Top Financial Institutions on Twitter Globally (1,470 accounts, June 2011)

I believe the financial services industry worldwide was lacking of a comprehensive benchmark on social media activity on more and more popular online communities like facebook or twitter.
 
This is precisely why back in early 2009 me and my team at Visible Banking started tracking the social media presence of banks, insurance, investment firms and more widely financial services firms all over the world.
 
New Visible Banking Quarterly Reports: Facebook and Twitter
I'm keen to connect with you If you are looking to better understand those new communication channels, benchmark yourself against your peers, and successfully leverage social media to contribute to your business objectives.
 
In the meantime, please check our regular updates on the Visible Banking Twitter Watch series, 1,500+ accounts in 70+ countries and Visible Banking Facebook Watch series, 900+ pages and apps in 70+ countries.

FYI, during the summer we plan to launch two quarterly reports focused on facebook and twitter. We are keen to find out how useful those reports would be to you and what you'd like to see included.
 
Send us your comments and suggestions!

The Visible Banking Twitter Watch - June 2011
I invite you watch my short video update on our unique Visible Banking Twitter Watch series.
 
The stats shared in my video come from our data collection activity from early June 2011:
* 1,470 accounts from 71 countries
* 1.9 million followers (aggregated)
* 1.2 million tweets (aggregated)
* 54 verified accounts from 4 countries
 


Companies Featured
* Brazil: Santander
* Indonesia: BNI
* Kuwait: KFH Group
* Netherlands: Aegon,
* South Africa: Capitec Bank
* Thailand: SCB, Kasikornbank
* Turkey: Akbank, Garanti Bank, Türkiye İş Bankası
* US: American Express, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, The Hartford
* Venezuela: Banesco, BBVA Provincial
  
Working Together
We at Visible Banking would be delighted to help you and your team better UNDERSTAND and LEVERAGE social media in a strategic yet pragmatic way.
So please don't hesitate to call me, send me an email or DM me (@Visible_Banking) to book a meeting and talk about twitter, facebook, crowdsourcing, customer reviews, social media & social commerce in banking, financial services and insurance.

Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* All my posts related to Facebook
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs)

Top 10 Most Followed and Top 10 Fastest Growing Financial Institutions on Twitter (Global, Q1 2011)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter (only 54 accounts back then!). It will always be a work in progress, so please don't hesitate to get back to me to flag any missing initiatives.
  
My Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (twitter, facebook, blog, youtube) gives me access to some fascinating, and unique, insights which enable me to provide second-to-none pramatic recommendations to my clients. On regular basis, I also share some of those key stats and insights with my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans.
 
As part of our Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series we are now tracking over 1,400 accounts from financial institutions in 70+ countries: banks, credit unions, insurance, credit card, and financial services & investment firms.     
 
Key Stats - Global
I invite you to check the insights shared below (the data was collected on 1st April) and compare those figures with the ones from my last update.
 
Distribution: on 1st April 2011, we were tacking 1,388 live accounts in 70 countries: 713 banks, 327 credit unions, 222 insurance firms, 75 FS & Investment firms, 43 credit cards and credit card providers, 8 central or reserve banks.

Please find below the total distribution of following, followers, listed, tweets and verified:
 
Activity: 97 accounts tweeted more than 5 times a day, 249 accounts tweeted between 1.1-4.9 times per day, 467 accounts tweeted between 0.1-1 time per day on average and 468 didn't tweet at all.

Overall, this lack of activity demonstrates that most financial institutions haven't started yet to engage on twitter.
 
Verified: as of 1st April 2011, we flagged no less than 39 verified accounts in 4 countries: Australia, Brazil, UK, US. Since then, we've already added a couple more... Stay tuned!
  
Top 10 Most Followed Accounts (Growth)
Please find below the Top 10 most followed twitter accounts with their month on month and quarterly growth rates.

1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Banesco (Banesco), 3. @OPENForum (American Express), 4. @scb_thailand (SCB), 5. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 6. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 7. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 8. @BNI46 (BNI), 9. @SCBEasy (SCB), 10. @banxico (Banco de Mexico).

There is only one US financial institution in the Top 10, and Europe is not even represented. You notice the growing presence of South American and Asian financial institutions. And those accounts are still growing at an incredible rate.
  
American Express (US) and SCB (Thailand) are the only financial institutions with two accounts in the Top 10. The competition is fierce in Thailand where banks are focused on building large audiences on social media sites like facebook, twitter or foursquare. Kasikornbank is also placed well with its @KBank_Live account ("KBank Live" being Kasikornbank's own social media brand).
 
To my knowledge, American Express is still the only financial institution which broke the 100,000 follower mark. Please feel free to prove me wrong should you be aware of another twitter account in banking or insurance with such an enormous follower base.

Even in the B2B space, American Express proves to be focused and successful on twitter. Despite their already sizable follower base, in Q1 they kept growing at a staggering pace of 278 new followers a day.
And their social media success doesn't stop with twitter: I invite you to check my coverage of Big Break, American Express OPEN's latest facebook contest.

