Banks and social media marketing: The top brands on Instagram – Verdict

Banks and social media marketing are starting to become more of a focus for the bigger brands, but how are they using Instagram?

When thinking of top users of Instagram, banks do not come to mind. However, it is becoming a much more important marketing tool for them,

Instagram, purchased by Facebook for $1bn in 2012, is mainly for sharing photos and videos. While that may not seem like a bank’s forte, it is a great realm to show off products and services. On the other hand, banks’ Instagram content will be different to the usual Instagram post. For example, they probably won’t be anything like the most popular photo on the platform; a picture of an egg by @world_record_egg.

With over one billion active users, it simply cannot be ignored, so who is utilising Instagram to its true potential?

Banks and social media marketing on Instagram

According to RBI‘s rankings, the most followed bank on Instagram is State Bank of India. It had 1,237,342 followers and was the only bank to break past the million mark. It also took the number one spot for the first time, overtaking last year’s number one, Yes Bank.

Second place was First Bank of Nigeria with 731,908. Over the last year, it increased its followers exponentially. In 2018, its follower count was only 121,456.

With a completely different year, Yes Bank, which placed first in 2018, is now fourth and actually lost followers. It went from 619,911 to 536,991 and stumbled down the rankings. This may be down to its cautious approach on the platform.

When asked about its strategy last year, a spokesperson said: “Social media provides a great platform to connect with users around the world and engage with a story-telling approach. Crisis and influencer management are key areas to be focused on with social media to avoid damage to our brand image.”

Rounding off the top five was the GT Bank Group with 608,436 and the World Bank Group with 450,271.

To see the full rankings and analysis of the top banks on Instagram, click here.