Social Media Banking Usage From Banks' Perspective

Abstract

Social media is a fundamental trend in both the social and economic life of modern society. This study examines how banks, in the case of the top ten banks in Bulgaria according to their assets, are active in using different types of social media tools. A definition of the concept of social media banking and its scope is proposed. Based on significant amount of data collected from different sources including from an online questionnaire from a sample of mainly young people, an in-depth analysis of banks' use of social networking sites and other types of social media tools is provided. A special focus is placed on the assessment of the intensity of banks' presence on Facebook with a system of quantitative and qualitative indicators being proposed. The article finally identifies conclusions, and recommendations regarding the banks' practices, limitations, and directions for future research.