“Fear not” said the angel, and she was right.  It’s time for financial marketers to get beyond their fear of social media and use it as a brand building tool.

What, get aggressive?  How would that be possible?  There is so much to be concerned about!  A lot of this concern centers around how to manage the sales force, which is likely going “rogue” with unauthorized social media participation.  According to a recent survey by LederMark, “85% of financial services professionals under 50 are utilizing social media.”  Yet the June Socialware study that shows 32% of reps said their firm didn’t have a firm social media policy, and another 11% were unsure.  Seems like lots of folks are ignoring the FINRA guidance.  The fire of fear is then fueled by headlines like the one from just last week – “FINRA Starts Social Media Audits.”

That’s a heart stopper right there. As business development expert Kip Gregory noted in a Research Magazine article: “Who could blame any firm operating in a regulated industry for taking a cautious approach…? Especially in financial services, which is at its core an industry built around the management of risk.”

But let’s not forget that the past 24 months has led to a crippling amount of mistrust of financial brands by the American consumer.  In a post-Madoff, post-financial crisis world, financial marketers need to build back consumer trust as much as they need to breathe.  The compliance fear is cutting off brand creativity like a tourniquet.

Social media creates dialogue, and peer to peer interactions.  In financial services in particular, there’s an opportunity to inspire a more emotional, more intimate and honest relationship through social channels than with ‘push communications.’  Banks and brokerages have not moved ahead as forcefully as other brand marketers with innovative, big idea campaigns that get their customers thinking about how much they LIKE their brand, how much they IDENTIFY with the product or service provider.   The brand should aspire to to connect with the SOUL of the consumer and demonstrate how much they CARE about his or her business.  The brand can make people feel GOOD and have some FUN. Let’s just say there’s not a lot of that going on in financial services.

So yes, deal with social media policies and requirements for your sales force.  Develop a social media relations strategy for sales. Make sure you archive everything you can, and automate that process if at all possible.  Make sure they are trained on how not to trip the tripwires of suitability and endorsement.

But in the meantime, use social media as a tool to speak on behalf of your brand and engage your customers in dialogue that’s above product.  To quote Marc Pritchard, Chief Marketing Officer for P&G about the role of PR and social media – “it is a great amplifier, builds relationships and invites consumer participation.”

Fear not.  Focus on the brand.  Develop ideas to reach out and touch your consumers.   It’s time for bold moves.

To reach Abby:

Phone: 212.840.0088
Email: abby@blisspr.com
Twitter: @abbycarr
LinkedIn: Abby Carr

Recently, we supported MetLife as they planned and launched an event tailored for the dynamic online parenting community also known as mommy and daddy bloggers. As a group, this blogger community is passionate, savvy and outspoken –and we wanted to talk to them on their turf: social media.

As the nation’s largest life insurer, MetLife has done extensive research on the life insurance purchase process and the hurdles that consumers often encounter when trying to obtain this important protection for their families. Through that research, they confirmed that many individuals go online to look for information and answers to their questions.

Parenthood is often an impetus for individuals to think about purchasing life insurance.  However, since life insurance is just one of the many financial considerations that new parents have to navigate, MetLife decided to host a live webcast to address a variety of money-related issues for this audience.  Among the topics discussed was a presentation by MetLife’s chief marketing officer, Beth Hirschhorn, a mom of two, about the basics of life insurance for new parents including how much life insurance consumers really need and, importantly, how much it will cost.  In terms of metrics, the goal was to have 50 bloggers register for the webcast (MetLife had 75).

Importantly, the team learned valuable lessons about what it takes to engage in social media and get an event like this off the ground, which will be integral to MetLife’s future interactions in the social space.

Here are some of the steps that helped us to be successful:

• Invite outside speakers. In addition to MetLife’s Beth Hirschhorn, we extended invitations to two authors (and new parents) with insights to share on family budgeting: Stacey Bradford (The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents) and David Port (The Caveman’s Guide to Baby’s First Year). The invitation also promoted that the first 100 registrants to the webcast would receive free copies of both their books.
• Leave the logistics to the experts. MetLife partnered with Thomson Reuters, who helped them to create a customized media player for the event, managed the mechanics of registration, and hosted the online event, which was broadcast live from MetLife’s on-site studio.
• Listen before you leap.  MetLife PR had been following blogger conversations for more than six months to get a sense of their interest in issues such as family finance, insurance, etc. (a best practice before engaging).
• Spread the word on Twitter. Our colleagues at MetLife PR, Toni Griffin and Judi Mahaney, joined Twitter to participate in conversations about family budgeting and finance in the months leading up to the webcast. They also created a hashtag, #straightstory, which allowed participants in the event to weigh in on the presenters’ material and share their own tips for new parents.
• Promote the event through Facebook.  MetLife launched targeted advertising through Facebook to invite those interesting in blogging, family finance and parenting, among other interests, to view the webcast.
• Target relevant bloggers and reach out accordingly. The parenting blog community is one of the biggest on the web and encompasses a HUGE variety of subjects and styles. We identified and reached out to bloggers who have touched on family finance issues and/or offered advice to new parents.
• Create a home base for related content.  MetLife put together a micro site landing page devoted to the Family Finance webcast, where anyone who was interested in the event could go to learn more about the presenters, access their presentations, explore MetLife’s new life insurance tools and tips, and watch a replay of the webcast – which made it easy for anyone who missed the event or wanted more information to get everything they needed in one place.

