Twittter overtakes Facebook as financial services' favoured network

Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most popular social network for financial services firms, according to new research.

Corporate Insight’s third report, which examines how financial institutions use social media tools, showed that at the end of 2011, 92% of firms actively engage clients through social media have a presence on Twitter, whereas only 88% have a presence on Facebook.

“The percentage of firms on Facebook and Twitter had nearly doubled, and a few innovators had launched multiple profiles on the major social networks for different purposes, like customer service, marketing and recruiting. Since then, social activity has only accelerated in the industry, with nearly 90% of the companies we track having some form of social media presence,” said the report.

As well as Facebook and Twitter, Corporate Insight also assessed the proprietary communities and blogs of the 90 firms participating in the research. The findings showed that in the period from January to March, 19 new financial services properties were launched, 17 of which were Twitter accounts.

From each of the four industry segments – Annuity & Insurance, Banking & Credit, Cards, Brokerage and Mutual Fund & ETFs – Vanguard emerged as the social media leader for the Mutual Fund & ETF industry.

Despite a cautious early start, the company began allowing blog readers to post comments and to tweet, Facebook ‘like’ and share the blog on Facebook. Today, the blog has eight different authors, posts twice a week on a range of topics and, as a result, receive a substantial number of comments, said the study.

“While most major financial institutions have finally embraced social media, the effectiveness of these efforts varies widely. Some firms still haven’t found their voice, while others are clearly succeeding in extending their brand via these new channels,” said the report.