Visible Banking

16th July 2009 - Visible Banking Social Media News #26: Facebook Has 250 Million Users, Sparkasse Bremen (Germany) Integrates Twitter to its Latest Marketing Campaign, Interview with Pioneer Credit Union on Twitter

2009-07-16T11:09:16+01:00

Please find below my daily selection of tweets and posts on social media in banking and financial services from the twitterati and the bloggers I am following.

I invite you to check the other tweets which didn't make my post today.
I flagged them as favorites on @Visible_Banking.

Via Twitter
___________________________
SonyaJMills Nice to see the @CUTweetTrack piece on pg 19 of the Credit Union Times today. Great job @rogcom!

CYouth RT @creditunionscom: Michelle, @pioneercu, tells how she uses Twitter 'to humanize our credit union'. http://bit.ly/loEW6

eMarketer Twitter's internal growth projections revealed. SAI: http://bit.ly/PowZ0

electrouncle #Social Banking Social Finance update. SocialFinanceListe aktualisiert << Finance 2.0 (electrouncle) http://ow.ly/hl86

ficoba http://ping.fm/DquU6 Jetzt muss man dem "social banking" schon Paroli bieten. So ist es richtig!!

Via Blogs
___________________________
* Electrouncle (Germany) - Sparkasse Bremen mit Twitter Kampagne
* FinanceAsia.com - E-banking portals need upgrade to web 2.0
* Nielsen Online (US) - Improving Customer Experience by Listening and Responding to Social Media
* RaboPlus Blog (NZ) - The name's bonds, corporate bonds
* Smartypig (US) - Saving For Your First Home
* Techcrunch (US) - Facebook’s Offical User Count Now 250 Million

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

15th July 2009 - Visible Banking Social Media News #25: Twitter Drives Customer Retention & Advocacy (BoA, First Mariner Bank, Commonwealth Bank), Wesabe Partners Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, Aaron Patzer @ Mint.com Meets Bill Clinton

2009-07-15T11:05:20+01:00

Please find below my daily selection of tweets and posts on social media in banking and financial services from the twitterati and the bloggers I am following.

I invite you to check the other tweets which didn't make my post today.
I flagged them as favorites on @Visible_Banking.

Via Twitter
___________________________
Visible_Banking Twitter drives customer advocacy @BofA_Help http://ow.ly/hdlB @FMBCustServ http://ow.ly/hdlL @CommonwealthCU http://ow.ly/hdm7 #VBTW banking

bankingreview Raboplus NZ has launched an online game where you steal virtual money from a sleeping banker http://bit.ly/e8ziC (via @bernardchickey)

SonyaJMills Interesting account @bankssuck is now @BankingSucks will the criticism become constructive & cover both banks & credit unions? We'll see...

SmartyPig Putting the Fun Back in Money! Read our guest blog post by personal finance expert, Galia Gichon at http://ow.ly/hioH

apatzer Got an invite to have dinner with Bill Clinton at Russell Simmon's house on Monday...but it's in New York. Should I go?

Stats
jowyang Compare and contrast: Facebook vs MySpace vs Twitter http://bit.ly/6mfYb (Compete) http://bit.ly/HBRp2 (Alexa: Plz change time duration)

FinancialBrand A dynamically updated page of stats on Twitter usage and visitors here —> http://www.quantcast.com/tw...

Webcast
RockTheBoatMKTG Listening to Investment News' free Webcast on how financial advisors use social media. http://bit.ly/18TAh

Via Blogs
___________________________
* Wesabe (US) - Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union Taps Wesabe Springboard(TM) to Provide Community Application for Its Members
* Smartypig (US): Putting the Fun Back in Money
* Mint.com (US) - The Pros and Cons of Online Banks
* Social Signal (Canada) - How to use social media to recruit your dream hire
* Celent Banking Blog (Canada) - Customer Service on Twitter - Proactive or Reactive?
* PND (US) - Microfinance Industry May Be Stressed by Recession, Report Finds

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

14th July 2009 - Visible Banking Social Media News #24: Twitter - Good for Customer Service & BoA Success, SCFCU Simple Cents Blog, UBank's Moneybox Videos - Love is in the Air, Twitter Reaches 20 Million US Visitors

2009-07-14T11:31:13+01:00

Please find below my daily selection of tweets and posts on social media in banking and financial services from the twitterati and the bloggers I am following.

I invite you to check the other tweets which didn't make my post today.
I flagged them as favorites on @Visible_Banking.

