July 15, 2024 • 6 min read

How to Use Social Media Marketing to Successfully Engage with Bank Customers

Every brand needs to engage with social media. Connecting with customers and boosting brand awareness among your target audience is easier if you have active profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok. There’s arguably no better way to reach millions of people than through these sites and apps.

But if you’re a bank, social media posts about deals or directly calling for customers to sign up for new accounts are unlikely to lead to strong results. Today, let’s explore some of the most important aspects and best practices of social media marketing for banks.

Social Media Marketing – How is It Distinct for Banks?

When you post about your bank, the goal isn’t necessarily to sell a specific product or service (like a savings account). Instead, it’s to make your target audience aware that your bank is a top-tier choice for their financial needs and to show them that you’re a superior service provider.

But social media marketing for banks also comes with a few distinct considerations and aspects. For example:

Your social media manager or broader team needs to be exceptionally careful and proactive when communicating with customers to ensure the information shared is correct and doesn’t unintentionally deceive.
Highlighting your bank’s ties to the local community through work or social connections is vital to positioning your brand as a cornerstone institution of its town or city.
Some team members, like executives or bank managers, may need to keep their personal social media profiles more private compared to their counterparts in other industries to protect them from potentially aggressive customers.

These are just a few examples of the extra care needed for successful bank social media marketing.

Social media marketing for banks checklist

Best Practices for Banking Social Media Marketing

Making the most of your online presence as a banking brand often means using certain techniques or following distinct strategies compared to other companies. It’s a good idea to keep a handful of best practices in mind when running your bank’s social media accounts or working with a partnered agency to engage with your customers.

Specificity – Required, Not Optional

In the financial sector, the language for offers, contracts, and products must all be specific! Otherwise, financial companies could be held liable for services they don’t technically offer or for misleading their customers, even inadvertently.

So, when you’re drafting posts for your brand’s Facebook profile, be sure to double-check the accuracy of any terminology surrounding:

Financial products your brand offers
The services you provide
Any “guarantees” you might make to prospects

Focus On Engagement and Building Relationships

When it comes to social media marketing for banks, community engagement and relationship building must be prioritized over all other goals. There are significant reasons for this.

People are understandably protective of their money. They’re not very likely to approach a bank simply because they see ads on social media platforms or elsewhere online, no matter how reputable the bank is or how strong the offer. They will, however, approach a new banking partner if they feel a genuine connection to the brand in combination with the brand’s reputation.

That connection comes from authentic social media posting and genuine conversations with prospects. You can build a strong presence on social media by posting about your values, engaging customers about things they’d like to see in the banking industry or highlighting things your brand does other than provide banking products (think community engagement projects, charity work, etc.).

Reflect Genuine Values

By the same token, your bank’s social media posts should reflect its genuine values to build trust. Many consumers are understandably wary of big banks that don’t have their best interests at heart. Social media marketing for banks provides excellent opportunities to post content that shows your bank is different, but ensure you feature the real people behind your company.

For example, maybe you donate a portion of your earnings to local charities and community funds. Highlight this with a series of social media posts throughout the year! Putting your proverbial money where your mouth is matters a lot in this industry, but social media is a great tool to amplify those efforts and make sure they’re noticed. Add in content highlighting why your team cares and showcasing your staff getting involved with local organizations will give your target audience the proof of your company’s values at work.

Graphic depicting the importance of reflecting genuine values with social media marketing.

Respond to Negative Reviews or Comments

Sooner or later, every bank has a negative customer interaction. But when someone leaves a negative review on your social media pages or Google Reviews, it’s vital that you handle the issue wisely and calmly. Typically having a plan to handle a variety of scenarios will help your team react with a strategic mindset.

For instance, if a customer posts an angry review about your services, your instinct may be to delete it immediately. In reality, social media users tend to trust companies more when they show that they care about improving and respond to negative reviews. You can simply send a public message letting them know that you’ll be reaching out, then send a private message to learn more. The only scenario where it’s recommended to delete any valid piece of feedback is when a customer publishes their account details in a public or unsecured location, like Facebook Messenger.

If you partner with an agency, work with them to establish protocol and responses to angry or hostile customers online. Maintaining a consistent brand voice and procedure is key to ensuring that your employees and customers feel safe.

Show Your Bank’s Personality!

Your bank’s social media posts don’t have to be dry or to the point. In fact, you can – and should! – let some of your brand personality shine through in every bit of content you post.

Whether that’s including emojis or showcasing “candid” short-form videos of your staff members having a great time on TikTok or Instagram, banking customers want to know that there are real humans behind teller’s desks and social media profiles. Expressing your brand’s personality through social media marketing is an effective way to humanize your bank and make it approachable.

Social Media Marketing Partnerships

As you can see, mastering social media marketing for banks takes time, effort, and strategy. That’s why collaborating with an experienced agency like ours could be just what your brand needs to expand. Get in touch with us today to see how we can assist with your social media and so much more.