Beyond Facebook:
Social Media for professionals

by Helen Sanders, Editor

Social media is the communications revolution of the twenty-first century. And no, this is not a phrase purloined from a Facebook or Twitter advert. The growth speed of social media outstrips any communications phenomenon ever, including the use of the telephone, email or the internet. In early 2009, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying that if Facebook was a country, it would be the eighth largest country in the world. A year later, it would have been the third largest, topped only by China and India. Marketeers in the business community, particularly amongst small businesses, who rely on personal recommendation more than big-bucks advertising, are already taking advantage of the opportunities that social media presents. According to a recent study by Network Solutions, LLC and the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, use of social media by small business owners has doubled over the past year, with 75% of firms having a company page on a social media site, and 57% building networks through business social media sites such as LinkedIn. So with the growth of social media set to continue, what opportunities already exist for the treasury and finance community, and how could this develop in the future?

‘Bah humbug’ to social media?

Social media has received a bad press, with high profile cases of hacking and unsavoury characters using sites such as Facebook to approach vulnerable young people. At a less serious level, while employers are increasingly using LinkedIn to source potential talent, they are also checking potential employees’ social media presence to assess their suitability. Furthermore, many companies are blocking access to Facebook, Twitter etc. to maintain productivity and guard against security breaches. So bearing in mind some of the challenges, does social media have a place in the business community?

The answer from two proponents of social media amongst the financial community, SEB and Deutsche Bank, is undoubtedly ‘Yes’. In 2008, SEB launched the Benche (www.thebenche.com) as Hakan Aldrin, Sheriff, The Benche describes,

“While a selection of business networking tools exist, such as LinkedIn, in an otherwise increasingly crowded social media marketplace, there remain few opportunities for the financial community to meet, share and learn with like-minded professionals. Recognising this gap, and anticipating the growing importance of collaborative web tools for professional interaction in the future, SEB first launched an independent, online community forum for trade professionals in November 2008, named the Benche (www.thebenche.com) which has since been extended to Cash Management and Custody.”

Social media is the communication revolution of the twenty-first century. 

Deutsche Bank have also been early adopters of social media, and launched DriveDB! in autumn 2010. The bank has taken a different approach, however. Rather than creating an independent networking and collaboration forum, Deutsche Bank has focused instead on delivering an online forum in which its clients can directly influence the bank’s product direction and priority. As Daniel Marovitz, Head of Product Management, Global Transaction Banking at Deutsche Bank explains,

“There were two key factors that contributed to our decision to launch Drive DB! Firstly, we recognised that we needed a more inclusive way to budget and prioritise investment in client solutions. Secondly, we saw that our clients were becoming increasingly familiar with social media sites and we wanted to find ways to use these tools to engage in dialogue with our clients, in addition to the numerous ways of communication we already use.”

Even though both banks have made the decision to develop separate social media forums, as opposed to using closed groups within a larger site such as Facebook, personal social media remain useful for advertising, branding and ‘signposting’ users to other sites and services. As Hakan Aldrin, Sheriff, The Benche, SEB exemplifies,“Recognising that many people have connected to one or more online communities, we already extended the accessibility of the Benche by linking to Facebook and Twitter, and podcasts are now available through iTunes.”

The rationale for social media in finance

The rationale behind SEB’s and Deutsche Bank’s social media strategy is quite different. After all, the Benche is open to any bank or industry professional, while Deutsche Bank’s clients are invited to DriveDB! In the former case, opening the site to any bank or industry professional would appear to prevent SEB from gaining any competitive advantage to DB. Hakan explains, however,

“No bank can have expert individuals sitting alongside every customer with comprehensive knowledge of every market. We therefore wanted to engage not only our customers, but the wider financial community, in a way that was inclusive, convenient, easy to use and could quickly become part of financial professionals’ daily routine. Embracing, and indeed pioneering, the social media phenomenon to achieve this was a logical decision for SEB, leveraging our innovative approach to technology, and commitment to encouraging dialogue, collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the financial community. As new media becomes ubiquitous across the business community, we wanted to harness this new opportunity to deliver services to our customers in a convenient and innovative format.”

Both Hakan Aldrin, SEB and Daniel Marovitz, Deutsche Bank, emphasise that their social media outlets are complementary to existing ways in which they communicate with their clients, as opposed to replacing them. As Daniel Marovitz emphasises,

“Although we are continuing to invest substantially in numerous opportunities to meet our clients and engage in dialogue, such as customer events and forums, it is not always easy for treasurers to attend every event that they would like to. Social media is a useful way of gaining immediate feedback from across the customer base, and to ensure that customers are at the centre of the decision-making process."[[[PAGE]]]

Adoption of social media

the Benche has now been available to members for two years, initially for trade professionals, and more recently to practitioners in cash management and custody. Hakan Aldrin, SEB describes the response so far,

Personal social media remain useful for advertising, branding and ‘signposting’ users to other sites and services.

