Citigroup Wants to Be a Bank You Can Trust — and Follow on Twitter

By Karen Schwartz on January 6, 2011 1:42 PM

It’s no coincidence that Citigroup now has a Facebook page, YouTube videos, and blogs behind it. The bank’s even tweeting, under the guidance of Frank Eliason, who joined in August to lead social media strategy efforts.

The bank is out to regain consumer trust, a Reuters story says, to “reach out to the younger, wealthier urban Americans that it wants as banking customers — and to improve the bank’s tarnished image.”

Eliason’s known for this kind of thing — he came to the company from Comcast, where he used Twitter to address customer concerns, the story says. Citigroup’s efforts include a Manhattan bank with video phones and free wifi, and online chat features expected early on this year.

In December, PRNewser wrote about the consumer push, also noting that while better customer service and technology could be a plus, consumers are unlikely to respond in the ways Citigroup’s hoping for until they consider the company transparent and easy to understand.

Bank of America, Reuters points out, also tweets — and has almost 11,000 followers of its own.