If you’re sick of hearing about Goldman Sachs beating the competition, look away now. Euromoney has conducted its first (somewhat unscientific) poll of investment banks’ online popularity as measured on social networking site Facebook, and the US firm has won by a clear margin. Facebook allows companies to create ‘fan’ pages: "...a unique experience where users can become more deeply connected with your business or brand. Users can express their support by adding themselves as a fan, writing on your Wall, uploading photos and joining other fans in discussion groups."
Goldman’s official page listed 342 fans at the time of writing, beating Merrill Lynch (114) and surprise contender HSBC Bank Egypt (174) for the top spot. Many top Wall Street names appear not to have made use of the feature, while some may wish they (or their ‘fans’) hadn’t: Citibank has a mere 26 supporters, while the 0 fans listed for ‘citi’ suggests the rebranding exercise may not have been a total success.
Meanwhile few tears appear to have been spilled over casualties of recent financial consolidations: a search for ‘Bear Stearns’ returns nothing but a big ‘?’, while ABN Amro’s fan page has a lonely 3 members. Its news feature, the ‘mini-feed’, mournfully proclaims: "ABN Amro has no recent activity."