“Since launching the Benche and extending its reach across trade, cash management and custody, the Benche has become a primary reference and communication forum for finance professionals, with around 5,000 members and 18,000 unique visitors each month. Visitors originate from 200 countries (leaving only six remaining) with members from large multinationals through to small and medium-sized enterprises, together with their banks and advisers. We quickly recognised that the Benche had a major role to play in relieving the professional isolation that many practitioners were experiencing, not only those located outside their company’s headquarters or in countries without an established treasury community,but all those dealing with new challenges or expanding into new countries.”

Deutsche Bank’s DriveDB! was launched more recently in October 2010, but as Daniel Marovitz outlines, the response has already been significant,

“While it takes time to communicate to clients about the new opportunity that DriveDB! presents, the response has already been significant.Nearly 1,200 individuals are already signed up, but the most exciting thing is that people are already engaging actively, not only to vote and comment on Deutsche Bank’s product ideas, but to add their own suggestions and ideas.”

Addressing the challenges

Using social media is quite a different phenomenon to using more established methods for engaging with clients. As Daniel Marovitz continues,

“Print adverts,TV etc. are essentially ‘deaf media’ as communication is one-way, with no indication of how the message is being received. Social media permits a two-way dialogue and is a far more intimate means of engagement. However, this creates new obligations, as we must be prepared to listen as well as communicate, and respond appropriately to our customers’ feedback and ideas. This requires energy and commitment on our side, and we therefore tried to align our organisation accordingly.”

Hakan Aldrin, SEB explains,

“Being the first bank to introduce such a forum inevitably led to some challenges. With no-one in front to show the way, and no guidebook, we are engaged in a constant exploratory process to find ways to enhance users’ experience, refine the tools that are available through the Benche, and seek innovative and diverse sources of content.” 

Hakan continues by emphasising the importance of trust:

“Another challenge was the issue of anonymity and trust. While on the one hand, people want to know who is contributing an opinion in order to judge how far it can be trusted, on the other, they themselves may be uncomfortable with, or constrained from, revealing their name and company online. We addressed this paradox by requesting identity details when a member first joins, in order to maintain the integrity of site membership, while enabling members’ contributions and site activities to be performed anonymously. Consequently, a member posing a question or dilemma may receive responses from some identified, and some anonymous users, and can form their opinion accordingly.”  For Deutsche Bank, as members are all customers of the bank, the issue is less significant, but as more banks and vendors expand their use of social media to engage with customers and the wider industry, creating trust and integrity of content will become more important.[[[PAGE]]]

The potential for social media in finance

While SEB and Deutsche Bank have been early adopters of social media for finance professionals, other banks and industry players are also developing their own offerings. In some cases, these will leverage existing social media platforms, such as Treasury Strategies’ use of LinkedIn to establish targeted discussion forums. In others, they will follow SEB and Deutsche Bank’s examples of using dedicated sites. What is unquestionable, however, is that social media is becoming ubiquitous and this trend looks set to continue. At present, however, it is not yet clear how its use in finance will develop, as Daniel Marovitz, Deutsche Bank indicates,

“We will need to go where our clients lead us in terms of how we engage through social media, and be flexible. There is no guaranteed formula for success, but so far, our experience and we hope that of our clients has been positive.”

Hakan Aldrin continues,

“As nascent media, everyone is still discovering and exploring how these tools can best be used, and how they deliver the greatest value. By continuously analysing how members interact on the Benche and seeking feedback from members, we can refine the experience to deliver the optimum benefit and convenience, and use these insights across other parts of our service offering. Looking ahead, the Benche and our wider social media offerings will continue to develop to enable financial professionals with a variety of roles and expertise, from new entrants to experienced senior managers, to share practical insights, engage with likeminded individuals and address topical issues.”

Neither organisations nor individuals can afford to ignore social media.

To be successful in launching social media sites, whether for customers alone or for a wider industry audience, banks and other organisations will need a strong business rationale, as both SEB and Deutsche Bank have proved, as opposed to simply being a ‘me too’. Furthermore, it is not feasible for every bank and vendor to launch its own offering, as the benefit of collaborating and communicating through a single portal is lost. Potentially, banks will therefore have to work together on a single platform, which could include ‘closed’ groups of members. Perhaps there is the opportunity for SWIFT or another bank-independent organisation to fulfil this role. However, neither organisations nor individuals can afford to ignore social media, whether or not they have the inclination to share their holiday snaps or tell the world about their children’s various stomach bugs (which appears to be how my friends use it). This extends from marketing and branding through to collaboration with customers and the wider industry. As Dan Marovitz concludes, 

“In only three and a half years, social media has transformed communication in the developing world. Businesses cannot be immune to the phenomenon, nor ignore how it affects the way they should conduct their business.”