Retail banking had one of the highest social media marketing spends last year, but this will only increase incrementally in 2012 and 2013. In the face of customer apathy, the sector is currently more cautious than others in its assessment of the importance of Facebook et al.

That's according to new research commissioned by Pitney Bowes Software and conducted by Vanson Bourne. This compares social media marketing trends among marketing directors with consumer attitudes to social media marketing across Australia, France, Germany, the UK and the USA, covering seven business sectors.

Seventy four per cent of marketing directors in retail banking had seen a greater emphasis being placed on social media in their external communications. This was a higher number than average (69 per cent), and second only to the telecommunications sector (81 per cent). However, this is not reflected in banks’ marketing spend. From its peak at 16 per cent in 2011, when banks were among the biggest spenders on social media, it is expected to climb to only 22 per cent in 2013 - when sectors like telecommunications will be committing over a third of their marketing budget (36 per cent) to the channel.

Fifty three per cent of marketing decision-makers in retail banking say that social media will grow in importance as it becomes more rooted in customers’ lives. However, 34 per cent are of the opinion that it will only apply to certain areas of their organisation’s markets or business units, a view shared with respondents from the utilities and insurance sectors (34 per cent and 41 per cent respectively. The retail banks’ caution is well-placed given that most marketers' enthusiasm is not matched by consumers’ views of social media marketing. Only a quarter use social media to follow and keep up-to-date with certain companies or brands, while most are predominantly on it to keep in touch with friends and family (78 per cent).

Identifying which channels to invest in was a challenge for all marketers surveyed. While they were aligned with consumers in their emphasis on Facebook as the most popular and trusted social media site, they disagreed about the importance of other outlets. Beyond Facebook, marketers devote most of their remaining spend on Twitter (57 per cent) and Google+ (51 per cent). By contrast, consumers prefer YouTube – rated only fifth by all marketers – over Twitter and Google+.

"Retail banks have made a strong effort to become more customer centric and develop life-long relationships with their customers. It is therefore not surprising that they have been keen to jump on the social media bandwagon early on, but are now taking a step back to evaluate this new channel more thoroughly," says Kieran Kilmartin, marketing director EMEA, Pitney Bowes Software. "They are well advised to do so, as our research shows that there is still a disconnect between marketers’ high expectations of social media, and the lack of desire among consumers to engage. The continued use of old-school 'broadcast' marketing models – which we have found across all sectors – is likely to turn people off, and at worst, trigger them ultimately to become ‘brand blockers’."

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