Top 10 Most Followed Accounts (Activity)
Please find below the same Top 10, but this time with their average volume of daily tweets.

I find it interesting to somehow link the growth of an account back to its content strategy: frequency is important, so is syntax (hashtags, words, appeal) and "call to action" (links). But be careful not to turn into a spammer!

Here, you see that 40% of the accounts show a modest-to-low activity with 5.3 tweets or less a day on average in Q1. 40% of the accounts have a decent-to-good level of activity with between 6.3-23.9 of daily tweets. 20% of the accounts tweet a lot with 33.5 and 58.8 daily tweets. Those high numbers usually involve whether some kind of automation or a focus on customer support.
 
The relatively low activity on @OPENForum shows that American Express does a good job promoting it on its own online assets (website and other social media presence).
 
Top 10 Fastest Growing Accounts (over 500 followers)
I find it important to give more visibility to the financial institutions which experienced the largest growth rates in Q1.
1. @OPENForum (American Express), 2. @PIMCO (Pimco), 3. @BNPPARIBASOPEN (BNP Paribas), 4. @KFHGroup (KFH Group), 5. @BancoGuayaquil (Banco de Guayaquil), 6. @YoungFreeAB (Severus CU), 7. @AbsaCapeEpic (ABSA Bank), 8. SacSantander_br (Santander), 9. @ecb_europa_eu (European Central Bank), 10. @Axa_Gorilla (Axa Equitable).

Congratulations to all the financial institutions mentioned in this Top 10 and in particular the Top 3 fastest growing accounts (excluding @OPENForum): 1. @KFHGroup (Kuwait), 2. @SacSantander_br (Brazil), 3. @ecb_europa_eu (Germany).
 
If feels good to see 2 other European accounts in the Top 10: well done to BNP Paribas and Axa! Please note that both French financial institutions have several other twitter accounts such as @BNPPARIBAS_SAV, an account dedicated to customer support.
 
Success: Content Strategy, Following Strategy, Promotion, KYF
I strongly believe in the value of tracking and benchmarking how twitter and facebook are used in financial services. Providing a list of twitter accounts or facebook pages is not enough.
 
Financial institutions must appreciate that if creating a twitter account is super easy and fast, building a strong presence and engage with "the right tweeps" on the most popular microblogging service is challenging.

Your success lies in your ability to produce interesting content on regular basis and make sure your content will be picked up by the tweeps you are targeting. This is assuming that you know who you are targeting? By the way, do you know who is following you?
 
Then you have to make sure to promote your twitter account on your own online assets, which will make your presence more official and reassure the tweeps,
 
What is Your Strategy on Twitter?
To maximize your chances of being successful you need to:
1. Understand how your peers have been using twitter in the last few years, 
2. Identify your influencers (detractors and champions),
3. Design and implement a content strategy (which includes among other aspects: distributing existing content, relaying content from trusted sources and thanking your followers),  
4. Promote: maximize the visibility of your twitter account(s) on your own online assets, including your public website and your other social media profiles like your facebook page(s),
5. Design a following strategy and a response strategy
6. Know Your Followers (KYF): it is critical to understand who is following you, who are your most influential tweeps... In order to enhance your response strategy and start building stronger, trusted, relationships with them. The better you know your followers, the better you can REWARD them.
   
I appreciate this approach requires a bit of time and guidance, but it is what's required if you want to make the most of twitter. And please don't conclude that twitter or social media is not for your financial institution simply because you didn't see much traction since the launch of your account. In most cases, you haven't even started to really leverage this new communication channel.
 
Two of the most "successful" approaches on twitter are: focusing on customer service or establishing your financial institution as The content aggregator / The curator for a specific topic (especially in B2B).
 
We at Visible Banking would be delighted to help you and your team better understand and leverage social media in a pragmatic way.
So please don't hesitate to call me (0044 7736 446 357), send me an email ([email protected]), or DM me (@Visible_Banking) to book a meeting and talk about twitter, facebook, customer reviews, social media & social commerce in banking, financial services and insurance.
 .
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* All my posts related to Facebook
* About Visible Banking & Christophe Langlois
* Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in December 2010
* Top 10 Most Liked Financial Institutions on Facebook in December 2010
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

2010's Top 10 Most Followed Banks, Credit Card & Insurance Firms on Twitter (1,355 Accounts in 70 Countries)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter (only 54 accounts back then!). It will always be a work in progress, so please don't hesitate to get back to me to flag any missing initiatives.
  
My Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (twitter, facebook, blog, youtube) gives me access to some great, and unique, insights. On regular basis, I share some of those key stats and insights with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
 
In August, I talked you through the top 10 most followed financial insititutions on twitter.
 
I invite you to watch my video which is still very relevant.



Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series now tracking 1,355 accounts in 71 countries: banks, credit unions, insurance, credit card, and financial services & investment firms.
  
