{"id":20479,"date":"2012-08-22T15:26:07","date_gmt":"2012-08-22T13:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=20479"},"modified":"2012-08-22T15:56:48","modified_gmt":"2012-08-22T13:56:48","slug":"absa-today-tomorrow-on-twitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/internet\/20479\/absa-today-tomorrow-on-twitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Absa Today, Tomorrow, on Twitter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Absa has stepped up its social media strategy by taking to Twitter, to further engage with its customers.<\/p>\n

The idea behind the strategy is to use the platform to provide a real-time barometer of customer sentiment and give insight into customers\u2019 worlds that may not otherwise be possible, says Arrie Rautenbach, Absa’s head of retail markets.<\/p>\n

“The decision to launch an official Twitter profile fits within Absa\u2019s broader social intent to listen actively to customers and develop financial products finely tuned to their needs,” he said.<\/p>\n

However, competing South African banks have been privy to this particular channel of engagement for years.<\/p>\n

First National Bank led the way with a Twitter presence, launching its prolific @RbJacobs account on 29 September 2008. The faceless FNB representitive has since amassed more than 11,000 followers and a reputation as the “go-to” guy for all things FNB.<\/p>\n

Standard Bank (@StandardBankGrp) was next to join the social platform on 15 July 2009 – with Capitec (@CapitecBankSA) following up on 15 April 2010 and, finally, Nedbank (@Nedbank) starting its Twitter life on 6 August 2011.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Arrie Rautenbach, Absa head of retail markets<\/p><\/div>\n

Banks getting social<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Absa is the last big bank to adopt a Twitter strategy, Rautenbach holds that the bank has led the way in other forms of social media.<\/p>\n

“In the realm of social media, Absa has always been one of the most forward-focused South African corporates,” he said.<\/p>\n

“As the first major SA bank to launch a Facebook presence in 2008, we have now amassed over 60,000 \u2018fans\u2019 via that channel. Our LinkedIn presence has become a key ingredient in our talent search capabilities for Absa\u2019s HR organisation.”<\/p>\n

“Our YouTube channel is growing in popularity and features a host of informative multimedia content. Therefore, the @Absa Twitter profile can be viewed as the latest step in the evolution of our social media engagement strategy.”<\/p>\n

Absa joined Facebook on 16 April 2008, while FNB, Capitec and Standard Bank followed suit a year later (2009), with Nedbank joinging the social network in 2011.<\/p>\n

Despite only launching the official @Absa Twitter account on Wednesday, Rautenbach said that Absa has been surveying discussions surrounding the bank on the platform for some time – the bank was just preparing itself to deal with clients in a publicly-engaging manner.<\/p>\n

“As a large organisation with over 12 million customers, and as a prominent brand with a high propensity to be in the public spotlight, it was important to make sure that we are adequately geared internally, to deal with this new externally-facing channel,” Rautenbach said.<\/p>\n

“Substantial background work has taken place to ensure we are able to provide an excellent customer experience via Twitter.”<\/p>\n

Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

We lead in online banking: Absa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Absa banking app \u2013 last out the door<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Absa Internet banking downtime: there and back again<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Absa online banking services down<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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