Three Facebook Pitfalls
by Mark Arnold
Facebook. It tops Google for weekly traffic. If it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. Credit unions and banks know they must be on Facebook—it’s where their members and customers are.
But Facebook has its pitfalls. That’s according to Becki Drahota, president of Mills Financial Marketing, a marketing agency that works with financial institutions nationwide on their social media strategy.
“Channel selection is important,” Drahota says. “Four out of five Gen Y consumers use Facebook. Facebook is a deep pond with a lot of fish.” She noted that a recent Raddon Financial Group study indicated 18% of consumers clicked on a financial institution ad on a social networking site (that compares to a three percent direct mail response rate).
Despite its importance and success, however, Facebook is not without its challenges. Drahota points to three potential pitfalls with Facebook:
(1) Lack of objectives
“You can not afford to have your Facebook presence be the headless horseman,” Drahota says. “If you’re just posting stuff, you’re not doing it well. You need an overall strategy.” Potential objectives include education, enhancing your brand, extending your public relations, building community, extended customer service, facilitating research and developing, and driving sales.