I invite you to check the insights included in the slide below (data collected on 02/01/2011) and compare those figures with the ones from last month.

Top 10 most followed financial institutions:
 
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Banesco (Banesco), 3. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 4. @scb_thailand (SCB), 5. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 6. @Discover (Discover), 7. @INGDIRECT (ING Direct), 8. @OPENForum (American Express), 9. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 10. @SCBEasy (SCB).
 
I believe @AmericanExpress became the first financial services firm to break the 100k follower mark on twitter. Congrats to their social media team!
 
Other than that, no changes from last month in the Top 5. Then we found the same accounts but in a different order: @Discover had a great month and climbed three rankings to #6.
 
@banxico, @usaa and @BancoDoBrasil are all less than 1k followers away from @SCBEasy but with lower growth rates. 
  
American Express remains "the king of twitter" with two accounts (one focused on B2C, the other on B2B) totalling now close to 120k followers. SCB in Thailand is the only other financial institution with two accounts placed in the top 10.
 
Latin America and Asia are still well represented in the top 10 with three accounts each. There is still no accounts from Europe in the Top 10. The first European account on our list, @DavisCup by BNP Paribas, is still number 17 with almost 9k followers.

 
Top 10 fastest growing accounts:
 
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Discover (Discover), 3. @Banesco (Banesco), 4. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 5. @BNI46 (BNI), 6. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 7. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 8. @scb_thailand (SCB), 9. @bancodechile (Banco de Chile), 10. @SCBEasy (SCB).

The Top 3 is unchanged. @AmericanExpress managed to beat last month's record breaking number (36k) with close to 40k new followers! Simply amazing. @Discover is a distant second with a sizable 5,3k new followers.  
  
This month the top 10 fastest growing accounts added 66,821 followers compared to 59,593 followers last month. It is a staggering +12% growth month on month.

No more European bank in the Top 10, but Asia and Latin America are gaining ground with 4 accounts each at the Top.  
 

Top 10 most followed insurance firms:

1. @StateFarm (State Farm), 2. @allstate (Allstate), 3. @AAAuto (AAA), 4. @Progressive (Progressive Insurance), 5. @VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance), 6. @ChubbInsurance (Chubb Insurance), 7. @AAADiscounts (AAA), 8. @FarmersGroup (Farmers Insurance), 9. @TruPanion (TruPanion Pet Insurance), 10. @Nationwide (Nationwide).
 
The US insurance firms are trusting the Top 10. The first non US firm on my list is FBD Insurance in Ireland (#20 with 2,279 fans).
 
@StateFarm is still the clear leader with 1.3k more followers than @allstate. There is a huge gap between the Top 4 accounts and 6-10 which are separated by about 820 followers.

I am keen to talk to you about twitter, facebook, customer reviews, social media & social commerce in banking, financial services, and insurance.
 
Don't hesitate to call me (0044 7736 446 357), send me an email ([email protected]), or DM me (@Visible_Banking).
 
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* About Visible Banking & Christophe Langlois
* Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in December 2010
* Top 10 Most Liked Financial Institutions on Facebook in December 2010
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in December 2010 (1,353 Accounts in 68 Countries)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter (only 54 accounts back then!). It will always be a work in progress, so please don't hesitate to get back to me to flag any missing initiatives.
  
My Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (twitter, facebook, blog, youtube) gives me access to some great, and unique, insights. On regular basis, I share some of those key stats and insights with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
 
In August, I talked you through the top 10 most followed financial insititutions on twitter.
 
I invite you to watch my video which is still very relevant.



Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series now tracking 1,353 accounts in 68 countries: 1. 689 from banks, 2. 338 from credit unions, 3. 217 from insurance firms, 4. 69 from financial services & investment firms, 40 from credit card companies.
 
I invite you to check the insights included in the slide below (data collected on 02/12/2010) and compare those figures with the ones from last month.
 

Top 10 most followed financial institutions:
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Banesco (Banesco), 3. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 4. @scb_thailand (SCB), 5. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 6. @INGDIRECT (ING Direct), 7. @OPENForum (American Express), 8. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 9. @Discover (Discover), 10. @SCBEasy (SCB).
 
No major changes from last month except for two new entries @Discover and @BBVAProvincial which kicked out @BofA_Help and @usaa, usaa missing the Top 10 by only 60 followers. 
  
American Express remains "the king of twitter" with two accounts (one focused on B2C, the other on B2B) totalling now an impressive 87k followers. SCB in Thailand is the only other financial institution with two accounts placed in the top 10.

Latin America and Asia are still well represented in the top 10 with three accounts each. There is still no accounts from Europe in the Top 10. The first European account on our list, @DavisCup by BNP Paribas, is number 17 with 8k followers.
 
Next month, the bottom of our Top 10 is very likely to change again with three accounts trailing @SCBEasy by less than 500 followers: @usaa, @banxico and @BancodoBrasil.
 
