Is social media the new customer service desk for banks?

With social media now synonymous with communication and marketing strategies, banks may be entertaining the idea of finding more effective ways to engage with their customers on such platforms.

Recently awarded the ‘Best Use of Social Media by a Financial Institution’at SMAA, Kenya Commercial Bank talks about how it developed a successful social media platform. 

Q: How did KCB get started down the social media path?

KCB got into Social Media about two years back. It however took about a year before we got the hang of it given the size and nature of our business. Given our customers are increasingly young and savvy, it was only natural that we would go down that path.

Q: Who or what was the catalyst behind the KCB’s social media voice?

Our voice was dictated by our audience. The customer segment that engages with us online is relatively young and urban or peri-urban. This group is energetic, opinionated and quite vocal about their needs. When they are happy they will tell you, and when they are unhappy they will be even more vocal. Ensuring we created a social media personality that makes us approachable and engaging to our customers is critical to our success so far.

Q: In a sea of social media feeds, what makes KCB’s voice on social media unique?

We are the first Financial institution locally to take the bold step and become less formal in both our social media commentaries and language. We have utilised unconventional tactics such as comics, news jacking and humorous posts to get our message across, often having to go outside our comfort zone to connect with our customers. The response has been phenomenal, culminating in us winning the Social Media Africa Awards in January 2015.

Q: How has your social media presence impacted your community outreach?

This is one area we expect to really amplify this year. However we have utilised social media to let the world in on our CSR activities such as the Mifugo ni Mali program in Baringo and other counties, and the Kidneys for Life program through which we encouraged our Fans to go for free checkups at our Mobile clinics. We realise that our Fans care about the community around them and we will be using our rapidly growing social media influence to involve them in our community outreach activities.

Q: How do you treat the Africa Social Media Awards 

Winning the ‘Best Use of Social Media by a Financial Institution’ award at the SMAA was a welcome validation of what we have embarked upon on Social Media. We have also seen an increase in engagement where more and more Customers are realising that they can effectively communicate with us through social media and expect timely feedback. We hope to win more awards in 2015 so this is only but a beginning.

More than just a means to listen to consumer sentiment, social media can now be used by financial institutions to acquire, engage, cross-sell and retain customers. It can also improve operational efficiency and reduce risk. The key is to align business goals with the appropriate social media strategy.