CHICAGO — Sometimes, it is equally as important to know what does not work as much as what does.
In the spirit of lessons learned, two panelists at last week’s Net.Finance conference dished on what they discovered from their experiences in using social media marketing tools.
Pritesh Gandhi, senior manager of digital strategy eChannel, corporate marketing integrated distribution at BMO Financial Group:
- Make Decisions. With any large organization, you get to the point of deciding which way to go in social media: either to offer a sort of help desk to consumers via social channels or to use social media for marketing. Generally, a social media strategy could become so successful that it must choose one path, unless the FI has unlimited resources.
- Make Money. An FI probably will not make money on social media during the first year of implementation, but you will get a return on engagement from the social space.
Marc Zeitlin, vice president e-business of Farmers Insurance:
- No Regrets. Farmers had a self-described aggressive social strategy, yet it worked. The insurer got fewer complaints from the consumer than expected.
- “Like” Me. Farmers spent advertising money to get “likes” on Facebook, but at this point, the insurer does not know if likes do anything.