Top 10 fastest growing accounts:
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Discover (Discover), 3. @Banesco (Banesco), 4. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 5. @BNI46 (BNI), 6. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 7. @INGNYCMarathon (ING Direct), 8. @Amexoffers_uk (American Express), 9. @Rabobank (Rabobank), 10. @banxico (Banco de México).
  
@AmericanExpress claimed the pole position back, and they did it in style! Indeed, the main twitter account from American Express grossed more than 36k new followers last month. This is surely another side effect of their successful Small Business Saturday campaign on facebook.

It is always good to see a European bank in one of our Top 10s. Congrats to Rabobank which grew its follower base by over 1.2k followers in November.
  
Thanks to 'the American Express effect', we noticed a sizable growth rate in December with the top 10 fastest growing accounts adding 59,593 followers compared with 19,820 followers last month.
 
Top 10 most followed insurance firms:
1. @StateFarm (State Farm), 2. @allstate (Allstate), 3. @AAAuto (AAA), 4. @Progressive (Progressive Insurance), 5. @VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance), 6. @ChubbInsurance (Chubb Insurance), 7. @AAADiscounts (AAA), 8. @FarmersGroup (Farmers Insurance), 9. @BIFS (Berkeley Insurance), 10. @TruPanion (TruPanion Pet Insurance).
 
@StateFarm is the clear leader with 1.5k more followers than @allstate. There is a huge gap between the Top 4 accounts and 6-10 which are separated by only 650 followers.
      
Please call me (0044 7736 446 357), send me an email ([email protected]), or DM me (@Visible_Banking).
 
I am keen to talk to you about twitter, facebook, customer reviews, social media & social commerce in banking, financial services, and insurance.
 
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch: Tracking 1,300+ Accounts in 60+ Countries
* Caja Navarra Launches an Innovative Twitter Contest Based on DMs (Spain)
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in November 2010 (1,333 Accounts in 68 Countries)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter (only 54 accounts back then!). It will always be a work in progress, so please don't hesitate to get back to me to flag any missing initiatives.
  
My Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (twitter, facebook, blog, youtube) gives me access to some great, and unique, insights. On regular basis, I share some of those key stats and insights with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
 
In August, I talked you through the top 10 most followed financial insititutions on twitter.
 
I invite you to watch my video which is still very relevant.



Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series now tracking 1,333 accounts in 68 countries: 1. 669 from banks, 2. 338 from credit unions, 3. 217 from insurance firms, 4. 69 from financial services & investment firms, 40 from credit card companies.
 
I invite you to check the insights included in the slide below (data collected on 01/11/2010) and compare those figures with the ones from last month.
 

Top 10 most followed accounts:
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @Banesco (Banesco), 3. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 4. @scb_thailand (SCB), 5. @INGDIRECT (ING Direct), 6. @santander_br (Banco Santander), 7. @OPENForum (American Express), 8. @SCBEasy (SCB), 9. @usaa (USAA), 10. @BofA_help (Bank of America).
 
No changes from last month, except @SCBEasy which beat @usaa by less than a hundred followers.

American Express remains "the king of twitter" with two accounts (one focused on B2C, the other on B2B) totalling an impressive 50k followers. SCB in Thailand is the only other financial institution with two accounts placed in the top 10.

Latin America and Asia are still well represented in the top 10 with respectively two and three accounts. @BofA_Help is still the most followed account dedicated to customer support.

Next month, the Top 10 is very likely to change with @BBVAProvincial, @banxico and @BancodoBrasil trailing @BofA_Help by less than 200 followers and enjoying a higher growth rate.
 
Top 10 fastest growing accounts:
1. @Banesco (Banesco), 2. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), 3. @scb_thailand (SCB), 4. @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), 5. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 6. @SCBEasy (SCB), 7. @banxico (Banco de México), 8. @BNI46 (BNI), 9. @MasterCard (MasterCard), 10. @PIMCO (PIMCO).
 
It is a new top 10 this month but still led by the same three FIs in the same order. @BBVAProvincial further increased its growth rate to claim @AmericanExpress' fourth place.
 
We noticed a slower growth rate in November with the top 10 fastest growing accounts adding 19,820 followers compared with 21,588 last month.
 
Top 10 most listed accounts:
1. @AmericanExpress (American Express), 2. @OPENForum (American Express), 3. @INGDIRECT (ING Direct), 4. @YoungFree_SC (South Caroline FCU), 5. @DavisCup (BNP Paribas), 6. @PIMCO (PIMCO), 7. @Banesco (Banesco), 8. @Rabowielrennen (Rabobank), 9. @BofA_help (Bank of America), 10. @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL).
 
The number of times a twitter account is listed is another indicator of its popularity. It is important to remember that the lists are totally user-generated.
 
It comes to no surprise to find some other types of accounts in this top 10, such as @DavisCup and @Rabowielrennen which are focused on sport, and @YoungFree_SC which reaches out to the under-25 crowd in North Carolina.
 