Via Twitter
___________________________
mmpartee @jimnovo @rshevlin Twitter as new way to *initiate* customer service request points out poor nature of 1) web sites 2) auto phone systems
I totally agree with Morriss. Twitter gives the ability to point customers to the right direction and better leverage existing content available on your bank website. Contrary to email and web chat it gives exposure to the Q&As so it drives customer advocacy as an added bonus.

FinancialBrand Great looking blog from South Carolina Credit Union…and it actually gets comments! http://www.simplecentsblog.com
Thanks Jeffry for flagging this new blogging initiative launched in April 2009 by SCFCU, one of the most active US Credit Unions in social media. I invite you to check their community for Young People, Young & Free South Carolina.

Pioneercu Getting close to 1000 followers on Twitter ----------> pkg. of goodies to follower 1000 if they are or become a member
PioneerCU has been using twitter since 14/12/07. They are still the most followed credit union (302 CUs tracked so far) on my Visible Banking Twitter Watch. Well done.

gerdschenkel On #qf looking forward to @ubank #moneybox screening. Hope other passengers will like it.
Beyond YouTube and Twitter: UBank's moneybox videos available on your flight, this is an excellent way to fully maximize your marketing effort, give extra exposure to your content, and innovate in a cost-effective way.

TechCrunch Twitter Back on Track In June With 20 Million U.S. Visitors http://tcrn.ch/5nx by @erickschonfeld
Twitter is going strong again and is here to stay.... at least for another couple of years.

GregMcAweeney RT @RaboPlus: LAST CHANCE! Win a brand new 16GB 3GS iPhone with @RaboPlus. Enter before midnight AEST tonight - http://ow.ly/hcBD
RaboPlus gives an iPhone 3GS away to drive subscription to their positive interest investors newsletter. If you want to successfully urge people to contribute or participate, REWARD them!

charispalmer It seems that a white-labeled Kiva platform could be licensed out to great effect. http://bit.ly/Fopbr via @rafmanji @lend4health

INGDIRECT NYC Tweetup on 7/21 w/ @INGDIRECT COO Jim Kelly. @ or DM us now to ask him a question. RSVP: http://twtvite.com/ncmdb5 #SaversQA #twtvite

allstate The first 10 people to tweet back “Win Tickets Allstate 400 at the Brickyard” to @allstate could win tickets Rules: http://bit.ly/3WQ4Ql

RockTheBoatMKTG Just 14% of consumers likely to interact with a financial services brand using social media (Razorfish) http://bit.ly/99CtS

Via Blogs
___________________________
* Denuology (US) - Bank of America on Twitter = WIN!
* RazorFish (US) - Fluent - Social Media Report
* Netbanker (US) - Prosper Back in Peer-to-Peer Lending Game with Full Approval of SEC
* The Insider (Canada) - Small Dog, Big Heart
* RaboPlus (New Zealand): RWT changes coming into effect next year

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

13th July 2009 - Visible Banking Social Media News #23: Back from Vacation, First Mariner Bank Turns Detractors into Advocates on Twitter, 45 Working Days to Sibos 2009, Footage of Seinfeld Commercials on YouTube

2009-07-13T10:04:22+01:00

I am back from my 2-week vacation, energized & tanned. Getting ready to send twitter updates & blog on http://Visible-Banking.com again!

Please find below my daily selection of tweets and posts on social media in banking and financial services from the twitterati and the bloggers I am following.

I invite you to check the other tweets which didn't make my post today.
I flagged them as favorites on @Visible_Banking.

Via Twitter
___________________________
rogcom @Visible_Banking Welcome back...we've missed you!

RobertLommers @Visible_Banking did you see the new and improved rabolog http://www.raboblog.nl

allianz_de RT @az_knowledge und @allianz_kai - We're on Youtube: http://bit.ly/S8Ohp und http://bit.ly/f5ceW

Sibos Welcome to Monday. Only 45 working days until #Sibos 2009 opens its doors! We've now confirmed more than 110 speakers. Great line-up.

amayfield RT @drewb Morgan Stanley 'note' on digital natives' media habits by 15 yr old intern causes stir http://bit.ly/mCqKW (via @ft)

banktastic New Post: Announcement: Red McCombs of Clear Channel Invests in SmartyPig: Fantastic news this morni.. http://bit.ly/A4Nwd

GuyKawasaki My video on how to use social media as a sales and marketing tool: http://bit.ly/kCfXh

bankingreview Greater Building Society launches YouTube channel including "making of" footage of Seinfeld commercials http://bit.ly/MJcTV

mashable A Sunday Twitter guide: "5 Ways to Get Your Questions Answered on Twitter" - http://bit.ly/Ecj3e

gerdschenkel @aden_76 trying to "control" Twitter posts is like trying to control every telephone conversation with a customer.

