first direct, the UK bank that has won plaudits for its engagement in social media, has taken another step towards becoming the UK's leading 'social bank' with the launch of a new Facebook page, facebook.com/firstdirect.
The new page will host a variety of engaging topics and conversations about events that are happening both inside and outside the bank plus competitions and events that users can enter by liking the page, as well as the opportunity to talk to bank representatives through the Facebook wall.
Paul Say, first direct's head of marketing, explained the move saying 'first direct was founded on the idea that we should engage with our customers in the way that they want to engage with us. 21 years ago that meant being open and on the phone 24/7, then it was Internet Banking, mobile phones, apps, twitter and now it's via Facebook. The common factor is that it's the people that matter, not the channel.
'Of course social media is a challenging environment especially for old fashioned banking organisations who are having to break down the barriers to conversation, but in the end we find that the more we can interact with our customers the more we are able to build trust between both parties.'
As well as its Facebook page, first direct uses social media to engage with customers through sites like YouTube, Twitter and Flickr. The company has an award winning social media newsroom, its own customer social network, Little Black Book, and has won awards for individual social media campaigns such as 'Live', a campaign that aggregated what people were saying about the bankonline.