Please call me (0044 7736 446 357), send me an email ([email protected]), or DM me (@Visible_Banking).
 
I am keen to talk to you about twitter, facebook, customer reviews, social media & social commerce in banking, financial services, and insurance.
 
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch: Tracking 1,300+ Accounts in 60+ Countries
* Caja Navarra Launches an Innovative Twitter Contest Based on DMs (Spain)
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in October 2010 (1,333 Accounts in 68 Countries)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter (only 54 accounts back then!). It will always be a work in progress, so please don't hesitate to get back to me to flag any missing initiatives.
  
My Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (twitter, facebook, blog, youtube) gives me access to some great, and unique, insights. On regular basis, I share some of those key stats and insights with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide some second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
 
In August, I talked you through the top 10 most followed financial insititutions on twitter.
 
I invite you to watch my video which is still very relevant.



Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series now tracking 1,333 accounts in 68 countries: 1. 669 from banks, 2. 338 from credit unions, 3. 217 from insurance firms, 4. 69 from financial services and investment firms, 40 from credit card companies.
 
I invite you to check the insights included in the slide below (data collected on 01/10/2010).
 
 
* Top 10 most followed accounts: @AmericanExpress (American Express), @Banesco (Banesco), @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), @scb_thailand (SCB), @INGDIRECT (ING Direct), @santander_br (Banco Santander), @OPENForum (American Express), @usaa_news (USAA), @SCBEasy (SCB), @BofA_help (Bank of America).
* Top 10 largest monthly growth: @Banesco (Banesco), @KBank_Live (Kasikornbank PCL), @scb_thailand (SCB), @AmericanExpress (American Express), @bcociudad (Banco Ciudad), @SCBEasy (SCB), @banxico (Banco de México), @DeutscheBank (Deutsche Bank), @BBVAProvincial (BBVA), @Davis Cup (BNP Paribas).
 
Please call me (0044 7736 446 357), send me an email ([email protected]), or DM me (@Visible_Banking).
 
I am keen to talk to you about twitter, customer reviews, and social media in banking, financial services, and insurance.
 
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* All my posts related to Twitter
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch: Tracking 1,300+ Accounts in 60+ Countries
* Caja Navarra Launches an Innovative Twitter Contest Based on DMs (Spain)
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

Top 10 Most Followed Financial Institutions on Twitter in August 2010

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Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series: tracking over 1,350 accounts in 60+ countries.
 
I invite you to watch a short video presenting the 10 most followed accounts on our list as of 2nd August 2010. I talk you through every single account with a focus on activity, content, and following strategy.



Companies quoted: American Express, Banesco, ING Direct, Kasikorn Bank, SCB Bank, Banco Santander, USAA, Bank of America, and Banco Gerador.
 
Please call us (0044 7736 446 357), send us an email ([email protected]), or DM us on twitter @Visible_Banking. We are keen to talk to you about twitter and social media in banking, financial services, insurance.
 
Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Another Angry Customer Using Social Media: PeoplesPops' Blog Post & Tweets Against Chase Bank
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Twitter Watch: Tracking 1,300+ Accounts in 60+ Countries
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube)

Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs - Tracking 2,400+ Initiatives in 68 Countries

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- updated on 26 November 2010 -

In March 2009, I started tracking Financial Institutions (FIs) on some of the most popular social media sites. I hope you are already familiar with my Visible Banking Twitter Watch Series.
 
I track FIs (not only banks, but also credit unions and financial services / investment / insurance firms) on twitter, facebook, blogs, and youtube.
 
Today, I am tracking over 2,400 twitter accounts, facebook pages / groups / apps, youtube channels and blogs in 68 countries.


 Visible Banking Twitter Watch

Visible Banking Blog Watch

Visible Banking Facebook Watch

Visible Banking YouTube Watch

I invite you to subscribe to Visible-Banking.com to be informed of my new blog posts (three per week on average) which include not only the most up-to-date news and stats on the most recent social media initiatives worldwide, but also some exclusive industry insights and comments.
   
I invite you to like our Visible Banking page on facebook to receive more regular (and shorter) articles and news, and follow us on twitter to stay up-to-date on daily basis and join the conversation!
  
I also do my best to update my Directory of Social Media in Financial Services as often as possible. It is an ongoing effort, so please do not hesitate to leave a comment or contact me to flag any missing initiatives!

Contact us
You work for a financial institution? You would like to leverage twitter or one of those popular social media channels more successfully, learn how your peers and competitors are using twitter or facebook, and find out more about the best practices and the most successful initiatives in the finance industry?

I invite you to send me an email or call me directly on +44 7736 446 357.
 
Visible Banking Interviews 2.0
I invite you to check the list of my video interviews with some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs in online finance and the social media champions in the Finance industry.

Visible Banking Twitter Watch #18: 1,088 Accounts / 60 Countries / 486,147 Followers - Top 10s Banks (Germany & Netherlands)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter. From only 54 accounts back then, I am thrilled to announce that I am now tracking over 930 accounts.
  
