Oh no! Someone posted a negative comment.

• Author: Hershberger, Tara

BY NOW MOST FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REALIZE that social media should be an essential part of their marketing and communications strategy. However, some banks that are just getting started in soial media unintentionally do more harm than good to their social media reputation. The fact is that from day one your bank has to adhere to a few rules, best practices and even common sense.

I will illustrate this point by offering a list of "surefire ways financial institutions can sabotage their own social media efforts." I will also suggest strategies you can use to cuunteract these selfdefeating behaviors.

Ways to sabotage your social media efforts

Tell people how great you are, repeatedly. Think of social media like a party where you don't know anyone. How would you start off? You might begin with introductions and expressing interest in others through a series of questions. Telling others immediately all about yourself is a big put off on social media. It is very easy to "unlike" a brand that is self centered or that posts too much. Instead think about how you can engage your audience in a conversation, promote others as well as yourself, and provide useful, interesting information. In essence, show your personality.

Don't listen. You know those people at the party or at work who talk all the time, but don't ever stay quiet long enough for anyone else to get a word in edgewise. Don't be one of them and use social media as a "push only" tool. Listen and encourage participation. Openly solicit feedback from your social connections and ask questions to take full advantage of everything this two-way medium has to offer, Facebook has a great feature now where Pages can interact with other Pages. Check your Page newsfeed (once you've "liked" other business Pages) for interesting and local content and share it with your audience.

Don't respond. Amazingly 95 percent of all Facebook Wall posts go unanswered by brands. As community financial institutions, you can do better. You will go a long way in building trust and relationships by responding quickly and more often. There should be an internal proofing and review process for responses and it must be timely. Here at our agency once a post is written, our rule is that it needs to be reviewed within the hour. Keep in mind that it is not necessary for compliance to review every post. Define in advance which types of posts compliance needs to review, such as any special offers and anything with a rate or term.

Try to control your audience. Yes, people are unpredictable. You can't control what they say. and don't think that you can. Think of it this way: If you are not providing a forum for people to interact with you, they WILL find another place to take their conversation. Wouldn't you rather see (hear) what they are saying and have an opportunity to respond?

Jump in everywhere. Don't get in over your head. The shotgun approach doesn't work with social media. In fact, launching a social presence on multiple...