We’re really pleased to have partnered with MetLife on this innovative social media program.  As more consumers and influencers search for financial information online, we expect our most innovative clients to continue to develop (and hone) their approaches to social media.

What lessons have you learned about social media engagement by experimenting with new initiatives and formats?

To reach Kelly:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: kellyd@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kellydavis226
LinkedIn: Kelly Davis

Last week, I had the opportunity to make a presentation to the St. Louis chapter of PRSA on this topic – which is based on multiple conversations with my fellow BlissPR colleagues about how we help our clients achieve their business goals. 

B2B service companies are great clients because they stretch us to come up with a clear vantage point on technical and often enterprise level matters.   But they can also be tough clients because they are very busy, as well as risk averse and slow to adopt change.   When we are faced with creating a new campaign, here are some of the things we think about to get out of the traditional “lather, rinse, repeat” kind of PR.  Here is what I said in St. Louis – what have I missed?  (Want to make sure you see this, @tressalynne)

1. Raise the Altitude.  First, get up above product.  If you are discussing the features and benefits of what the company sells, you won’t get the audience’s full attention.  It’s like looking at photos of someone else’s kids.  Find out what the audience truly cares about, and focus on that.  Here’s a great example of a major financial company surfacing the issues of concern to its customers, who are heads of HR:  MetLife’s 8th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study.
2. Carve out an Issue to Own.  Second, don’t be afraid to make an idea the hero of the moment.  The idea can be an issue, a trend, a topic area – think “privacy” or “motivation” or “risk” or “capital flows” — but it’s not the product.  Then build a microsite or a blog or a strong point of view around that.  We have seen consulting firms take this tack, and predict that corporations will do so as well.  
3. Be of Service to the Communities you Care About.  What does your client know that can help the communities that they serve?   How can you help them do their own business better?  Often, research, benchmark data, opinion, counsel can be packaged in a way that galvanizes decision-making.  Here’s an example: BDO’s Retail Survey.
4. Enter the Ongoing Conversation. If your client is discussing a topic that matters, and has a point of view or research that extends the conversation, then you better be finding the right dialogues, and the people (bloggers) who are influencing them.  Addict-o-matic is a great way to find them. 
5. Learn to Share.  Once you have created your content, deliver it in many forms and formats.  SMPRs, video, data nuggets, how to advice, predictions.   And don’t be afraid to partner with a media outlet to deliver all that content goodness.  Here’s an example of what we mean:  Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Study Identifies Best Companies for Leadership.
6. Don’t Hog the Microphone.  When your client is the only one talking –even if he or she is the smartest person in the room, it’s less interesting than if you invite other voices in to the discussion.  Open it up and more people will listen.    That’s what they found at McKinsey’s whatmatters microsite.   
7. Get Local.  If there’s a national trend – movement of some kind, whether it’s a rule change, a regulation, legislation – there will likely be local fallout.  Capture it!  People care about changes and problems happening in their own backyards, and are more likely to pick up the phone and call someone in their own area for help.
8. Build Your own Community.  In the old days, we used trade media to reach niche markets.  Not so much anymore.  Plus niche markets are getting nichier.  Sometimes you find them, sometimes you have to help your clients create them.  So if it’s CFOs of Canadian natural resources companies, or hospital facilities managers in the southwest, or med students who care about TB,  or meeting planners for financial services companies, sometimes it’s easiest to build your own audience.  

That’s what I came up with – what steps would you add? Click here to see the full deck or feel free to email me at abby@blisspr.com.

To reach Abby:

Phone: 212.840.0088
Email: abby@blisspr.com
Twitter: @abbycarr
LinkedIn: Abby Carr

Like many media relations enthusiasts, I crave the opportunity to really sink my teeth into a story and bring our spokespeople’s strategic thought leadership to life. In the case of financial reform, it is essential to investigate the media coverage around the issue and work closely with spokespeople to make sure they offer not only compelling insights during an interview, but also that they present their point of view in a way that is digestible for the media – and in turn, their potential clients and the media’s audience.