I believe my initiative is unique, definitely exciting and rewarding, and full of great insights. I aim to share some key stats with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide some second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
     
From now on, I will post regular summaries of the Visible Banking Twitter Watch on my blog. I am aiming for monthly updates. For more regular updates, I invite you to follow me on twitter @Visible_Banking and search twitter for updates with #VBTW.
 
My ambition is to establish my Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Blogs, Facebook and YouTube) as The first point of reference in the Finance industry. I aim to demonstrate that the industry can leverage social media, even though very few FIs do it well mainly due to lack of a subject matter expert. Indeed it is good to know how the likes of Dell, Starbucks and Toyota successfully leverage social media, but the Finance industry is a totally different ball game.

You work for a financial institution? You would like to leverage twitter more efficiently, learn how your peers and competitors are using the popular micro-blogging service, or find out more about the best practices and the most successful initiatives in the finance industry?
I invite you to send me an email or call me on +44 7736 446 357.
 
The Global Picture
Twitter is a great tool for real time market research, the data is constantly changing. It is a work in progress, so please do not hesitate to flag any missing initiatives.
 
Please note I used the data collected on 3rd March 2010. I was then tracking 1,088 accounts in 60 countries.
 
Financial Institutions Must Support Their Customers on Twitter


In case you missed it, I invite you to check my latest presentation on twitter and customer service: Financial Institutions Must Support Their Customers on Twitter.

 


Spamming & Hacking: we all know that twitter is not the most secure social media service out there. Your account has been hacked... so what? Deal with it! Is it such a big issue? Is it a reason not to support your customers on the popular micro-blogging platform? Certainely not! You just have to deal with it. Financial institutions and their customers musn't share any personal information on twitter. And remember... Don't become the spammer!
 
I invite you to check the presentation I mentioned previously and watch two videos I published a few months ago:
* Financial Institutions + Spam + Twitter #1: You've been hacked... So what? Deal With it!
* Financial Institutions + Spam + Twitter #2: Don't Be The Spammer!

Summary - February 2009

Out of the 1,088 accounts, the top 50 accounts produced 21.31% (-0.29) of the new updates, added a sizable 38.38% (-5.80) of all the new followers, and started to follow 37% (-5.7) of the new following overall. 

It is another proof that 1. content is king, 2. posting on regular basis pays off, 3. following people is a winner (but please be cautious with your following strategy).
 
One musn't forget that 1. some of the top accounts are stalling on their following strategy with ratios following / followers superior to 100%, 2. measuring the numbers on twitter is important but you need to assess the quality of your following & follower bases, 3. the way you listen on twitter and engage with your follower base (tone, content, responses) is critical and not entirely reflected in the stats I produce in my VB Twitter Watch Series.
 
Key milestones
Congrats to the following financial institutions for reaching an important milestone in January!
* 5,000: OPENForum (US), StateFarm (US)
* 3,000: CitiGroupJobs (US)
* 2,000: Scottrade (US)
* 1,000: Actibva (Spain), Rabobank (Netherlands), Westpac (Australia), Allianz_de (Germany)
*   500: fabandt (US), COPCU (US), USCCU (US), capitolcu (US), Raboblog (Netherlands), CIBBVA (Spain)
    
Twitter anniversaries
In case you missed my updates on @Visible_Banking, I invite you to check my list of Social Media anniversaries (Twitter, YouTube and Blogs) in February.
Please do not hesitate to leave a comment and flag any missing key news, milestones or anniversaries.
 
Top 10s - Most Followed Banks
Since I started this research, I've received regular requests for twitter statistics from all over the word.
Karl Flinders, Deputy News Editor at ComputerWeekly in the UK, has been ome of the first persons to use my stats. I invite you to check his post Photos: Top 10 Banks on Twitter.
  
My top 10s are based on the total number of followers. Please note that the data used in this report was collected on 2nd March 2010.

Top 10 Banks - Germany
Please find below the top 10 most followed twitter accounts from banks in Germany tracked in my Visible Banking Twitter Watch.
I am currently tracking a total of 75 accounts from bank (87 accounts in total) in Germany.












 
Top 10 Banks - Netherlands
Please find below the top 10 most followed twitter accounts from banks in the Netherlands tracked in my Visible Banking Twitter Watch.
I am currently tracking a total of 27 accounts (31 accounts in total) in the Netherlands.

 
More Twitter Statistics
* Most Followed FIs: 518 (+30) accounts have 200+ followers, of which 237 (+26) have 500+ followers.
* The 1,000+ Followers Club: 94 (+9) accounts have 1,000+ followers.
* Restricted tweets: 22 accounts (-2).
* Inactive accounts: 113 (-1) accounts haven't sent any updates in February 2009.
  
