There are twenty-three (23) universal banks currently doing business in Ghana. The banks have their branches in strategic locations to meet their stakeholders’ expectations. The banks also reach out to the public through a mix of media channels- the print media, the broadcast media and the digital media. The print media include newspapers, flyers, brochures and billboards while the broadcast media are television and radio. With the advent of digital media (websites, podcasts, webinars, mobile, social media networks) the banks have adopted some of the platforms to increase their market reach. This publication gives its attention to the social media. Social media, thus, refers to technological applications which enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.
Our firm, J.S Morlu, Ghana has identified five (5) key social media accounts the banks use to create and share contents. These key social media accounts are Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube which we coined as TILFY. We then analysed their mix as at December 31, 2022. This publication focusses on the banks’ twitter accounts, number of followers with some insights. The subsequent publications will consider the other social media accounts in the TILFY and conclude with further insights into their mix vis-à-vis the depth of followers. However, we are unable to establish whether or not the banks are able to convert their followers on the TILFY platforms who are not necessarily existing customers to new customers. The global updates of accounts of the aforementioned social media platforms as at December 31, 2022 confirm these astronomical figures.
According to Statcounter Global Stats, there are six million, six hundred and one thousand, one hundred (6,601,100) active social media accounts in respect of Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube with others including Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit and VKontakte in Ghana. The Table entitled “Active TILFY Accounts in Ghana as at December 2022” gives clear insight into the active social media accounts and their percentages. Facebook is the most active account with 3,279,099 population representing 49.68%.
Twitter is the second most active account with 1,161,677 active population and takes 17.6% of the social media mix. The video sharing platform, YouTube is the third in the mix with 770,931 active accounts representing 11.68%. Instagram is forth and has 7.72% of the 6,601100 active social media population. Business and employment-focused social media platform, LinkedIn occupies the fifth population with 40,263 active accounts and represents 0.61% in the mix. The other social media platforms in the mix include Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit and VKontakte add up to 839,576 and represents 12.72%.
Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams in 2006. On October 27, 2022, business magnate, Elon Musk acquired the platform for US$44 billion. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, Twitter has modified its Verification System and applies visual identity signals like checkmarks and labels on account profiles to provide more context about different types of accounts. The blue checkmark indicates active, notable and authentic accounts. The gold checkmark on the other hand indicates that an account is for an official business while the grey checkmark indicates that an account represents a government institution or official or a multilateral organisation. With regard to labels, twitter applies official labels to commercial companies including business partners, major brands, media outlets and publishers
Banks in Ghana
Bank of Ghana is the regulator of the banking industry in the country. As part of our research, we looked at the visibility of the Central Bank on the twitter platform. It joined the platform in April 2018 and the account verified with 80.9k (over 80,900) followers as at 31 December, 2022. The Central Bank updates the public with regular tweets. The Bank’s recent two tweets- a flyer on Exchange Rates and the other, Financial Literacy on Complaints Procedure) on the last day of business Friday,30 December,2022 registered over 278.2 thousand total view-counts (234k+44.2k). This is to confirm the impact the twitter platform can make should universal banks unearth its full potential to convey their contents to their customers and the public especially the Generation Z who are digital savvy.
Our findings also reveal that the banks, depending on the content of information they want to convey to their stakeholders, use a social media platform which suits the occasion. Thus, they use one platform or the other and in some cases a mix of them for the following purposes: to advertise their products and services, product tutorials, promotions, live seminar streaming and corporate social events. The twitter platform can be used for any of the purposes we have highlighted. Banks in Ghana with verified twitter accounts are the Absa Bank (Ghana), Access Bank (Ghana), Cal Bank, FBN (Ghana), FNB (Ghana), GT Bank (Ghana), Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) Stanbic Bank (Ghana), UBA (Ghana) and the UMB (Ghana). The Verification System helps to build trust between the banks and their followers regarding the tweets (information) the banks share on the platform, hence, mitigate the risk of account impersonation or fraud.
Universal Merchant Bank has gold checkmark verified account on the twitter platform. The bank has displayed its universality over other banks with the highest number of followers to the tune of 60,100. Access Bank placed second with 59,500 followers. The other banks followed in that order. Societe Generale, Bank of Africa and the Republic Bank which has not been active on the platform since April, 2018 need to do more to establish their relevance on the twitter platform.
Recommendation(s)
Considering the fact that Twitter is currently the second most active social media platform with 1,161,677 active accounts and still growing by population in Ghana, we expect banks to make further commitment to grow their (followers) on the platform. In this regard, the banks whose twitter accounts have not yet been verified can apply to have it done. Much has not been seen concerning the use of twitter spaces by banks to interact with that segment of the public on the platform. The banks can, therefore, grow their followers through twitter spaces which enable live conversations on the platform and allow audience to join, listen and speak. We also encourage banks to tailor regular interactive programs and contents on twitter spaces for their customers and the general public.
Bernard is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of professional and industry experience in Financial Services Sector and Management Consultancy. He is the Managing Partner of J.S Morlu (Ghana) an international consulting firm providing Accounting, Tax, Auditing, IT Solutions and Business Advisory Services to both private businesses and government.
Our Office is located at Lagos Avenue, East Legon, Accra.
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Website: www.jsmorlu.com.gh