Via Blogs
___________________________
* Individublog (Australia) - Visible Banking wishes us a happy anniversary
* Technosailor (US) - First Mariner Bank: A New Shining Star in Social Media PR
* CurrencyMarketing (Canada) - Wrong your members and they'll tell two million friends!
* Web Strategist (US) - Get Ready As Corporate Sites and Social Networks Start To Connect
* The Wells Fargo Wachovia Blog (US) - Updated Merger FAQs (With a Little Help from Our Readers)

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

23 Ways to Reach The Youths Banking on Social Media

2009-06-24T12:40:57+01:00

I look forward to contributing to a high-profile roundtable discussion on 'banking for the youths' organized and hosted by Google in Paris later today.

Patrick Kervern, Industry Leader Finance, and Anissa Talbi, Senior Industry Manager Finance, invited me to share my passion for social media and discuss the key initiatives from North America and Europe focusing on the youths.

Context
The junior group (teenagers and young adults up to the age of 30) represents a very interesting market for banks and insurers. They tend to be a disloyal, fickle but informed sector.
Key challenges:
* Attracting juniors: Banks must capture youngsters at an early stage rather than later. This is a difficult group to attract and retain, so banks may need to adopt an aggressive pricing policy and offer exciting auxiliary products and services.
* Keeping juniors: Once banks have attracted juniors, they must try and keep them and make them customers for life (if possible). Young people easily change loyalties, so banks need good offers and must innovate continuously to keep their interest. It’s important to use the right language as the attitudes and nuances of this market constantly change.
Source: "Financial Services for Youths", EFMA.com

In the last couple of years, financial insitutions have started to leverage social media to engage with the youths. Their goals vary from recruiting talented graduates to providing financial education to teenagers and young professionals.

Let me share with you a list of social media initiatives from the banking industry focused on the Youth Market and sorted by country.

US
* Wells Fargo - Stagecoach Island / Financial Education (blog & virtual world)
* Chase - Chase +1 Credit Card / Financial Education (facebook)
* TDECU - Young & Free Texas / Empowering the Youths (blog)
* South Carolina Federal CU - Young & Free North Carolina / Empowering the Youths (blog)
* PSCU Financial Servivces - Project New Age
* The Ohio CU League - Money and Stuff
* Numerica CU - It is all About GEN Y
* Shell Federal CU - iLife
* Mint.com - Personal Finance Management
* Smartypig - Goal-Oriented Savings
* WeProsper / Financial Education

Canada
* Severus CU - Young & Free Alberta / Empowering the Youths (blog)
* Vancity - Changeeverything (blog/online community)
* RBC - Better Student Life (blog)
* TD Canada Trust - TD Money Lounge (facebook)
* RBC - Bankbook (facebook)

France
* BNP Paribas - Starbank / Training & Induction (virtual world)
* BNP Paribas - Ace Manager / Recruitment (Competition)

Netherlands
* ING - Planet Orange / Financial Education for kids (micro-site)
* ING - Move Out, Move Up / Mortgages for young couples (microsite)
* Rabobank - Hyves Profile / Social Networking

Belgium
* Fortis - Mine.be / Initiative for teenagers

Australia
* NAB - Ballet Community / Online Community for kids

Social Media Initiatives in Banking for the Youths

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

SEB Responds to my Comments on The Benche + ING Pickuradvisor (August 2007)

2009-06-23T16:43:54+01:00

Being able to reach out and engage with Senior Executives and Top Managers from all around the world is what makes me carry on spending so much time on Visible Banking. In addition to my regular public speaking engagements, blogging gives me a unique opportunity to show I care and demonstrate my passion and my expertise for social media on daily basis.

VB Review ING's pickuradvisor initiative - August 2007
Two years ago the ING Asia Pacific eBusiness team impressed me. I reviewed in details an innovative social media initiative in the life insurance space launched by the bank in India "pickuradvisor.com".

In a nut shell, it was a blog with a light touch of online community features (you could find the short profiles of the advisors) coupled to a basic appointment booking system. It was very innovative for the insurance market in 2007. I shared my concerns on their lack of moderation process (I invite you to check my full review for more information)

After just a couple of hours David Garceran Nieuwenburg former Asia Pacific Regional Head at ING Group, now AVP - Asia Head e-Services at Sun Life Financial Asia, left a comment on my post thanking me and promising they would quickly address this issue. Just 48 hours later, I received another comment this time from the Head Marketing at ING Vysya Life Insurance in India to confirm they had already improved their moderation process. Very impressive.

