| By Jim Bruene on March 6, 2008 8:39 PM | Comments (9) |
Four months ago (here) I wrote about how easy it was to set up a company page in Facebook. Even a total novice like myself could create one in a few minutes.
There hasn't exactly been a rush to do it, but approximately 50 financial institutions have posted a free company page on Facebook (see note 1). Although, most are simple "white page" listings with no more than logo, address, phone number and URL, it's still better than nothing.
(Update Mar 7: Please note, I am talking only about Facebook "pages" here. There are several banking "groups," notably Chase +1 with nearly 50,000 members, that are far more active. Also, some FI pages , such as TD Money Lounge and RBC Bankbook, do not show up in my search using "bank" and "credit union." Consider these counts approximations. )
Credit unions have three times as many as banks. Credit union's can often move faster because of their size and culture. Here's the count by financial institution type:
- 10 North American banks
- 32 North American credit unions
- 8 banks outside North America
The only banks with more than a handful of fans are Jordan's Arab Bank with 145 and HSBC Bank Egypt with 89. Silicon Valley's Valley Credit Union (screenshot below) leads in the U.S. with 45 fans.
There's also one bank branch that's taken the initiative to post a Facebook page. U.S. Bank's Beaver Valley, Ohio branch (here) is one of the few to have posted something interesting, a $100 Super Bowl contest. They've also posted their branch hours (see screenshot below).
Note:
1. I counted financial institution pages by using Facebook's site search for "bank" and then for "credit union." To qualify the FI had to at least post the bank's logo and URL. There were also a few placeholder pages with no logo.
2. For more information on social media and online personal finance, see our Online Banking Report #144/145.
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What about the Chase +1 group on Facebook -- it has 48,304 members.
"The only banks with more than a handful of fans are Jordan's Arab Bank with 145 and HSBC Bank Egypt with 89"
Huh???
TD Canada Trust has over 11,000 fans on its Facebook Page, "TD Money Lounge."
RBC Royal Bank has over 2,300 fans on its Facebook Page, "RBC Bankbook."
Jim, I think you need to employ a different counting methodology. Searching for "bank" using Facebook's site search is clearly overlooking some major players.
@Mike and John
Yes, there are much bigger banking Facebook **groups**. Bank of America also has one that numbers in the thousands. I believe we've covered all three of these before.
I was specifically referring to Facebook **pages**, a new capability launched in November 2007. Pages are more like yellow page ads, whereas groups are much more interactive.
Thanks for helping clarify.
The two examples I listed (TD Money Lounge and RBC Bankbook) are in fact Facebook "pages". They were formerly Facebook "groups". To be more accurate, RBC's old group was known as "RBC Campus Connection". It appears they re-branded when they converted it into a fan page.
@Mike
Yes, I see now they are in fact *pages* but they still don't show up in Facebook searches for "bank".
Give the banks 2 more. Thanks for the clarification. -- Jim
I think most banks are in a "wait and see" mentality, making sure that facebook does not become another MySpace. A recent post in the Better Banking Blog discusses banks blocking access to facebook.
(http://bankingreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/are-you-banned-from-using-facebook-at.html)
Another good read is Facebook vs. LinkedIn at Sphinn:
(http://sphinn.com/story/33120)
Banks will have to determine which network best fits their model and who is responsible for maintaining the page - marketing, IT or a Generation Y employee --I say do both, social networking is here to stay.
@BBN
Your points are well taken, as it relates to charting out a social media strategy.
But you don't have to wait to decide your before posting a Facebook company page. It's free, takes a minute or two to do, and can just have your name, URL and phone number.
It's like a Yellow Pages ad without the cost. There is absolutely no reason not to do it...and do it right away.
I am the marketing manager for my credit union and just had our IT set up a facebook page.
It seems really great but tried do a search from my facebook page to become a friend and you can't find it!!! We tried everything we can think of and the only way to access the page is knowing the URL.
Maybe we're doing something wrong but I'd say this might be the biggest reason nobody is jumping on board.
USAA has over 14,000 fans.