Twitter accounts added to my List in February 2010
In February 2010, I added the following 59 accounts to my list: _laposte, 50prizes50days, Aff_VW_Bank, ApexIB, BaBeeCard, bank_of_japan, banregio, BarclaycardDE, BarclaycardJobs, barclaycardldn, bforbank, blinklife, Buergschaftbank, caixasabadell, citizensbankrb, clearcash, comdirectbank, cortalconsors, DeutscheBank, deutschlandcard, DN_no, dsbbank, dsbbanksport, ecb_europa_eu, Eurocard, EvianMasters_SG, Goldlinkplc, hanseatic_bank, HappyStateBank, IBAOntario, IdahyCU, INGDIRECTHawaii, KTB_Care, MCFoundation, MCPriceless, netbank_AG, OYWbySG, PNCNews, PostFinance, prepaid_card, PSD_Bank_RR, quirinbankAG, raibarankweil, RBS_Economics, ruv_de, ruv24_de, scb_thailand, SCBcreditcard, SCBEasy, scbsonline, scottishlife, ScottishPension, SilverPrepaid, SimplyhealthUK, SkandiaPRs, TheBlueCardLife, ufxbank, webcaredsbbank, WeloveLV.
   
Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Interview - Matthias Kroener, Founder & CEO at Fidor AG
* Interview - Daan Josephus Jitta, SVP Direct Channels & Innovation at ABN AMRO
* Interview - Edwin Van Raalte, Snr Manager Business Development at Rabobank
* Overview Social Media & Banking in Germany
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs)

Visible Banking Twitter Watch #17: 1,048 Accounts / 46 Countries / 440,803 Followers / 19,146 Lists - Top 10s Banks (Global - France - Spain)

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In March 2009, I started tracking the financial institutions (FIs) on twitter. From only 54 accounts back then, I am thrilled to announce that I am now tracking over 930 accounts.
  
I believe my initiative is unique, definitely exciting and rewarding, and full of great insights. I aim to share some key stats with you, my blog readers, my twitter followers, and my facebook fans, and provide some second-to-none recommendations to my clients.
     
From now on, I will post regular summaries of the Visible Banking Twitter Watch on my blog. I am aiming for monthly updates. For more regular updates, I invite you to follow me on twitter @Visible_Banking and search twitter for updates with #VBTW.
 
My ambition is to establish my Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Blogs, Facebook and YouTube) as The first point of reference in the Finance industry. I aim to demonstrate that the industry can leverage social media, even though very few FIs do it well mainly due to lack of a subject matter expert. Indeed it is good to know how the likes of Dell, Starbucks and Toyota successfully leverage social media, but the Finance industry is a totally different ball game.

You work for a financial institution? You would like to leverage twitter more efficiently, learn how your peers and competitors are using the popular micro-blogging service, or find out more about the best practices and the most successful initiatives in the finance industry?
I invite you to send me an email or call me on +44 7736 446 357.
 
The Global Picture
Twitter is a great tool for real time market research, the data is constantly changing. It is a work in progress, so please do not hesitate to flag any missing initiatives.
 
Please note I used the data collected on 3rd February 2010. I was then tracking 1,048 accounts in 46 countries.
 
Financial Institutions Must Support Their Customers on Twitter


In case you missed it, I invite you to check my latest presentation on twitter and customer service: Financial Institutions Must Support Their Customers on Twitter.

 


Spamming & Hacking: we all know that twitter is not the most secure social media service out there. Your account has been hacked... so what? Deal with it! Is it such a big issue? Is it a reason not to support your customers on the popular micro-blogging platform? Certainely not! You just have to deal with it. Financial institutions and their customers musn't share any personal information on twitter. And remember... Don't become the spammer!
 
I invite you to check the presentation I mentioned previously and watch two videos I published a few months ago:
* Financial Institutions + Spam + Twitter #1: You've been hacked... So what? Deal With it!
* Financial Institutions + Spam + Twitter #2: Don't Be The Spammer!

Summary - January 2009
Out of the 1,048 accounts, the top 50 accounts produced 21.6% (+1.6) of the new updates, added a staggering 44.2% (+2.2) of all the new followers, and started to follow 42.7% (-0.3) of the new following overall. 

It is another proof that 1. content is king, 2. posting on regular basis pays off, 3. following people is a winner (but please be cautious with your following strategy).
 
One musn't forget that 1. some of the top accounts are stalling on their following strategy with ratios following / followers superior to 100%, 2. measuring the numbers on twitter is important but you need to assess the quality of your following & follower bases, 3. the way you listen on twitter and engage with your follower base (tone, content, responses) is critical and not entirely reflected in the stats I produce in my VB Twitter Watch Series.
 
Key milestones
Congrats to the following financial institutions for reaching an important milestone in January!
* 10,000: AmericanExpress (US), PuckettProtects (US)
*  5,000: BofA_Help (US)
*  1,000: AllStateCareers (US), YoungFreeAB (Canada), ChubbInsurance (US)
   
Twitter anniversaries
In case you missed my updates on @Visible_Banking, I invite you to check my list of Social Media anniversaries (Twitter, YouTube and Blogs) in January.
Please do not hesitate to leave a comment and flag any missing key news, milestones or anniversaries.
 
