A newly released American Bankers Association (ABA) report maintains just over eight in 10 banks believe social media is important and are active on their social media accounts.
“It’s remarkable how much bank social media engagement has evolved and matured since we first conducted this survey two years ago,” Jim Edrington, ABA’s chief member engagement officer, said. “Bankers overwhelmingly recognize the power of social media to increase visibility and humanize their brand as they connect directly with their customers on a personal level.”
The State of Social Media in Banking report showed 40 percent of institutions revealed they have used social media for five years or more, which represents a rise from 25 percent two years ago. In addition, only 6 percent of banks do not currently use social media and 3 percent indicated they plan to begin social media engagement within the next one to two years.
The most preferred social media platforms are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and blogs.
An examination of the numbers also determined 52 percent of survey respondents planned to increase spending on social media resources this year and an additional 8 percent sought to increase that budget.
“Social media engagement is rewarding in so many ways, and can provide a big return on a modest investment,” Edrington added.