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Politicians are known for sledging each other – and our financial services representatives live up to this perception – so what can we learn from them when it comes to sensibly using social media? More than you might think.
Mathias Cormann is not known for holding back in traditional media, and his recent foray into the social media sphere showed the same high-spirited approach. The Shadow Treasurer’s twitter account became the voice piece for an attack on his Government counterpart asking ‘Is Bill Shorten strong enough to stand up for Australians saving to achieve self–funded retirement & protect them from more Swan tax grabs?’
Whilst Cormann didn’t use Shorten’s twitter handle, the Minister for Financial Services & Superannuation obviously had his social media monitors on the case and responded within minutes using the correct handles (albeit misspelling Cormann’s name!) so that his comments would not be missed ‘@mathiascorrmann Pot, kettle. Only tax grab is you raising tax on super by $5000 for 1 in 3 workers, as you couldn’t stand up to big miners’.
The battle between the two parliamentarians moved quickly from social media to the trade media with articles highlighting the argument in Wealth Professional and Investor Daily. Cormann’s team were quick to the mark and tweeted links of the articles mentioning the Twitter battle.
“So what” for social media and financial services brands? There are a few learnings the financial services industry can take from our politicians.
- Comments in social media – a tweet, Facebook comment, blog - can be used in traditional media. Once published, any (whether yours or from others) comments are in the public domain and fair game. You can be held accountable for any comments you make on social media and, even if the comments ‘are personal views’, you can be presumed to represent the views of your organisation. But so too can comments from third parties – whether you like it or not.
- The greatest risk is having no presence. Whilst many are wary of the risk involved with using social media, there are more risks involved if you do not have a presence. If your clients, potential clients, peers and competitors are on social media your lack of presence will be obvious. Worse, if your detractors are talking about you and you don’t respond, those comments stand “on the record” until they’re responded to.
- What you don’t know can hurt you. Simply listening to the conversations taking place on line gives brand in this relatively new, fast moving medium, a significant advantage. If you are not listening you can’t respond. A slow response and you lose out. If Shorten’s team were not on the case, a radio silence response could have presumed guilt – however, the minister came back in quick time with a factual response and resumed a worthy adversarial position.
It’s self-evident that social media has changed the pace of communication and this exchange between our politicians is a prime example.
Whilst the financial services industry has been wary of the risks involved in social media, failing to engage could put your reputation at far greater risk. There are simple steps, including the three above, we can all take to protect our brands. And the sooner the better! Email social@bluechipcommunication.com.au for a free copy of our social media reputation risk checklist or if you would like our guide to social media monitoring.
To follow the twitter war over super in real time, follow @MathiasCormann and @billshortenmp as well as BlueChip Communication… And let us know your thoughts.
