The emergence of social media has disrupted how organizations reach out to their consumer/ customers and the public in general.
Facebook, the leading social media platform, has more than 1.87 billion users, not to talk of Whattsapp, Twitter, Youtube also posting hundreds of millions of subscribers or users.
Just like many industries, social media presents opportunities for banks to generate meaningful connections with customers and members, attract desirable consumers and achieve ongoing business initiatives.
According to the Bank of Ghana, there are 33 commercial banks operating in the country. These relatively high number of banks has made the industry a fiercely contested one where banks fall over themselves to attract customers.
The emergence of social media presents an opportunity where these banks can market their products and services to their audience as well Rank themselves to take real-time feedback from their audience as well.
Gone were the days that customer service typically involved a face-to-face like conversation with customer service personnel to have concerns addressed. In 2016, the multiplicity of social media platforms mean that organizations and in this case banks, have to be proactive in responding to queries or communicating products via these platforms.
But before one can measure the usefulness of social media for banks, it will be appropriate to first gauge their presence on these platforms. And with the widespread of fraud especially via identity theft, it is increasingly important for banks to pursue measures that limit these vices.
Aware of identity theft, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among others use the verification system to indicate genuine accounts from counterfeited or parody accounts.
A verified social media account would have a blue checkmark that lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic.
Methodology
This social media index looks at the presence of banks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This index also incorporates whether the banks have been verified on Facebook and Twitter. Although Instagram allows verification of accounts, this index did not include that.
On Facebook, the key measure was the number of ‘likes’ these banks have and on Twitter their ‘followers’ was also measured. The measurement of these key indicators was taken on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
The total number of “likes” and “followers” is computed and weighed against other banks to rank these banks in terms of which of them has a stronger presence via huge followership on these three social media platforms.
In all, all 33 commercial banks were included in this index.
Key findings
The analysis showed that these banks, put together, have a total of 2,003,126 ‘likes’ on Facebook, which happens to be the most popular among the banks judging by the numbers. Only four (4) out of the 33 banks have been verified by Facebook as being authentic accounts. On Twitter, the banks combined have 140, 009 followers. Only two banks have been verified by Twitter. On Instagram, the total followers by all the banks was 53,535.
Ranking
Rank: 33 & 32
Banks: First National Bank and Sahel Sahara
First National Bank did not show up in any search queries conducted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The keywords used in searching the bank was “First National Bank Ghana Limited,” “FNB Ghana”.
Sahel Sahara also did not show up in any of the search queries indicating that the bank had no presence on the selected social media platforms. Keywords used were “Sahel Sahara Bank Ghana” and Sahel Sahara”.
Rank: 31
Bank: FBN Bank
Facebook: 22 (Not verified)
Twitter: 3 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
FBN Ghana is a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria. The bank’s social media platforms have seen relatively little activity. On Facebook, apart from some photo uploads and changing of profile picture, nothing much can be seen on the page which last saw an activity on March 20, 2017. On Twitter, the bank which last tweeted on its handle, @FBNBankGH, on March 6, 2017, has just three followers with that tweet remaining its only Tweet. The bank has no presence on Instagram if the keywords of “FBN Ghana” and “FBN Bank Ghana” were queried.
Rank: 30
Bank: Heritage Bank
Facebook: 95 (Not verified)
Twitter: 7 (Not verified)
Instagram: 10
Heritage Bank commenced operations just this February. It is one of the newest banks on the market. Coming at the time when competition within the banking sector is at its peak, one would think that the newest bank will attempt to cover every blade of grass to catch up with the sector’s players. Whatever the bank may have done to catch up with competition, it seems social media was not part of it. The Bank’s Facebook page has just 95 likes and its Twitter handle also boasts of just 7 followers. On Instagram, it has just 10 followers.
Rank: 29
Bank: The Royal Bank
Facebook: 250 (Not verified)
Twitter: 7 (Not verified)
Instagram: 4
The Royal Bank goes by the tagline, Real Banking, Real Difference. The bank’s presence on Facebook translates into some 250 likes with little activity to show. The twitter handle, @TheRoyalBankGh, has 7 followers and has never tweeted. On Instagram, the bank’s page had 4 followers with no posts to show.