Top 10s - Most Followed Banks
Since I started this research, I've received regular requests for twitter statistics from all over the word.
Karl Flinders, Deputy News Editor at ComputerWeekly in the UK, has been ome of the first persons to use my stats. I invite you to check his post Photos: Top 10 Banks on Twitter.
  
My top 10s are based on the total number of followers. Please note that the data used in this report was collected on 3rd February 2010.
 
Top 10 Banks - Global
Please find below the top 10 most followed twitter accounts from banks tracked in the Visible Banking Twitter Watch.












 
Top 10 Banks - France
Please find below the top 10 most followed twitter accounts from French banks in my Visible Banking Twitter Watch.
I am currently tracking a total of 22 accounts (bank) in France.












 
Top 10 Banks - Spain
Please find below the top 10 most followed twitter accounts from Spanish banks in my Visible Banking Twitter Watch.
I am currently tracking a total of 24 accounts (bank) in Spain.











Please note that this month I added Caja Madrid's @obrasocialCM (800+ followers), their twitter account dedicated to Social Interactions & Social Media.
Banco de Santander (@bsantander) is not an official account nevertheless it demonstrates the importance of having a presence on the key social media channels asap to slowly but steadily build a decent size of follower / fan base.
            
More Twitter Statistics
* Most Followed FIs: 478 (+51) accounts have 200+ followers of which 211 (+25) have 500+ followers.
* The 1,000+ Followers Club: 85 (+9) accounts have 1,000+ followers.
* Restricted tweets: 24 accounts (+4).
* Inactive accounts: 114 (+24) accounts haven't sent any updates in January 2009.
* Other awesome twitter lists: I highly recommend you follow Roger Conant who maintains a comprehensive list of credit unions (via @CUTweetTrack),  Sonya J Mills who maintains a list of community banks (via @CommunityBanks), Charis Palmer who maintains a list of banks and bankers in Australia & New Zealand (via @bankingreview), Boris Janek who maintains a list of German FIs Social Media: Deutsche Banken im Twitter Kurz Test on (via @Electrouncle). Also check Jeffry Pilcher's twitter list on the Financial Brand blog.
 
Twitter accounts added to my List in January 2010
In January 2010, I added the following 119 accounts to my list: AbbeyCU, ABCAuto, AdvantisCU, AloBradesco, atlcu, AXA_Banking, AXA_IB, BadWellsFargo, banca_intesa, Banca_MPS, Banco Galicia, BancodoBrasil, bancodoplaneta, BankAtlantic, BankoftheWestCl, Banxico, bbvacompass, bcacreditcard, BcoCruzeiroSul, bnpparibasassur, BPNA, Bradesco, bradesco_ir, bradesco_ri, BradescoBVP, BradescoDV, BradescoSeguros, Bspress, buyglobelife, cardif_com, CardifNL, CCUGreeley, cheviotsavings, CIBCcareers, CIBCcommunity, CIBCnews, CINCOcu, Citi_Brasil, Citibank_India, Citibank_UAE, cititurkiye, Credit_Mutuel, CroydonSavers, CUO_OU, EDSCREDITUNION, ElementsofMoney, ExtraCreditU, FAACreditUnion, FeelGoodRipple, FirstMerit, fivestarbank, SBNV, FSBNV_HomeLoans, Globe_Insurance, globelifechild, GlobeLifeDirect, Gulf_Bank, HSBC_Brasil, HSBCBhamAlumni, HSBCTurkiye, banco_real, IBM_SECU, IJsseldelta_FS, ING_CompareMe, Inversis, JPSNB, L_Bank, LorMetCU, MACSF_Groupe, MagnifyCRUnion, mcuonline, MonadnockBank, montepio, mutuelles_sante, MutuelleSmatis, MyLSB, myrfc, nieuwbouwgrun, Nordea_DK, Nordea_FI, Nordea_NO, Nordea_SE, NorgesBank, parex_lv, PowercoCU, PressRoom_BBVA, Project100, PuebloBank, RabobankSBE, RaboSneekZWF, rezoplus, Rietumu_Banka, santander_br, SaxoBanqueParis, seb_lv, Securetrustbank, ServusCreditU, ServusCU, shopglobelife, Spandavia, StandardBankGrp, SterlingBank, StonehamBank, studentabanka, swedbank_film, swedbank_lv, tatrabanka, TechnoDesk, TexansCU, tropicalcu, UKFCU, USECreditUnion, Vraagprijs, WESTconsinCU, Westpac_com_au, westpacbanking, wonengroningen, ZelfNL.
   
Related Articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Visible Banking Services
* Visible Banking Directory: Social Media in Financial Services
* Visible Banking Social Media Watch Series (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs)