Use Social Media for Crisis Communication

CUNA’s E-Scan Newsletter
January 31, 2011 | COMMENTS

Social media is affecting the way financial institutions relate with consumers, and providers need to be aware that consumers have certain expectations with regard to notifications, especially those concerning service problems or outages. 

Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can provide opportunities for communication concerning problems and updates, but providers need to know what to say and how to say it, according to Bank Systems & Technology.

Recently, JPMorgan Chase experienced a situation in which its online banking site became “temporarily unavailable,” according to a status message on their site.  Some customers were unable to access the online site for as much as two days, while receiving scant communications about the issue. Ultimately, lack of information created greater havoc than the service interruption did in the first place.

“Even if this was so severe that Chase didn’t know when it was going to be back up, there needed to be some communication,” notes Celent senior analyst Jacob Jegher. 

Financial institutions can use these crises to their advantage by grabbing the opportunity to use social media to notify consumers of a problem, say when a solution is expected, and provide alternative methods in accessing account information. 

“The backlash would be less severe,” says Jegher.  “When you’re talking about something that’s been going on for an extended period of time—I think in the online world that would be anything greater than an hour—you need to have constant updates.” 

Notifications via social media may not always provide the ideal solution, for example, if the message is dire but typical Twitter interactions are more casual.  However, messages are still expected, and lack of communication can lead to a barrage of unhappy—and detrimental—social chatter amongst members or customers. 

Most financial institutions are at least experimenting with social media to varying degrees, according to Bank Technology News.  These branding, marketing, and customer relationship strategies are important in many respects. 

“Social media isn’t just a place where people are wasting time, or a way to see who’s saying that your company stinks,” says Gartner research director Stessa Coehn.  “It’s a place where you can learn peoples’ influences.  It’s getting the experience that provides institutions with an understanding of how consumers live their lives on a daily basis.”