The Fidor Bank Story: A Lesson in How and Why Banks Must Utilize Social Media

In April this year, computerweekly.com published an article based on Ovum’s various studies of the global banking sector where the research agency predicted that “social media will become a significant channel for retail banks in Europe within three years”.

Let me give you one of the finest examples of a bank utilizing social media. Germany’s Fidor Bank was established in 2007.  It is the world’s first online-only bank that operates only through the internet and using social media. From customer service, communications and engagement to new product development, everything happens on social media at the Fidor Bank.

Fidor Bank’s success through social media is best described by Karl Finders in his article when he says, “Fidor currently has more than 200,000 people registered and 150,000 community members. It has €160m worth of deposits, and its lending totals about €100m. With only 34 staff, no branches and a cost of only €3.50 to set up a customer with full banking, the overheads are low compared with traditional banks”. He adds, “Fidor’s customers trust it because it listens to them all the time through social media and customers have a trusted community supporting them”. 

How did Fidor Bank achieve this?

At a time when customers’ trust and faith in their banks was at an abysmal low, courtesy global economic crisis, Fidor Bank’s leadership took a bold move. They were brave enough to rely entirely on social media to restore that trust through personalized social media interactions. They communicated openly about issues related to banking and personal finance on social media. They opened channels on Facebook and Twitter for their customers to interact candidly with them, thus creating a high level of operational transparency. In no time Fidor’s customers realized that this bank was genuine and trustworthy. So, customers who came to Fidor Bank, stayed with it. In fact, even the bank’s customer service is handled by loyal customers on their social community.

Key takeaways from Fidor Bank’s strategy:

• Use social media to overcome the cost and complexity of traditional banking
• Always listen to your customers.
• Make social media a customer engagement tool.
• Increase customer trust through an online community
• Increase sales and improve customer service through enhanced customer communication strategies.

So, would you like to emulate Fidor Bank? To know how Shout Analytics can help you, write to us at info@shoutanalytics.com.

Sentiment Analysis: The New Game Changer for Entertainment Industry

Sentiment Analysis is being considered by entertainment industry experts as the new game changer for films and television. 

In December 2012, IBM and USC Annenberg Innovation Lab conducted a Film Forecaster study to assess the public sentiment on social media channels regarding those movies slated for release over the holiday period. The study’s intention was to understand what people thought of and expected from these movies. 

Using IBM’s Social Sentiment Index the study found that just before its release, the film Twilight: Breaking Dawn, spiked a 90% positive sentiment on Twitter. However, soon after its release, the positive sentiment plummeted to 75%. Though it appeared that viewers had been disappointed after the initial excitement, a closer analysis revealed that the negative sentiment was not against the movie but Twilight fans were “sad” that the series was ending.

This proved that Sentiment Analysis can work wonders for the film and television industry. In the Film Forecaster study, researchers gained critical insights about how people’s sentiments surrounding a film before and after its release proves detrimental for the film’s box office success.

Take another example – just before the release of Puss in the Boots last year, Dreamworks found out that the Twitter conversations surrounding the film was negative. Soon, the movie’s marketers created an appealing and interesting TV ad campaign to check the negative sentiments. The strategy worked. Not only did the movie become a hit but it also garnered a lot of positive mentions on Twitter. 

This indicates that using Sentiment Analysis, film producers and movie marketers can:

• Before release – assess the sentiment building up around the film as the countdown to its release begins.
• After its release- Know how well a film will do. 
• Plan their next step towards making that movie a hit, by basing the plan on the sentiment that has gathered momentum prior to the release.
• Understand accurately what their audience like and hate. This knowledge will then prove vital in crafting custom made message and marketing campaigns aimed for your audience.

Jonathan Taplin, the director of USC Annenberg Lab predicted that Sentiment Analysis will bring in a revolution in the entertainment industry. In other words, social media monitoring tools and Sentiment Analysis allows film and television houses to glean valuable, actionable insights from public sentiment. It allows them to position their film better, market it well and enjoy greater success at the box office.

So, if you are a heading a film production house or leading the marketing campaign of a soon to be released multi starrer, Sentiment Analysis can help your films in turning it into a runaway hit. To know how write to info@shoutananalytics.com