Oftentimes, a spokesperson’s success during an interview depends upon your ability to effectively support thought leadership development as well as offer media training tips. Here are a few things you can do to strengthen pitches and help your spokesperson be a better interviewee:

1)      Regularly “Checking-In” is Key. Remember to talk to each spokesperson on an ongoing basis – especially if your financial services account relies heavily on media relations. This may seem like a “no-brainer” but it is something that can be neglected as media relations specialists work at a fast pace. Remember, your spokesperson’s insights add color to your pitches, so “check yourself before your wreck yourself” especially when pitching complex financial related issues. If time is of the essence, run the pitch by the spokesperson at the very least. But for pitches with longer lead times, its best to speak with the spokesperson to verify the content of the pitch and learn any additional – and hopefully new and different – points you can use to promote their expertise/thought leadership. 

2)      Focus on the big picture. Even high-level executives like Mad Men’s Don Draper need media training. In the case of financial services, many bank, insurance and asset management spokespeople possess such a wealth of knowledge that it becomes difficult for them to drill down to the four main points. Remind them that they only have five-ten minutes to speak with journalists so it’s important to avoid getting bogged down by the technical details. Asking questions can help so… 

3)      Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Offering probing questions helps the spokesperson focus on the most important aspects of an issue while enabling you to learn the key points you need to develop a thoughtful pitch. For example, questions you may ask a spokesperson about a topic like financial reform could be “What are the major provisions of the bill and why? What is missing from the bill? What will the passing of the bill mean for investors, businesses and consumers?”

4)      Pepper the pitch with sound bites. Examine the points the spokesperson makes and highlight the main takeaways in sound bites throughout the pitch. More importantly, share the final pitch with the spokesperson – this will further their understanding of what points you consider to be the most media-friendly. Further, the pitch can serve as notes that will sharpen their focus during the actual interviews.  

How do you help spokespeople be better interviews on complex issues? What resources do you use to strengthen your pitches on complex financial topics?

To reach Rachel:

Phone:  212.840.5476
Email: rachel@blisspr.com
Twitter: @RachelBethG
LinkedIn: Rachel Gerber

The Twitter Business Center offers businesses three capabilities that aren’t built into standard Twitter accounts:

1. A “Verified Account” seal – you see this most frequently on celebrity Twitter accounts like @aplusk and @barackobama – the seal indicates that someone from Twitter has confirmed that the account holder isn’t an impostor.

2. “Contributors” – lets more than one user access a business account, and displays a “byline” for each individual user tweeting on a company handle (more here).

3. Non-follower DMs – allows business accounts to respond to DMs from users they’re not following. This feature is particularly relevant to businesses who use Twitter as a customer service tool, like @comcastcares; it eliminates the step of following a user back before responding to his or her inquiry or complaint.

The toolkit for business is currently only available to a select group of companies that Twitter has invited to test it out. Presumably, these are firms who are already using Twitter for business (one is @Starbucks) and will find value in the shortcuts and capabilities provided by the service. But even when it’s universally available, it doesn’t change the strategic thinking that should inform the decision to “tweet or not to tweet” – and that’s true whether you deal in derivatives or donuts.

Especially in financial services, where violating the compliance standards outlined by FINRA or the SEC has major consequences, social media is still an area in which to “proceed with caution.” Just as before, if your client’s target audience is on Twitter, and the client is prepared to devote the energy and resources to engaging there in a way that doesn’t jeopardize compliance, then by all means go for it! But just because Twitter is making a play for businesses doesn’t mean that every business should immediately jump on board.

That’s our Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents” – do you think the Twitter Business Center is a game changer?

To reach Kelly:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: kellyd@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kellydavis226
LinkedIn: Kelly Davis

A recent New York Times article “Doctors Hear Many Questions about the Health Law” found that both doctors and their patients, whether they supported or opposed the bill, are frustrated by the lack of information they are getting on healthcare changes. This suggests that for all the emphasis the Obama Administration placed on “selling” the healthcare plan ahead of the November midterm elections, they may be missing the mark.

The lack of information sharing is surprising from a Federal Government with a history of providing a plethora of information on related regulatory issues. For example, employers and employees can find everything from rules and requirements, to template notices and IRS tax filings from the Department of Labor website relating to the recent extension of the COBRA subsidy (designed to provide affordable healthcare to employees laid-off during the recession).

