What’s more exciting, a Facebook page for a basketball team or the page for a local bank? The basketball team, right? People aren’t outright excited about their banking.
And that makes your marketing journey hard. How do you handle social media management for something that people don’t find exciting?
You get creative, that’s how. Want to learn more? Get our tips for social media success below.
1. Use Your Customers
You got into the business because you thought you could do something better or faster than your competition. Right?
Hopefully, that was your main drive, followed by the intention to make money (obviously).
So, since you spend time helping people, why not let them help your social media presence? A lot of people are grateful for your services and more than willing to sign a photo release.
If you provide loans for unemployed people, ask them for feedback. Did six other lenders refuse them and you were their last chance? That makes for a great story post.
Or maybe they used that loan to get a new car. Why not ask them to take a picture holding their new keys and post that? We can see the caption now: “Trusting people and taking them places.”
Why Use People?
Not only do people like seeing real people when it comes to businesses, but it’s better for your business. A study showed that out of two similar choices, people were 83% more likely to pick a business that a friend or even just another person reviewed.
Secondly, people are hardwired to look at other peoples faces. It’s a survival mechanism, from way back when.
If you use people in your post images and marketing campaigns, they’ll at least get glanced at, if they don’t catch their full attention.
2. Change Your Images
This point touches on the last point – and you won’t believe how much impact this simple change has.
You probably use some sort of stock photo service, yes? You’re already using faces in it, thanks to our tip above.
But where are the models in that photo looking? People aren’t only hardwired to look at faces, but they look where other people are looking.
Researchers have tested how the “look where people are looking” phenomenon works in advertising.
And what did they find? When they put ad copy in the gaze of the model, more people read the text.
It’s as simple as choosing a stock model photo who’s looking to the side instead of face on. Follow their eyes through the image and put your text in their field of vision.
It might take some getting used to, but it works. There are vision heat maps to prove it.
More people reading your ad copy means more conversions, or at least a long time looking at each post.
3. Engage, Engage, Engage
If there’s one thing Facebook likes, other than sharing people’s data, it’s engagement. You could even say they’re engaged to the idea of people engaging with each other.
And in that context, they consider businesses people, in terms of interaction.
So take advantage of that! If someone comments on something you post, comment back. Or at least like their comment, if you don’t know what to say.
4. Respond to Reviews
Engaging with people is especially important when it comes to reviewing .s. You should always, always, always, thank someone for taking the time to leave a review.
It doesn’t have to be long or drawn out. A simple “Thank you for reviewing us, we’re glad you’re happy!” is enough to please the Facebook gods.
It also encourages other people to post reviews, if they know you’ll pay attention.
While it feels like the last thing you want to do, you need to respond to negative reviews, as well. There’s an entire art to this process, but here’s a crash course.
First, apologize for the experience, whether you think it’s true or not. They feel like something went wrong and that’s enough reason to apologize.
Second, ask if you can reach out to find out more about the experience. This shows that you care about your clients and you intend to make things right.
Finally, promise some sort of action. Even if it’s as simple as “we’re going to look into this.” Finish off with a quick, “Thanks for bringing this to our attention” and be done with it.
You should actually look into the complaint too unless you know there’s nothing you can do.
5. Don’t Over-Promise
Finally, if you take anything away from this article, let it be this. Only advertise or post about services you can actually deliver.
Offering loans is a case-by-case basis, so make sure you put the disclaimer “offer based on credit history” or whatever is relevant to that post.
You don’t want someone to believe they’re going to get a service from you, then find out they’re not eligible. That’s a negative review in the making.
Social Media Management
Balancing social media management in the world of finance is hard. Banking and financial services aren’t exciting to people initially, so you have to work hard to make it so.
If you follow these tips, you’ll have a better chance of catching their attention. We can’t promise they’ll be excited to apply for a loan, but at least your page will get another view.
Didn’t find enough information here? Get more information about social design tips here.