Rank: 28
Bank: Bank of Baroda
Facebook: 363 (Not verified)
Twitter: 0 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
Bank of Baroda Ghana, a subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, India, has a limited social media presence. Apart from its Facebook page, which last saw an activity on March 13, this year, there is no twitter handle or Instagram account to show when the bank’s name “Bank of Baroda Ghana” is used to look them up.
Rank: 27
Bank: Ecobank
Facebook: 487 (Not verified)
Twitter: 59 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
Ecobank, the Pan-African Bank, by far one of the biggest banks in the country in terms of assets but when it comes to social media, such dominance is non-existent. The Bank’s Facebook page has just below 500 likes and does not tell the tale of lead financial institution. On Twitter, @EcobankGhanaLtd, had just 59 followers and did not have presence at all on Instagram.
Rank: 26
Bank: Bank of Africa
Facebook: 451 (Not verified)
Twitter: 0 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
Bank of Africa commenced operations in the country in 2015. Information available on its Facebook page remain scanty. The page has never seen any posts since it was created, not even a profile photo has been added. On Twitter and Instagram, too, there is no record of the bank when using these keywords in search queries, “Bank of Africa Ghana,” and “BOA Bank Ghana”.
Rank: 25
Bank: Prudential Bank
Facebook: 587 (Not verified) Twitter: 0 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
Prudential Bank commenced business in 1996. Since then, it has gone ahead to win numerous industry awards which are boldly listed on their Facebook page. But it is unknown whether the bank has won any laurels recently as the bank’s Facebook page was last updated six (6) years ago. Effective to say, the page has been abandoned. On Twitter and Instagram, keywords “Prudential Bank Ghana,” and “PB Ghana Limited” did not return any results lending credence to the fact that the bank has no presence on those platforms.
Rank: 24
Bank: Sovereign Bank
Facebook: 937 (Not verified) Twitter: 0 (Not verified)
Instagram: 276
The Sovereign Bank Limited, according to its description on its Facebook page, “is a full-service bank with a principal aim of making a difference in the Banking and financial services landscape by being…” What the bank intends to do to achieve the “difference” was not stated as that mission statement was never completed.
The Facebook page of one of the newest banks has seen some activity in the past especially during the month of March, this year. However, the last post happens to be on March 7. On Twitter, looking up “Sovereign Bank Ghana,” and “Sovereign Bank” did not return any results. But the bank has presence on Instagram, where it has posted 32 images to its 276 followers. The last post was made five weeks ago.
Rank: 23
Bank: Zenith Bank
Facebook: 4,178 (Not verified) Twitter: 164 (Not verified)
Instagram: 0
Zenith Bank is acclaimed for its use of technology to deliver innovative solutions to make banking convenient. It has several awards globally and locally to show for its dedication. But its use of technology in developing banking solutions is in stark contrast with its social media presence.
Although very active on Facebook, last post on 6 April, it has just a little over 4,000 likes. On Twitter, @ZenithBankGhana can only boast of 164 followers with the last post coming on January 1, 2017 and just 22 tweets. On Instagram, looking up “Zenith Bank Ghana” was not fruitful, giving the indication that there’s no presence on that platform.
Rank: 22
Bank: Premium Bank
Facebook: 4,896
Twitter: 336 Instagram: 75
Formerly known as City Investments Co. Ltd, Premium Bank last year completed its transformation. To push its new image, the bank took to social media as well as other avenues. The bank’s Facebook page is active with content being posted regularly. On Twitter, its handle, Premium_gh, has 336 followers and has tweeted 336 times.
On Instagram, the Bank, which is a member of the Vanguard Group of Companies, has 53 posts and has 75 followers as well.
Rank: 21
Bank: GN Bank
Facebook: 7,014 Twitter: 119
Instagram: 551
A member of Groupe Ndoum, GN Bank, commenced operations in 2014. The bank which prides itself as the ‘People’s Bank’ has a little over 7,000 likes on Facebook and its handle on Twitter, @GN_Bank, has 119 followers with the last tweet been made June 24, 2015, indicating some form of neglect for that handle. On Instagram, the bank has 551 followers and a single post made over 103 weeks ago to show for its usage of that platform.
The second and concluding part of this index will be published next week, Wednesday, 19, April
Source: BFT
