From the Bat Cave; batty bans on Social Media

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This month we are blogging from the Bat Cave, unfortunately the Bat Mobile is not included although we do have an array of diggers and wood chippers outside. The Mitchell Moneypenny office building is being treated to a little facelift which means the entire building has been covered with scaffolding and men in high vis jackets. So far they have been lucky with the weather, but I do feel for them working outside in what is supposed to be our summer, especially the few days when it’s pouring with freezing rain.

With all the recent social media press attention, both positive and negative, we have been looking at the role that social media plays within financial networks. Many networks had previously been nervous about using and allowing the use of social media due to the risk of being non-compliant. In certain cases a complete blanket ban on use of sites like twitter was implemented by the more nervous networks. This is a stance that both recent headlines and our statistics suggest seems to be changing. The results are extremely interesting and can be found in the Money Marketing article by our MD Nicola Mitchell containing the first ‘Moneypenny Social Media Index’ published on the 30th May.  http://www.mitchellmoneypenny.co.uk/2013/05/which-nationals-and-networks-are-making-the-best-use-of-social-media/

It demonstrates how important it is to implement a solid social media strategy and why just being ‘present’ on social media is not enough. Whilst a slightly cautious attitude to use is sensible, the refusal by networks to allow members to tap in to this amazing resource is frankly batty! Creating and maintaining social profiles is not about sales or financial promotions and those unsure of compliance risks should certainly steer clear of using it for this purpose. It is a way to create an all important personality for your brand and interact on a more personal level. It gives the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and share industry topics with like minded people.

The use of social media may also drive back good customer service; something I feel has been declining over recent years, with sites like twitter allowing you to tweet at businesses publicly and directly the pressure is on to keep the consumer happy. I personally make sure I seek out and thank companies that provide excellent service and also provide feedback on products and services I have received. Businesses that respond promptly and positively to offer further assistance or advice will always retain my custom.

The demand for more information about social media use in financial services is definitely out there. We have once again been invited to do a seminar on the subject for another client conference. It will be interesting to see if we get the same level of enthusiasm as we had at the last one.

We will continue to closely monitor the networks and will be keeping you abreast of the changes as they slowly awaken to the importance of having a social presence and finally find their social media feet.