By Rob Coyne, General Manager EMEA, Hootsuite 

‘Being different’ and ‘taking risks’ are not phrases you would normally associate with established financial services companies. Social media networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were traditionally held at arm’s length by companies in banking and insurance, due in part to the bureaucracy across the sector. However, in an online world and as social channels have exploded in popularity, this has meant that many financial services organisations have been slow to embrace the benefits that come with being socially mature. And the associated impact this has had on customer experience and lead generation cannot be ignored.

For financial services companies wishing to harness the advantages that successful social media management can bring, it means going back to basics and recreating a strategy that works with other existing channels that currently drive revenue for the business. Investing in technology can help with this, as well as assist how the organisation digitally adapts the way it reaches customers at every touchpoint to advance its digital evolution.

Content with a purpose

In our latest Social Media Trends for Financial Services and Insurance report, we found that 53 percent of financial services marketers found posts promoting brand awareness performed the best as a content type on social. However, when asked their top measurement challenge, 58 percent struggle to prove that content “drives revenue.” An organisation’s approach to measurement and tracking results needs to be far more strategic. It’s not about seeing what has worked well, and then proving the return-on-investment (ROI) with ad-hoc data gathering of vanity metrics such as likes and shares. It’s…