ING DIRECT A Bank on A Social Media Mission – Interview with Mark Nicholson

Banks, like most major corporations in Canada and in the United States. Have no clue how to deal with Social Media. They have no clue how to get involved and they don’t even know if it is really worth it. ING Direct is arguably one of the first banks in Canada to use Social Media in their marketing strategy (RBC in my view was first but haven’t really done much in the last year with social media). I emailed my friendly contact at ING Direct and asked to conduct an interview on why ING Direct is so damn good at Social Media.

One thing led to another and before you know it, I had all of Mark Nicholson’s (Head of Online Experience) answers in a nice word document. Mark has a lot on his plate. Mark helps generate the vision and strategy that enables ING DIRECT to deliver a superior online experience for its Clients. Driving the bank’s online marketing initiatives, Mark’s focus on web development, streamlined online banking services and creative continues to significantly grow and retain ING DIRECT’s Client base. To say the least, I was pretty happy to have the chance to talk to this guy.

We conducted the interview through email, questions are in bold and answers are below the question (Editor comment: we did not edit any answers). Our conversation is below:

1. ING DIRECT is one of the first banks in Canada to implement Social Media into their marketing strategy. In the beginning, did you have an idea of how important Social Media would become or was it more of an experiment?

In the beginning, we really approached social media with the perspective that we would test and learn. In 2007 we launched the SuperStarSaver contest [now over] to coincide with the launch of YouTube Canada. We did this as a social media experiment and as a way of engaging our Clients. We felt social media would be important and a good investment, but had no idea as to the prominence it would take in the years ahead for us.

2. How important is Social Media to ING DIRECT?

Social Media has quickly taken on more importance for the organization, both internally and externally. We have built a social media team that sits within Marketing and they have become our voice and pioneers in the social space. Internally we have leveraged social networks to help build what is called the Orange Spark. This is a place where anyone in the business with a great idea can post it for others to vote and provide their thoughts.

3. What is the biggest challenge a big brand has in Social Media? How can they overcome it?

Our biggest challenge was to been as something other than “just a bank” on social media – when we communicate on it and have dialogue, we’re transparent and genuine about it and we want to make sure that comes through in all we do.

4. ING DIRECT is bound to get some negative attention/comments in Social Media. How do you handle it?

We have had some negative comments and we’ve handled them in an open and transparent fashion. Being open, honest and transparent is a core element of the ING DIRECT DNA and is a key driver as to why we’ve entered the social media space. We truly believe it will continue to be a key to our success in the years ahead.

5. Dell estimates that they have generated $3 million from Social Media, specifically from Twitter. Does ING DIRECT have any revenue generated figures?

a. If not, how do you calculate your ROI?

We don’t have any ROI metrics to share. With respect to Social Media, we don’t fixate on the ROI as much as we do in other business executions and initiatives. We’ve really approached Social Media from the perspective that we want to engage with Clients in true dialogue and not one guided by ROI. Neither our strategy or tactics were built with ROI at the core. This doesn’t however imply that we don’t measure our Social Media efforts or effectiveness. We have in fact built an index by which we measure our voice and efforts as they relate to the overall market and conversation.

6. Mobile applications are becoming more important to big brands. How does ING DIRECT’s application help its customers?

Mobile is an area that we’ve recently invested in and made some inroads. We’ve taken our banking platform to mobile in the form of applications for iPhone and Blackberry, as well as a mobile browser based site. We were in fact the first bank in Canada to launch all three. Mobile apps allow our Clients to save anywhere. We’ve also introduced additional tools like the ING DIRECT Rate Hold which allows homebuyers to secure a mortgage rate with us while they’re standing in their dream home.

7. ING DIRECT launched their application not to long after CIBC launched theirs. Was ING DIRECT’s application already in the works or was it a reaction to CIBC launching theirs?

Our iPhone application was in the works when CIBC launched their app. It looks like we both saw the value in taking our business and banking platform to mobile which is good for Canadians.

8. Do you have a team or an individual who is dedicated to just one Social Media platform or does everyone do a little bit of everything?

We do in fact have a small team dedicated to Social Media. That being said, we’re really starting to focus on pushing Social Media into the business as well as we feel we’ll get more value out of it if our entire business is part of the conversation. We think our Clients and followers will too!

9. Can you share with us a funny story you have had with Social Media.

We’ve heard some great stories being out in social media. Some instances of funny stories would be hearing employees of “other banks” boast about how they have our mortgage or Tax-Free Savings Account rather than their employer’s (they like being orange too). It’s a great place to be!

[Editors note: Don't forget to follow ING Direct on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Don't forget to check out this neatly presented Orange Tweet site.]

What are your views? Think ING Direct really is that good at Social Media? Who is the best at using Social Media to communicate with clients? Does your bank use Social Media?