Banks facing social banking challenge

Social media are a current and relevant phenomenon for the banking sector: their use is changing the way the offer of financial products and services is communicated and the relationships with clients and stakeholders. Therefore, also for credit institutions it is important to know the features and implications of the digital traffic that develops on networking platforms. This is especially true in a time when, due to the recent events that banks have been involved in, most financial institutions feel the need to gain back credibility and trust through a stronger social intimacy with the public. The purpose of this work is on one hand to classify and interpret the content that banks and users share on two of the most popular social media platforms, and on the other to understand the role of the digital channels in the business models of credit institutions. To reach these aims, the activity on Facebook and Twitter of 4 important banks was monitored, analysing a total of over 20.000 elements (20.454). The data, processed through content analysis, highlights similarities and differences in the use of social media and shows how digital channels support the development of client relationships and contribute to the value generating processes of banks.