While the healthcare reform legislation is undoubtedly a more complicated animal, and confusion surrounding healthcare is unintentional, the Obama Administration’s healthcare initiative would benefit greatly from a more organized PR plan. The government has made some information available on the web at healthreform.gov, but it is largely focused on questions for individuals, not healthcare providers, and for many Americans the topic of healthcare reform is too daunting to confront without the help of a physician. 

To really “sell” their plan to the public, the Obama Administration needs to shift their PR focus to the physicians and insurance brokers who are on the front lines of reform implementation, and are fielding many of the questions plaguing average Americans. Providing doctors and brokers with information to help them answer some of these questions will decrease frustration and make the issue of healthcare reform more accessible to the public.

That’s our Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents – how do you think the Obama Administration should share information about healthcare reform?

To reach Erica:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: erica@blisspr.com
Twitter: @EricaMichel

Security breaches aren’t cheap: According to the Ponemon Institute’s fifth annual U.S. Cost of a Data Breach Study, data breach incidents cost U.S. companies $204 per compromised customer record in 2009, compared to $202 in 2008. But they do seem to be under-reported. Is this because they are stealth, because the corporations who are targeted keep it under wraps, or because we just don’t care?

Probably some combination of the above. In the “Last Word” department of Risk Management magazine’s April issue, editor Morgan O’Rourke calls attention to the general ambivalence that U.S. media and citizens display toward cyber security threats. Morgan attributes lack of interest to the fact that hackers and data breaches often feel like “old news” to the general public, despite the frequency and potential severity of incidents (see NPR’s timeline). But, as Morgan points out, few consumers take the words of warning to heart: “password” and “123456” persist as two of the most popular choices for web passwords.

We’ve all heard about Google’s cyber security difficulties with China, or known someone whose Facebook account was hacked and spread a virus to their friends via a rogue status update. But we don’t hear about a lot of cyber-burglary cases. The financial services sector is particularly vulnerable to cyber security breaches simply by virtue of the information that financial firms store on their servers: credit card data, bank account balances and identification numbers, and social security numbers, to name a few.

As professional communicators in financial services (and the insurance sector in particular), here’s the challenge: how do we draw attention to these risks, which pose serious threats to businesses and individuals, without resorting to fear-mongering or continuing to beat the same proverbial dead horse? Vivid examples can go a long way, but cyber attacks are often invisible: rarely is there physical destruction to display as evidence, and on top of that, victims of cybercrime often don’t want to draw attention to their ordeals. Even when a compelling case study exists, it can be tough to deliver the message without coming across as preachy or paranoid.

Maybe we need a high-profile mascot, like Smokey Bear, or a celebrity to champion the cause (Steve Jobs? Bill Gates? The cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore? Just kidding on that last one). Or as Morgan O’Rourke suggests, maybe we just need to lead by example. The advent of social media has turned us into a world of online over-sharers: perhaps the first step is encouraging our friends/followers/connections to take responsibility for their own cyber security.

To beef up your own password security, check out the tips offered by Microsoft:

1. Use 14 or more characters, including letters, numbers and punctuation (where possible).
2. Run your password through an online security “checker” to test its strength
3. Avoid words that can be found in the dictionary – in any language – and sequences on the keyboard such as “12345” or “qwerty.”

That’s our Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents” – have we motivated you to pick a more secure password? What do you think it will take to get the word out about cyber security?

To reach Kelly:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: kellyd@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kellydavis226
LinkedIn: Kelly Davis

Our news highlights will focus on our group’s areas of expertise, including:  banking, bankruptcy, insurance, asset management, investing, markets and private equity. We’ll also point out who we believe are “social media stars” – those in the FS industry who are truly leading the way in these still-uncharted waters.  So without further ado, here is this week’s financial services news roundup:

Banking & Bankruptcy: It’s only mid-February and the toll of banking failures already stands at 20. It seems someone forgot to inform the banks that there is a recovery going on out there. The four failures which happened late Friday cost the Government an expected $1 billion. One of the largest failures, year to date, was that of California based La Jolla Bank, who had $3.6 billion in assets. In a deal with the FDIC, La Jolla’s operations were sold to One West Bank which was launched in early 2009, to purchase the remains of IndyMac Bank. The three other failed banks were named as George Washington Savings bank, Marco Community Bank and The La Coste National Bank. For more on this story please click here.

