Visible Banking Twitter Watch: UBank (backed by NAB) Rewards its Followers by Giving them a free 1gb USB Flash

UBank is an Australian financial institution backed by NAB which currently focuses exclusively on Term Deposits. They aim to be innovative and fair.
They prove their commitment to being transparent and drive customer advocacy by leveraging social media: UBank is an active user on Skype, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

@UBank on Twitter: the first bank in the world to REWARD its followers
They started using twitter back in October 2008. Their twitter page, @UBank, now counts over 305 followers, over 295 web friends, and 280 updates.
 
In all my public speaking engagements I insist on the importance of REWARDING your members for the time they spend on your social media intitiative (whatever the platform: blog, social network, facebook, YouTube, or Twitter) and for spreading the word.
 
A couple of hours ago, the UBank team informed me that "something exciting" was about to happen on @UBank shortly, "A little different to most banks on twitter... we're gonna thank our followers, with a gift ;-) stay tuned...", "we're giving all our followers (who fill out a web form) a free UBank 1gb USB Flash (Aust residents, but we'll send you one)".
I look forward to receiving the usb key thanks UBank! ;)

It is a fresh and innovative way to:
1. quickly increase their follower base,
2. capture customer & twitterati feedback in order to better leverage the leading micro-blogging platform,
3. generate a lot of buzz from industry bloggers and journalists from all over the world in a cost effective way. Congrats UBank!

Terms and Condition to claim your UBank USB Key (cool design!): All you need to do is be one of the first 1000 followers to fill out the registration form below and still be a follower on the 31st of May and we'll send you one. It's easy.

Please find below a few screenshots.
 

 
New Tweetpaper
A few days ago the UBank team successfully redesigned its twitter page which is now clear, simple, and cleverly promote their other social media initiatives.

Live twitter feed: monitor your online reputation on twitter too
Another smart move. The Customer Support team has access to a live feed of the tweets referring UBank on Twitter (#UBank).















 
Visible Banking Twitter Watch
I started to identify and track the financial institutions on twitter since 15 March 2009.

Now, I am tracking over 90 banks, credit unions, credit card issuers and insurance companies. It is a work in progress, so please do not hesitate to flag any missing initiatives!

To find out more about social media in banking and financial services I invite you to check, and to contribute to, my social media directory.
 
Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch
* Directory 2.0: Social Media in Banking
* People First! Global Survey on Social Networking