Banks continue to embrace social media according to survey

Banking executives recently expressed their views about customer communications in a new survey. Varolii Corporation in partnership with American Banker, Bank Technology News, and US Banker, surveyed 458 executives from top retail banks and consumer lending organizations around the country. Entitled 2010 Survey Results: Top Retail Banking Communications Strategies, the report queried execs about the strategies they’re using to increase customer retention. One area of the survey delved into the use of social media.

Execs were queried about their organizations’ use of social media to communicate with customers. While 53% of respondents do not use social media, a surprising 40% do, according to the Varolli survey. Eight percent cited that they didn’t know if their institutions engaged in the practice. The study cited this key takeaway, “This trend indicates that a relatively large percentage of organizations are actively targeting younger customer segments into their communication strategies, as sites such as Facebook and Twitter are predominantly used by Gen X and Gen Y.”

What social media outlets do bankers use to communicate with retail customers?
Not surprising, Facebook and Twitter are the most popular forms of social media communication. Thirty-four percent have a Facebook page, while 22% own a Twitter account. Where do other social media rank?

Here’s the breakdown:

Will those banks not using social media now use it in the future?
The future trend for social media by these non-user banks is mixed, according to the survey. Thirty-five percent of non-users intend to embrace it in the future, while 33% have no intention of using it. An almost equal number of 32%, just don’t know what they’ll do.

Seattle-based Varolii, creates outbound consumer messages via voice, text and email for various industries.