Speculation is mounting that MGM Mirage could be on the verge again of entering Chapter 11. Following their disappointing earnings last week, the rumors are circulating that this time they won’t be able to patch things up and that bankruptcy is looming ever closer. Like Blockbuster which we discussed earlier this year, it seems that bankruptcy talks around MGM Mirage are a regular occurrence. Given their huge exposure to the Las Vegas Strip which many analysts believe is not going to see a turnaround in the near term, it’s not surprising that Chapter 11 fears are surfacing yet again. TheStreet.com has a nice analysis of the situation here.

Credit Cards: New credit-card regulations go into effect today (the second iteration of changes Americans have seen since President Obama signed the Credit CARD Act last year). The changes are aimed to help protect consumers and make account terms easier to understand and more transparent. But, credit card companies can still raise interest rates and impose annual fees on new cards, and there is no cap on how high interest rates can go. The bill’s provisions are filled with loopholes, outlined in the Washington Post here. This week, look for coverage of what Americans should do for the best deal on their credit card, and explanations of new tactics banks are undertaking to get around the regulations, as well as a preview to the next, and last, implementation date for the regulations: August 22, 2010.

Markets: There’s plenty to keep your eye on this week, with a number of earnings and some important meetings. Today we wait as the senate is slated to hold a procedural vote on a $15 billion legislation aimed at job creation. Broadly speaking, the market is concerned about the pace of spending and basically anything that points us towards another stimulus package is going to feed into that anxiety. Some important retail numbers to watch include Nordstrom earnings on Monday, Target reports on Tuesday and the Gap’s earnings are due out on Thursday while the department store company reports full results Tuesday. On Thursday the White House also plans to hold a bipartisan health-care meeting with lawmakers and has promised to publish its version of overhaul legislation by Sunday. And lastly, let’s not forget Bernanke’s semi-annual monetary policy report, which he is expected to deliver to Congress and the Senate Wednesday and Thursday respectively. To read more about Congress confronting the jobs bill, click here.

So there you have it, the Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents” on what’s news in finance this week. Stay tuned for next week!

To reach Nicole:

Phone:   212.584.5473 
Email: nicole@blisspr.com
Twitter: @nicolejleblanc
LinkedIn: Nicole Leblanc

Markets: A host of data released this week should provide direction to the markets. Along with fourth-quarter earnings, a handful of economic data will be released, such as December existing home sales (released this morning) and consumer confidence numbers on Tuesday. Wednesday we will hear results from the FOMC meeting – will Bernanke raise rates? And in the evening we will tune in for President Obama’s State of the Union address to hear what his plans are to further job creation and stimulate the economy. And let’s not forget Bernanke himself as his term is set to expire at the end of the week. His reappointment looks safer than it did at the end of last week, which may help boost US stocks. For a complete listing of economic data click here.

Insurance: According to The New York Times, a feud between hospital consortium Continuum Health Partners and UnitedHealthcare, an insurer of approximately 25 million Americans, could result in a change in how patient reimbursements are handled. At the crux of the issue, insurers want more immediate notification so that case managers can begin monitoring hospital care soon after a patient is admitted. Hospitals, on the other hand, are concerned that the process of notifying insurers early on may be easily overlooked, especially with understaffed hospitals, and therefore the penalty costs passed on to the patient.

Bankruptcy: With the influx of companies filing Chapter 11 over the past year, an article in this week’s Deal argues that the traditional position of bankruptcy as a separate entity to normal dealmaking has transitioned to be very much part of the dealmaking process. The article discusses how the restructuring process is as familiar to companies as going public or raising venture capital, for example.

What’s your top headline today?

To reach Dave:

Phone: 312.252.7318
Email: dave@blisspr.com
Twitter: @davemiranda
LinkedIn: Dave Miranda

Insurance News: In an address to the country on Saturday, President Obama urged Congress to expedite the legislative review process of the health care reform. According to The New York Times, Obama highlighted specific elements of the bill that would go into effect immediately after the passage of the plan: coverage for adults and children with pre-existing illness and tax credits for small business owners.

Bankruptcy: It is highly likely that Japan Airlines (JAL), Asia’s largest airline, will file for bankruptcy protection as part of a State led restructuring. JAL, which has more than $16 billion in liabilities, will be one of the largest corporate failures in Japanese history if the bankruptcy happens. Read more: here.

Banking: With JPM kicking-off bank earnings on Friday, the focus will shift back to banker bonuses. Banks are bracing themselves for both public criticism regarding big banker payouts and from their workers, who will be receiving a larger proportion of their annual compensation in stock as opposed to cash. The Wall Street Journal details the bonus situation at the biggest banks on Wall Street.

What headlines spark YOUR interest today?

To reach Rachel:

Phone: 212.840.5476
Email: rachel@blisspr.com
Twitter: @RachelBethG
LinkedIn: Rachel Gerber