Social media engagement in the B2B finance sector

Digital transformation is a global phenomenon with customer service and user experience at its core. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing unprecedented levels of digital transformation in the investment industry. However, these trends have been in motion for years.

As the speed of digital advancements increases, investment sponsors, service providers, and investors see that technology starts playing a bigger role in all aspects of the investment process.

The increased reliance on digital channels has required a technology transformation, but now it needs a cultural change. There is a need to digitally engaging with customers. From using data, through to developing content and personalizing experiences, financial institutions must think and act like media businesses. The social media platforms excel at customer engagement and provide a window into possibilities.

It is important to target your audience. 

When you think of the brands killing it on social media, the first few that come to mind are probably B2C companies (business to consumer). You rarely hear about the insurance company that is crushing it on Twitter. But these types of B2B (business to business) companies exist. The problem is they are in the minority.

For some reason, a lot of B2B companies have either struggled to grasp social media marketing or flat out ignored it. Despite the success that B2C companies have seen with social media, B2B companies still rely on traditional tactics like cold calling and attending business events (since the pandemic started online). Those tactics are effective, but they should not be used in place of social media.
 

Some advice for successful customer engagement

• Target a different audience with appropriate content OR have different social media platforms for different demographics of customers. E.g., Facebook and Twitter are good for B2C marketing, while SmartMoneyMatch and LinkedIn are better for B2B lead generation.
• Engage regularly and create a checklist to list your investments, investment interests, RFPs, offered services, events, and vacancies to stay relevant to your followers on the respective platform.
• Engage personally with other professionals and invite your contacts.
• Consider having some banner ads.
• Publish articles with engaging content like technical difficulty updates, new product features, features that customers may have forgotten, blog-style posts, questions directed at customers, business achievements, scam/fraud prevention advice, charitable partnerships, statistics/facts.

Kind regards,