opinions, wishes and other comments. It has the potential to give banks vital insight and understanding of their existing and prospective customers and their wants and needs.

However, people are wary to use social media and interact with banks because stories of websites and databases being hacked and bank details being stolen, email scams, viruses from the Internet and other incidents have scared users away from the idea of sharing ideas or money online. According to Avaya and BT, 69 percent of customers in the UK would not use social media to interact with their bank. The US sits at 62 percent%, Germany at 64% and Spain at 47%. This shows that consumers are not really willing to be communicated with. Though out of a selection of banks, 42 of the banks used Twitter, but only 26 were actively tweeting and engaging with customers. Two thirds of banks were found to be actively using Facebook, while just 15 banks used YouTube.