Brand barometer: Social media performance of Santander

By Gemma Charles, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Friday, 13 July 2012 12:00AM

A look at the performance of Santander in social media over the past four months

March
Santander began relying on golfer Rory McIlroy to attract customers to its cash ISA account, pledging to pay customers an extra 0.1% if he wins a major in 2012.

April
Banco Santander chief executive Alfredo Saenz dismissed as 'nonsense' JP Morgan's prediction of a surge in Spanish mortgage arrears, catapulting Santander onto influential news sites globally.

May
Spain's financial crisis had a negative impact on Santander's SMR score over May and June, as users questioned the bank's stability. Forum users in particular questioned whether it is the next bank in line for mass withdrawals.

June
Competitions appeared offering tickets to the Santander British Grand Prix, although very little appeared on any of the bank's own social presences, besides the @SantanderGP account. The banking crisis continued to take its toll on the score.

Santander achieved a high reach score, but at the cost of a low level of satisfaction. Although it has a history of strong campaigns, a real element of social involvement has been missing. Its Twitter account frequently engages users, but Santander's Facebook presence is weak.

The Yomego SMR Index helps brands to benchmark their popularity in social channels. Follow @YomegoSocial

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk