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Public Relations Financial Services

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Public Relations Reputation Management Crisis Management

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Managing online reputation for financial services organisations is an increasing imperative. The need for even the most reluctant of them to – at the very least – be prepared for online engagement is clear. The good news? It’s not all about risk – it’s also very much about opportunity.

While the two-way conversation at the very heart of social media can take your stories further and faster than ever before, that doesn’t come without risk. Yes, direct conversation with clients, customers and other stakeholders means closer engagement. But at the same time, the ability of your clients to say exactly what they think about you (and your inability to control what they say) brings inherent risks to your brand.

That’s why safeguarding the reputation of your business through a coherent social media strategy and well-executed plan is so important. And the good news is that it doesn’t need to be an overwhelming task.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that your online and social media activities are coherently linked. By this we mean that your branded social channels are clearly associated with other offline and online brand assets, including your website customer portals and marketing collateral. This way, your business will speak in one consistent and coherent voice at the same time as giving customers more channels through which to engage with you and with other customers.

The bottom line is that online reputation management is not all about risk management: it’s equally about opportunities. Opportunities to spread information about your brand, correct misconceptions, learn from your target audience and engage with current and future customers or members.

To show you what we mean, we would like to point to a couple of very different financial services organisations doing it well.

Take the Commonwealth Bank. The website home page is clear and clearly branded with clear links to the bank’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ accounts. When you click through, while each of these channels provides a different of type content, clearly targeted at different audiences, there remains consistent branding, look and feel.

Facebook, for example, is designated as a ‘Hub for the latest news, offers and updates’. However, in addition to news and updates, there are also many comments and complaints from customers, all of which have been responded to quickly by the Bank, with either a thank you for a positive comment, or the offer of a solution to or at the very least an acknowledgement of, a complaint. Customers may not always be happy with the response, but they do feel heard.

YouTube on the other hand, has a more lighthearted feel, with videos showcasing the bank’s contributions to various charities and sporting teams. There are also links to business and securities accounts for more serious financial markets content.

A second example is the Financial Services Council (FSC), the representative body for Australia’s wealth management businesses.

The website tells visitors clearly what the FSC is and does, and is easy to access and clearly branded. It provides clear links to the FSC’s Twitter account and LinkedIn page, both of which have consistent branding and messaging.

The Twitter account is used to keep followers up to date with FSC events and to distribute information that’s relevant to FSC members and followers, including updates about regulatory changes to the industry and expert commentary.

While the Commonwealth Bank and the FSC are among many financial services organisations using social media well, it’s no secret that the sector in general has been a laggard in the social media space. Some of the most innovative practitioners are to be found outside of financial services. But that doesn’t mean that financial services organisations large and small can’t take at least a leaf or two out of some of the leaders’ books.

Take Nike. Not only does the website look and sound as good as one would expect, but customers can link to different communities depending on their interests: soccer, football, basketball, Nike women or any of the Nike ambassadors. It makes me feel like putting on my trainers, downloading the Nike running app and racing out the door right now. Just doing it in fact.

Definitely something for financial services to aspire to.

BlueChip has developed a free, downloadable Online Reputation Checklist to help you safeguard your brand. Our checklist covers setting up, establishing a digital footprint and engaging with customers through to tracking and monitoring key stakeholders

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