Haspa social media manager Anna-Lena Gäth uses corporate influencers as brand ambassadors on Instagram, Tiktok & Co. Sparkassenrot plays a special role.
Flat advertising messages are frowned upon in the trendy social media: “When we publish Instagram articles, the Hamburger Sparkasse logo cannot be seen,” says Anna-Lena Gäth.
Instead, all the social media content published by Gäth runs through the Sparkasse’s world of colors like a red thread. Sometimes a red double-decker bus drives through the picture, sometimes a red Alster steamer, or a red umbrella appears. Direct brand advertising scares off the web community, explains the 30-year-old. Young target groups in particular quickly wiped away advertising contributions.
Before the social manager started at Haspa three years ago, she gained experience in the advertising industry. After training as an advertising clerk, she first worked in a small agency in the old country.
Dual studies and jumping into the deep end
“I was basically pushed into the deep end,” reports Gäth. “In the very first week I had to go to a customer with my boss.” Whether it’s an advertising film production for the cinema, Facebook fan pages or a video shoot for the actor and pop singer Mickie Krause on Mallorca – Gäth quickly gets to know the tools of the advertising industry.
After completing a dual business degree with a focus on marketing in a large Hamburg advertising agency, she switched to the shoe retailer Ecco. He commissioned them to make the brand better known among the young target group on social media channels. “Not an easy job when you compete against hip brands like Nike or Gucci,” says Gäth, whose employer is very satisfied with their work.
She is faced with a much larger task at Haspa. It should make the Sparkasse better known on Facebook, Instagram & Co. To do this, she uses Haspa employees as brand ambassadors.
Haspa
Anna-Lena Gäth, Haspa Social Media Manager: “We want to show how close we are to the people in the districts of Hamburg’s metropolitan region and that real people are behind the Haspa brand.”
Business strategists, branch managers, asset managers – a team of 30 employees sends videos or photos to the social media team, which are distributed via Haspa’s channels. This is well received by the community: “The response to the contributions is huge,” says Gäth. Haspa now has more than 5,800 followers on Instagram, a considerable size for a regional financial institution.
The fact that our own employees act as ambassadors is part of Haspa’s so-called neighborhood concept: “With the social media contributions, we want to show how close we are to the people in the districts of Hamburg’s metropolitan region and that real people are behind the Haspa brand.” , explains Gäth.
Jury selects employees as brand ambassadors
Jury members from various Haspa departments decide which Haspa employees contribute to the social media team. Gäth supports the employees in the video productions, for example by explaining how to successfully tell and implement an Instagram story.
External professionals are also available to assist the employees: “We also use well-known influencers. The influencers show our employees how they can make the perfect contribution to achieve a high reach and thus strengthen customer loyalty in the long term, ”says the expert.
Corporate influencers as a communication trend
Corporate influencers now play a major role in corporate social media communication. Many corporations use their workforce as brand ambassadors. The employees appear authentic and are well received.
Gäth is therefore planning to use the expertise of its employees on the career networks Xing and LinkedIn in order to reach corporate customers. Above all, asset managers and corporate customer advisors are to be used to draw attention to Haspa in the business channels.
However, these contributions should be more of a technical nature. But when it comes to pictures and videos, Gäth pays attention to the common thread: Maybe someone is wearing a red tie, or a red classic car is driving through Hamburg’s old town.