Please note that before canning the project last year, ING improved the interface and rolled it out in Hong-Kong in Chinese. David was instrumental in most of the social media experiments launched by ING in 2006 and 2007. David is a great guy. At last I had the chance to spend a couple of days with him at the event I was chairing in Kuala Lumpur in April 2009, 'E-Channel Management for Retail Banking'.

VB Review SEB's the Benche - June 2009
I invite you to read my recent comments on The Benche, the online community for Trade Finance Professionals launched by SEB at the end of 2008.

This morning I was delighted to receive a tweet from Lars Millberg, Global Head of Trade Finance at SEB, who found my comments useful. Lars, it is a shame you couldn't participate to Chris Skinner's Financial Services Club event on social media and banking last Tuesday.
I look forward to meeting with you face-to-face soon.

An hour later, I received another tweet from Martin Björnström this time with a link to his response "Visible Banking comments The Benche" on The Benche blog.

I welcome the Bench to Twitter and facebook and I look forward to receiving their soon to be released WebSurvey.

Lars and Martin, I can't wait to start working together on this high-potential project and helping you to take the Benche to the next level!

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

Visible Banking Twitter Watch #10 - 109,333 followers / 416 financial institutions / 22 countries

2009-06-20T15:54:07+01:00

I started to identify and track the financial institutions on twitter since 15 March 2009.

It is a work in progress, so please do not hesitate to flag any missing initiatives!

On regular basis, I will post some statistics and insights to understand how banks are leveraging twitter. I will do my best to spot the hits and misses, the best practices, as well as the most innovative initiatives.

When I am not on an international business trip, I usually make sure to post my VBTW update in the middle of the week. This week, I was home (in London) but I was invited to speak at two excellent events on social media, banking and digital marketing which explains why I am posting my 10th update only today. All the stats are from 15th June.

Summary - VBTW#10
I am tracking now well over 400 Financial Institutions. I would like to thank @CUTweetTrack and @CommunityBanks for their excellent work tracking credit unions and community banks on twitter.
Overall, it was a slightly better week with the top 10 fastest growing FIs adding 1,756 new followers compared to 1,272 new followers the week before. Well done to @INGDIRECT and @Wachovia for breaking the 4,000 follower mark and @HRBlock for breaking the 3,000 follower mark, and @StateFarmIns for breaking the 2,000 mark.
Congrats to @Buergschaft (created on 2nd June 2009) which was one of the most active FIs on Twitter in terms of new followers, updates sent and new web friends.

Twitter Statistics
Currently, I track 416 twitter accounts: 137 banks (+2), 4 central banks, 246 credit unions (+15), 7 credit card issuers, 20 insurance companies, and 3 (+1) others financial institutions.

Please find below some stats (between 8-15 June / stats collected on 15th June around 1pm GMT +1)
* Followers of FIs: 9,876 (new) / 109,333 (total) / 266 (average)
* Updates from FIs: 2,428 (new) / 45,098 (total) / 112 (average)
* Top 5 FIs - Most Followed: @SomersetMtg (7,615), @Wachovia (4,079), @INGDIRECT (4,022), @usaa_news (3,701), @HRBlock (3,034).
-> 117 FIs (+11) have 200+ followers of which 41 (+1) have 500+ followers.
* The 1,000+ Follower Club: 21 FIs (+1) have 1,000+ followers, welcome to @etradebaby!
* Top 3 FIs - Most Active: 4 FIs have sent over 50 updates since VBTW #9. @glsbank (83 updates), @Buergschaft (68 updates), @GHCU (56 updates) and @Ask_WellsFargo (51 updates).
* Restricted tweets: still 10 accounts
* Inactive accounts: 150 FIs (+5) haven't sent any updates since VBTW #9.
* Offline: it looks like @ohionational, @SusquehannaBank and @QualstarCU joined the list of offline accounts. I believe @Chasebank has been suspended due to strange activity.
* Unofficial: in progress. I am still in the process of flagging in my list all the suspicious twitter accounts with no description at all, no logo or just an url.

