Lenders are increasingly shunning the use of social media to communicate with intermediaries and customers an IRESS study has found.
Just over half (52 per cent) of the sample of 18 lenders, with a combined share of gross mortgage lending of 68 per cent in 2015 – equating to £152bn of loans – said they were currently either active on or considering using Twitter. This is a big drop on 90 per cent in 2014.
Facebook appeared to be more popular among the survey participants, but only slightly, with 55 per cent claiming to be active on or considering using the website, compared to 80 per cent two years ago.
LinkedIn followed the same pattern, with 36 per cent considering or active, compared to 50 per cent in 2014.
Henry Woodcock, principal mortgage consultant at Iress, said: “At a time when social media usage is booming, it is surprising that many lenders are actually stepping back from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as tools for engaging with intermediaries and customers."
In other areas of financial services, such as banking, social media is transforming customer relationships with the likes of American Express using networking sites to personalise its message and tailor its service to individual customers.
He added: “With several digital lenders set to launch in the coming months, we believe lenders across the market will need to better understand social media and develop plans on how to use it effectively.”
Adviser view
Nick Green, mortgage broker at Coventry-based Alternative Estates & Financial Services, said: “This does not surprise me. I would not choose to use social media to contact a lender if I had a query. I would just go direct to them. Many of them have a live chat service which is quite helpful.”
