The changing face of Facebook: recent platform alterations affect how your bank operates on this social media.

• Author: Hershberger, Tara

DESPITE PREDICTIONS of a mass exodus after Facebook changes made this spring and relatively low satisfaction ratings among users, the social media pioneer reached a meteoric milestone in July, surpassing 500 million users. If Facebook were its' own country, it would rank third in population, ahead of the United States in fact. Growth in this social network, which was at a mere 250 million last year at the same time, is unprecedented.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Facebook is simply too large to ignore. And interest in Facebook is stronger than ever.

This article updates bank marketers on some Facebook issues. It will explain some important changes to the platform affecting how banks and other businesses operate on Facebook. It will also review lessons learned from FDIC social media audits, and case studies of how local and regional banks have been able to respond and stay goal-focused in tile changeable Facebook environment.

The benefits of Facebook

Let's take a moment to review the gains that banks can derive from a Facebook presence.

People have a desire to connect with brands on social media sites. Over half of those present on Facebook follow brands. People connect with brands they care about; so at its core, Facebook fosters a positive environment and brand loyalty. Research has shown that people primarily connect with brands to show support for companies, if they are a customer, or for personal reasons, including involvement in a promotion or contest or to get a deal such as a coupon or special offer.

The demographic profile of Facebook users connecting with community banks is highly desirable. After having built numerous community bank Facebook Pages, we have consistently found an attractively broad audience ranging in age primarily from their 20s to 50s, skewed toward females. It's important to note that more than 60 percent of women turn to family and friends for financial advice, so connecting to financial brands on Facebook is a natural extension.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Banks can market and sell products through Facebook. Opportunities exist to customize and brand certain areas within the platform for product promotions that drive measurable clicks and traffic to your Web site. Those inbound links actually boost search engine optimization (SEO) efforts because anything posted to your Facebook Page can be found by Google.

Facebook is also a fantastic public relations tool. No longer do to you have to wait and hope for the newspaper to print the press release of your latest show of community support. Post a picture of your donation to a charitable organization or participation in a community-sponsored event and you are very likely to get a slew of "Likes" and even some positive comments. Posts with engagement such as these are rewarded in the form of automatic...