VB - Comments
* Followers
-> Only 7 financial institutions added 100 followers or more since my last VBTW: 367 more people (+10%) are following @INGDIRECT, 323 more followers (+9.6%) for @usaa_news, 171 more followers (9%) for @StateFarmIns, 168 more followers (204.9%) for @Buergschaft, 164 more people (204.9%) for @kotakcards, 123 more people (+3.1%) for @Wachovia, and 101 new followers (+3.8%) for @ideablob.
-> Just three FIs lost a handful of followers.
-> And well done to @Interpolis and @Buergschaft which significantly increased their follower base by respectively 337.5% and 204.9%.
* Following
-> @Buergschaft is topping the chart this time with 396 new web friends. Then comes @GECUSvngsChllng with 260 new web friends and @kotakcards with 256 new web friends.
-> In the meantime, 22 FIs stopped following at least 1 web friend. It looks like @ANZMoneyManager stopped following 446 people and @elfcu stopped following 50 people. Maybe a bug on twitter?
* Updates
Poor activity. 283 FIs have only sent 5 updates or less since VBTW #9. 28 haven't started to communicate yet since creating their account. On the positive side, this could also mean those financial institutions understood the importance of registering your name and are still assessing how to leverage micro-blogging. A bit like Wells Fargo did in the last couple of years.
* Other awesome twitter lists
Jim Bruene's Banks and Credit Unions on Twitter on Netbanker, Roger Conant's comprehensive list of credit unions on @CUTweetTrack, Sonya J Mills' list of community banks on @CommunityBanks, Boris' Social Media: Deutsche Banken im Twitter Kurz Test on Electrouncle, and Jeffry Pilcher's Twitter Financial Directory on FinancialBrand.

@Visible_Banking on Twitter / Followers 171-190
In addition to Visible-Banking.com, the Visible Banking Page on Facebook, thanks for following me on Twitter. I am glad to announce that @Visible_Banking has 498 followers so far.

Thank you all for engaging with me on this exciting platform, and spreading the word around you!

Please find below my followers 171-190 (listed by chronological order):
171. 00surly (US):
172. seanharper (US): Sean Harper
173. westerwk (Netherlands): Kim Westerweel
174. Altantuya: Altantuya Shaariibuu
175. JoanLufting (Netherlands): Joan Lufting
176. DavidGurteen (UK): David Gurteen
177. RODIEN (Netherlands): Rodien de Maar
178. Mavadi (Germany): Marcel van Dijken
179. EwoutWolff (Netherlands): Ewout Wolff
180. treehousei (US): Chris Frank
181. digicmb (Netherlands): Guus van den Brekel
182. 154Consulting
183. marketingfacts (Netherlands): Marco Derksen
184. RoyDuf (Netherlands): Roy Duffels
185. rvandenhoff (Netherlands)
186. HanTot (UK): Darren G
187. confryd (Greece): Constantino Frydakis
188. ScottAllen (US): Scott Allen
189. manicfinance (Canada): Tom Burke
190. disruptiveplay (Dubai): Kristina Nyzell

VB Twitter Watch: 416 twitter accounts tracked so far
Since Visible Banking Twitter Watch #9, I have added 18 twitter accounts to the list: 1stCommunityCU
AcmeFCU, BetYouCanSave / Central Ohio Cus, bvafcu, ConsumersCU, DayAirCU, EnterpriseBank, etradebaby, Flagship_Bank, foxcu, hawaiicentralcu, kootenaysavings, LeagueLive /Advocacy Staff/the Wisconcin CU League, MeridianMobile / Meridian CU, moneyandstuff / Ohio Cus, RiversideFCU, RTFCU, SD3FCU.

To check the full list of financial institutions on twitter (work in progress) and to find out more about social media in banking and financial services I invite you to check, and contribute to, my SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTORY. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking
* People First! Global Survey on Social Networking

Happy 1-Year Anniversary to Individuum's "The Lounge" Blog and Achieva Credit Union's YouTube Channel

2009-06-19T15:23:00+01:00

I thought it would be a good addition to my Visible Banking Watch Series to celebrate the anniversary of the banks and financial institutions on Twitter, YouTube and blogs. It is also a good opportunity to share some insights as well as my comments and suggestions. Tell me what you think!

So far, I have identified two initiatives launched on the 19th June: a blog and a YouTube channel.

Individuum Launched 'the Lounge' blog on 19th June 2008
The Lounge is the first blog launched by the Australian based financial institution individuum back in 2008.
Now they contribute to three blogs which makes them 2nd (number of blogs) just behind Wells Fargo and their 5 blogs on my Visible Banking Blog Watch (46 FIs tracked so far).

Since launch and until 31st May 2009, they posted 68 times which equals to 1.39 posts per week and make 'the Lounge' the 15th most active blog on the list. There are very few comments on their blog which is the norm in banking and financial services.

Blog's mission: This blog is about more than money... and that's the way life should be! So, if you leave a comment please remember that you can't discuss financial stuff here.

Topics covered: Eating out, Eco, Events, Film, individudebates, Music, Opinion, Travel, Web + tech.

