Social media: A powerful conversion tool

by. Georgeann Smith

Gallop recently released new statistics regarding the influences that lead financial consumers to open new accounts. Surprisingly, social media topped the list of effective financial institution (FI) conversion tools.

There’s a near split in preference for whether or not consumers want up-front interaction from a credit union or bank. According to Gallop’s research, 59 percent of new accounts are opened without any solicitation from the FI. Forty-one percent of prospective customers, on the other hand, require effort from the FI before they will take the plunge.

Converting prospects into customers can be difficult, particularly when those prospects aren’t in the right frame of mind. The challenge lies in discovering ways to reach and communicate with people even when they may not actively be looking to open a new account.

According to Gallop’s Retail Banking Industry survey, it may be time for FIs to look closer at social media as a conversion tool. Gallop found that social media provided the most sales conversion of all the channels included in their survey. Specifically, people who use social media to find out about FI products are 18 percent more likely to complete a purchase than those who use other research channels.

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