Benchmarking Facebook Likes: Industry Averages For Banks And Credit Unions

Using data compiled for the Power 100 social media database ranking retail banking providers, The Financial Brand analyzed US-based retail financial institutions with a minimum of 500 Facebook ‘Likes, including 105 banks and 191 credit unions.

(Note: There are some folks who try to argue that social media should be about “quality” not “quantity” of fans and followers. However, this rationale flies smack in the face of marketing, where the fundamental premise is about mass communication. If you work in marketing, you are inherently concerned about the “reach” of any media in which you participate. While measuring ‘Likes’ and Twitter followers might not be the ultimate determination of the strength or success of any particular financial institution’s social media activity, it is critical data to benchmark and follow.)

Banks average around 1 ‘Like’ for every $2 million in assets

Banks of All Asset Sizes
Average assets per ‘Like’: $4.9 million
Median assets per ‘Like’: $1.6 million

Banks With Less Than $1 Billion in Assets
Average assets per ‘Like’: $392,181
Median assets per ‘Like’: $367,960

In other words, if you are a bank with $10 billion in assets, you should have somewhere around 5,000 Facebook ‘Likes,’ while a bank with $500 million in assets should have approximately 1,300 ‘Likes.’

Banks With The Most ‘Likes’ Per Assets

You’ll notice that the State Bank of Wynnewood is using a regular, personal Facebook page instead of an official company page.

Read More: 7 Ridiculously Simple Social Media Fixes For Financial Marketers

Banks With The Fewest ‘Likes’ Per Assets

Banks with billions of dollars in assets should have a lot more than a thousand ‘Likes’ or so. All the banks listed below should have at least 10,000 ‘Likes’ to consider themselves “competitive” in the Facebook channel.

The last time The Financial Brand ran a study like this for financial institutions on Facebook back in March 2011, the average among banks was one ‘Like’ for every $23.0 million in assets. While this number now represents the low end of the Facebook traction range, it’s quite clear that some banks — particularly big ones — can really struggle with this channel.

Credit Unions Average Around 1 ‘Like’ for Every $500,000 in Assets

Credit Unions of All Asset Sizes
Average assets per ‘Like’ (all credit unions): $658,372
Median assets per ‘Like’ (all credit unions): $425,560

Credit Unions With Less Than $1 Billion in Assets
Average assets per ‘Like’ (CUs > $1 billion): $377,749
Median assets per ‘Like’ (CUs > $1 billion): $338,674

In other words, a credit union with $1 billion in assets should have somewhere between 1,500 and 2,350 ‘Likes,’ while a credit union with $500 million in assets should have around 1,350 ‘Likes.’

The Financial Brand’s 2011 study looking at credit unions on Facebook put the average around one ‘Like’ for every $1.5 million in assets, or one ‘Like’ for every 126 members.

Credit Unions With The Most ‘Likes’ Per Assets

These credit unions are punching way above their weight class — between 4x and 13x better than industry norms. Both Palmetto First and Assemblies of God are doing exceptionally well. Palmetto First has 5,411 members and 1,364 ‘Likes’ (25.2%). Assemblies of God has 15,724 members and 4,705 ‘Likes’ (29.9%). These are among the highest penetration rates in the entire financial industry.

Read More: 5 Critical Questions That Should Be Driving Your Social Media Strategy

Credit Unions With The Fewest ‘Likes’ Per Assets

The credit unions with the fewest ‘Likes’ for the amount of assets they have are all billion-dollar institutions. According to industry averages, all the credit unions listed here should have significantly more Facebook traction than they currently do.

What’s surprising is to see two big technology-centered credit unions struggling with Facebook. You’d think credit unions with tech-savvy memberships would have great success building a Facebook fan base. Same thing for credit unions serving teachers — usually a tight-knit community willing to help one another.