I like the idea of talking about anything else but money and focus on passion and emotions.
Nevertheless, the big challenge is to convince people there is a value reading your blog and contributing to it. Think about it: why would I spend some of my precious time sharing my views on music on 'the Lounge' which is provided by a financial institution and which has a very limited audience? What's the REWARD? I would rather contribute on MySpace or any leading music sites...

Individuum has a presence on other popular social media sites such as twitter and facebook.

Achieva Credit Union on YouTube since 19th June 2008
Achieva CU's official YouTube channel now counts 22 videos which makes them the 7th most active Credit Union (number of videos) in my Visible Banking YouTube Watch (126 FIs tracked so far).

Last time they signed in was 6 months ago.

Achieva CU's Most Viewed Video
Achieva disabled the comments and rating features which is not such a common practice even in Financial Services: in my YouTube Watch, comments were disabled for just 7 of the most viewed videos.

That is all for today. My comments are always meant to be constructive not negative. On Visible-Banking.com I aim to help financial insitutions to better understand social media and successfully engage with people.
Your feedback is always more than welcome.

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

The Future of Digital Marketing... is Social & Mobile! Twitter Slides + Pictures of the Econsultancy Event

2009-06-19T14:32:11+01:00

I was delighted to participate to Econsultancy's 'the Future of Digital Marketing' event. Ashley and his team put together a great event with some inspirational speakers as well as a savvy and participative audience of over 300 digital marketers. It is pretty outstanding in the current market, congrats Econsultancy!

The innovative format worked well with two keynotes sessions and 4 industry focused sessions: Travel, Retail, Publishing/Media and Finance.

The first keynote was delivered by an inspired Eric Frenchman, Chief Internet Strategist at Connell Donatelli, from New Jersey. Eric shared with us his experience in digital marketing and politics gained while he was working on the John McCain's campaign last year. Needless to say that Obama and his team put social media on the radar after such a successful presidential campaign and an outstanding amount of money raised via my.barackobama.com. But if found it Interesting to see the campaign from a different angle.

As far as I am concerned, I enjoyed the publishing/media session the most and it is not only because it was the only (!) session with a female speaker Louise White, Group Marketing Director at Incisive Media. She did a great job by the way. Jonathan MacDonald's "stand-up act" was entertaining, creative, and disruptive. The future is mobile!

Ian Jindal, Editor in Chief at Internet Retailing's closing keynote presentation was packed with insights, humour, innovations... the perfect way to end the day.

A special thanks to the awesome audience, and congrats to my fellow speakers!

Social Media in Banking & Financial Services
My goal for the FODM was to make people realize that financial institutions are already trying to engage with people via social media. Nevertheless, very few are doing it right.
And it gave me the chance to clarify a few things and share with the audience some of the topics we covered the night before with some prominent bankers and industry bloggers during our (at some point heated) conversations at the latest event organized by Chris Skinner's Financial Services Club "Do Banks get Social … and understand 21st century?"

Twitter is Not the Ultimate Answer but it is Definitely Not a Stunt
I focused on twitter to make people realize that loads of financial insitutions are already engaging on this popular micro-blogging platform.
Is Twitter the answer to all our customer service inefficiencies? No. Is it here to stay? I am not sure it is going to be around forever. But it is certainly not a stunt.

Please find below a tweet I found today: #barclays couldnt withdraw money, online banking down. customer announcement on site? no. searched twitter to confirm it wasnt just me Not convinced yet?

You can't argue that Twitter is an amazing tool for real-time market research. It would be foolish not to start monitoring the popular micro-blogging site now. As a brand, it is extremely valuable to know what people are thinking about you, your competitors, the industry, the regulation, in real time.

Moreover I really see twitter as an excellent way to give further exposure to your other social media initiatives like a blog, a facebook page or a YouTube channel.

Forget the technology, focus on People!
But at the end of the day, I believe social media is all about people not technologies or platforms.
It is important for me to track what people are making of twitter, facebook, YouTube, blogs or any kind of other relevant web 2.0 platforms. We need to understand how they engage on those networks.

But I have never advised a client to do launch a blog, an online community or a virtual island for the sake of it. It would be a mistake. First, I need to understand your business objectives and see if and how social media could support them. It is critical to find the best way to REWARD your members.

Must do, whether you like it or not!
Even if you don't want to engage with your detractors, you don't believe in social media or you think it is not for your well-established brand, there are a few things you can't afford not to do in 2009.

1. Learn about social media in your industry
2. Listen to what people say about your brand, your product, your industry, your competitors
3. Increase your official presence on all the most popular social media sites to prevent brand hijacking and start building an audience (start now, it takes a lot of time and effort)

Social Media: Different Projects, Different Challenges
In banking, there are four kinds of social media projects:
* Social Media for your employees (intranet)
* Social Media for your clients (online banking)
* Social Media - Open B-to-B
* Social Media - Open B-to-C

Common Questions and Concerns
* Why isn't the UK banking industry more advanced?
* Why do you blog on Visible Banking?
* Do people really want to join a bank's community?
* How can banks start building trust with social media?
* Concerns - Social Media is not scalable!
* Concerns - We must provide a consistent customer experience even on sites like twitter!
* Concerns - Limited Resources. We won't be able to contact everybody and match their expectations

You are looking for answers? As a first step, I invite you to read one of my articles and interviews published in 2009. Then I invite you to call me on 07736 446 357 or send me an email.

My slide: Visible Banking Statistics on Twitter and YouTube, Facebook, Blogs
Please find below my presentation which is featured on the slideshare's homepage today!

Pictures

Coverage of the event on twitter
Please find below 12 of the best tweets posted on Wednesday during the event (#fodm).

greenwellys: Hi to all at #fodm if you think the speaker line up is Impressive you should see the delegates :-)

helentr: #fodm Fans create much better ads. Yes We Can video 18.2m views / Crush on Obama 14.4m Total videos: equiv $40m TV advertising

balabanovic: Talking at #fodm Happy choices = unexpected ideas with stories to tell http://bit.ly/lmlabs (expand)

AlWightman: #FoDM Rational marketing (SEO, SEM, EMAIL, AFFLIATES) vs. Emotional Marketing (Social Media, Online PR) Don't measure them in the same way.

econsultancy: Nick Ray on geospatial marketing @ #fodm: charities using Google Earth to promote causes/engage with users

checkyourfuel: Enjoyed listening to Christophe Langlois of Visible Banking at #fodm. Spoke about social platform opps for FiServ institutions.

econsultancy: Retailers looking to integrate online & store: don't lose customers because they don't want to buy online #fodm

SearchGoat: Interesting... Keiron Smith's presentation at #fodm... "99% of mktg campaigns have no impact" via @Aizlewood

checkyourfuel: At #fodm - Graham Ruddick: B2B publishing = apocalypse now; not cyclical, but structural. Clearly, life in publishing is pretty grim.

juliansambles: BBC have 110 newsletters delivering 360m emails each year #fodm

kungfudigital: Brilliant speakers today at #FoDM let you know who to follow tomorrow, thanks to @econsultancy for putting on another great event!

eburypublishing: I'm back! Fantastic presentations at #fodm yesterday - really inspiring stuff. I'll post some links to round ups later on today

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking
* Published Articles - Social Media in Banking

Happy Six-Month Anniversary to 'The Benche', SEB's Online Community for Trade Finance Professionals! 1,500 Companies/Members - Visitors from 170 countries

2009-06-18T19:11:44+01:00

This morning I was plaisantly surprised to receive a news letter from Martin Björnström the new Content Manager at the Benche, the online community for trade finance professionals launched by SEB last year.

Please find below my initial comments to Martin:
* next time, please use whether "Christophe" or Mr Langlois" but not my username on the network, "christophelanglois"
* You have a lot of new ideas, why not asking your members to check your ideas and vote for the best 2 or 3. It would help you focus on the right things and make sure the community needs or wants your enhancements
* Could you please clarify the 1,500 'companies/members'? Does it means you have 1,500 registered members in total? Or many more members from a total of 1,500 different companies? At the end of the day, size matters but the amount of activity from your members is equally important.
* It is a clever move to provide some useful tools to your members such as 'Cargo Track & Trace', in addition to an aggregation of the relevant industry news (Benche News, Trade News and Market Alerts) that you have provided since the launch of the platform

VB Flash Comments
Please find below my Flash review of the Benche after 15mn spent on the plaftorm this afternoon.

Positives
+ the approach of the Benche is pretty unique in the banking industry
+ SEB market 'the Benche' on its own asset: they display a 'the Benche' banner at the top on their "Corporate and Institutions" category page. Please note I covered it already in my Smart Marketing post back in March 2009.
+ I love the 'Ask SEB' section to tap the company expertise in trade finance and give more visibility to its employees.
+ It is a good move to to have a dedicated content manager (I wonder though if Martin's job also include managing the community, urging members to visit the site and contribute... That is critical)
+ I like the new tools you are providing
+ The activity on the Latest Discussion widget on the homepage gives a good impression of the community which seems fairly active and happy to share

Areas to Improve
- no or limited presence on the most popular social media sites
- the community hasn't reached a critical mass of users yet
- the community needs more user-generated-content
- it looks like members don't use the 'Ask SEB' feature: the latest question was asked back in January 2009
- it seems like members are not contributing to the blogs much: according to the stats displayed, there are currently 14 blogs with 50 entries
- the calendar of events looks empty

Unleashing the Full Potential of the Benche
I meant to be positive. In fact I am impressed. Given the current tough context, I was expecting SEB to potentially ditch the Benche, a bit like Fortis did four months ago with their visionnary Join2Grow.biz, the first online community for European Entrepreneurs launched back in February 2007. It was a real shame.

