Most financial services companies are committed to the world of social media. But
what do specific groups think about financial companies on their social networking sites?

The older the respondent, the more likely they are to say that they use social networking only to connect with friends and family (70% of those 55+ vs. 50% of those 24 and younger). They are also more likely to say they ignore the advertising of financial companies (36% of those 55+ vs. 25% of those 25-34) and find it annoying (36% of those 55+ vs. 25% of those 25-34).

The good news is that these numbers do not tend to increase with income. The number of people who find financial advertising annoying actually drops off at income levels of $100k+.

So what does this mean? Financial companies may want to consider targeting by age on more specifically targeted sites. However, for social media overall, targeting by income will probably work best.

Offering coupons for local businesses like restaurants on social networking sites would be successful with 16% of consumers overall, but this drops off with age. The attractiveness of this incentive jumps substantially with incomes of $100k+. Providing incentives such as contests, promotional rates, etc. appeals to 11% overall. It similarly drops off with age but increases with income.

The percentage of respondents who agree that “the company donates to a cause I believe in” is an attractive incentive (8% overall), This drops off with age but jumps substantially with income over $100k. And the percentage who agree with the statement, “I feel more comfortable with a company after seeing it on a social networking site” (8% overall) drops off with age but is consistent across income groups.

I’m working on Mintel’s Social Media and Financial Services report right now (due to publish April 2010). I’ll keep you posted of other insights I find as I get deeper into the data.

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