Social Media: An effective banking conversion tool

by NAFCU Services

Guest post written by Trevor Rasmussen, Content Marketing Manager, Deluxe Corporation.

Deluxe Financial Services is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Check Printing, Online Check Ordering, Check Fraud Prevention, and Member Loyalty Solutions.

A recent blog from Gallop, Inc. talked about the influences that lead people to open a new account at a financial institution. According to their research, 59 percent of new accounts come without any prompting from the bank or credit union. This is rather prominent, but 41 percent of people need more effort to reach and convert.

Converting prospects who aren’t thinking about opening an account is not easy to do. The challenge with doing this is finding ways to reach and communicate with people who are not actively looking. Traditionally financial institutions use advertising to stay top of mind, but many have struggled to see social media as an option to truly convert new customers.

Social Media as a Conversion Tool

Social media has been a mixed bag in the financial services industry. Some financial institutions have embraced it while others have shunned it. Most in the industry realize it’s a part of life that is not going away anytime soon but they don’t understand how to use it in an impactful way. According to Gallup’s Retail Banking Industry survey, more than half of those who are considering buying a new product seek out information prior to purchase. The act of seeking out information, from any source, prior to purchase leads to a significant lift in conversion rates. So what methods did Gallop find to be the most successful?

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