To the contrary, it looks like SEB still values the potential offered by this ambitious and innovative initiative. They are really trying to make of 'the Benche' a one-stop-shop for Trade professionals. It is not perfect, but I identified quite a few quick wins which would in no time take this initiative to the next level in terms of both member base and activity.

Background of the Benche
The purpose of the site is to provide a resource for trade finance professionals that does not exist anywhere else, while also sending the message worldwide that SEB is serious about trade finance. Although it is managing the web site, SEB will take a hands-off approach to content to encourage trade finance professionals everywhere, regardless of who they work for, to contribute and take ‘ownership’.

I invite you to check the full interview with Lars Millberg, Global Head of Trade Finance at SEB and the creator of the Benche,

It proves again that the most visible customer facing social media initiatives in the banking industry come from the financial institutions who have at least one Senior Executive who understands social media, sees its full potential, and is keen to experiment.

The Key to Social Media Success
I always insist on the fact that the quality of the interface is not important in social media (as long as it provides all the expected basic features) so don't blow all your budget on the interface. And don't spend huge amounts of money promoting your platform. Instead, you must fully leverage the most popular social media sites. If you do it right and if you managed to convince your influencers, they will be delighted to market your initiative on your behalf and for free.

Your success lies in your ability to CONVINCE people of the VALUE of your platform. Your success lies in your ability to make it SIMPLE for people to register, visit, contribute and spread the word. Finally, your success lies in your ability to REWARD your members for the time they spend visiting or contributing. Be SMART with MARKETING, promote your initiative on your own assets such as your intranet, your public website, and your secured online banking.

List of Online Communities
I invite you to check my directory of social media initiatives in banking and financial services.

Interview with Catherine Ossemerct on Fortis' Join2Grow.biz

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking

16th June 2009 - VB Social Media Banking News #22: 1 Billion Messages Sent Per Day via Facebook Chat

2009-06-16T07:40:32+01:00

Please find below my daily selection of tweets and posts on social media in banking and financial services from the twitterati and the bloggers I am following.

I invite you to check the other tweets which didn't make my post today. I flagged them as favorites on @Visible_Banking.

Via Twitter
___________________________
GregMcAweeney RT @BrandRepublic: Dell rakes in £1.8m via Twitter. tracks sales generated with proprietary software. http://tinyurl.com/lzc2ef

ahesse "Why Twitter will soon become obsolete" @clarkster -provocative Monday? Nice Social Networking timeline. http://bit.ly/2XwLPd

eMarketer Is Twitter the Next Friendster? Or the Next...Twitter? iMedia Connection: http://bit.ly/wUJDW

leebryant Our *big* report about social networking in the legal sector has now been published: http://tr.im/oyqg - we will blog bits of it later...

Rbjacobs Hi guys, my new FB page.....http://www.facebook.com/FNBGuy

Via Blogs
___________________________
CUTweetTrack - Interview with Peter Hodges; TweetMaster for Bellco Credit Union
Mashable - Facebook Chat: 1 Billion Messages Sent Per Day

'Visible Banking Social Media Watch' Series: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs - 726 Initiatives from 28 Countries

2009-06-15T13:28:00+01:00

Earlier this year, I started to track financial institutions on several popular social media sites. You must be familiar with my Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series which already counts #9 updates.

I decided to launch three additional Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series: YouTube, Facebook and Blogs. They are coming soon, stay tuned!

Today, I am tracking 726 blogs, twitter accounts, YouTube channels and Facebook pages from banks, central banks, credit unions, insurance companies, credit card issuers, tax and mortgage specialists in 28 countries.

I invite you to subscribe to Visible-Banking.com to check my regular updates which includes not only the most up-to-date stats but also some insights and my comments.

It is an ongoing effort, so please do not hesitate to leave a comment or contact me to flag your initiatives!

Visible Banking Twitter Watch

Visible Banking YouTube Watch

Visible Banking Facebook Watch

Visible Banking Blog Watch

Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking
* People First! Global Survey on Social Networking

Visible Banking Interviews 2.0
I invite you to check the list of my video interviews with some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs in online finance and the social media champions in the banking industry.