Linkedin as a marketing and sales tool.

AuthorSwift, Dan
PositionSALES DEVELOPMENT

FACT: Over two-thirds of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) use social media for finance-related reasons, providing a golden opportunity for financial institutions to connect.

This is based on a study conducted by Linkedln, in partnership with TNS, in November 2013. A 20-minute online survey was conducted among 998 North American SMBs from various industries and with revenue between $1 million and $50 million. Participants were owners, decision makers, and influencers for financial services and the selectors of financial service providers for their company.

Based on the study the top three finance-related reasons SMBs turn to social media are:

  1. Staying up-to-date on financial trends.

  2. Gathering preliminary information about financial products and companies.

  3. Seeking information for financial decisions.

Engagement

When engaging with social media, at least one in four SMBs are "following" the institution (33 percent), looking for referral/recommendations from peers (28 percent), and/or seeking real-time assistance (25 percent). Social media triggers SMBs to take action and learn more about finandal products and companies. Social media serves as a source for learning new information and a trigger to take action. Financial institutions should deliver a clear path to purchase that includes discovery and consideration.

In 2012, the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) shared that 75 percent of business-to-business purchases are influenced by social. Business owners are researching banks and individual bankers on social media. In the same year, CEB also reported that 57 percent of business owners have made their decision before a banker has even had an opportunity to influence the buying process.

Marketing in a world full of noise

Business owners have had to innovate to market themselves on social and differentiate themselves from the competition. Banks need to do the same.

Today's banking marketers are challenged in getting the right message, to the right decision makers, at the right time. Traditional marketing methods such as mailers, radio advertisements and TV commercials are having lower and lower return on investment year-on-year.

It is the responsibility of bank marketers to get ahead of these trends and create a meaningful presence in social...

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