Compliance, Banking and Social Media

How do you engage your customers and provide meaningful content without running into any regulatory compliance issues? It’s such a concern in the industry that the ABA Banking Journal has published six social media compliance tips for financial industry communications. But those tips to avoid trouble could hinder the free flow of information in a timely manner – the lifeblood of any social media campaign. It’s about timely content and interaction.

We’ve jumped into social media with both feet - on twitter at @ATTUS_Tech, @WatchDOG_Pro and @ATTUS_RISC_Svcs. We’re also on Facebook and LinkedIn. We’ve found it’s a wonderful tool not only to connect with clients, but to stay abreast of industry news as it happens in our Twitter feeds from experts around the world. 

It seems many in heavily regulated industries are still trying to find their way online, looking to engage in social media while steering clear of regulatory issues and establishing in-house social media strategies and policies. Still more and more banks and credit unions are adding social media to their communications strategies and I’m sure more will follow in the near future. As any communications professional will tell you, we need to learn how and where our customers are communicating – and meet them there. If you want to know how your customers feel on a topic, you can ask them directly. Studies show social media can reach customers, including one that found Twitter users are more likely than others to follow financial services companies they do business with. And Twitter users are now sending more than 200 million tweets each day, which results in 350 billion deliveries to multiple Twitter accounts every day.

When First Direct jumped into social media, compliance and regulatory concerns were admittedly an issue.  But First Direct leaders found that applying the same guidelines and principles they use when communicating with customers and prospects also worked well for their social media efforts. In short, they found a way to meet their customers where they are communicating and looking for information.

Is your institution utilizing social media? What hurdles have you encountered?