Compliance Made Easy with Oktopost and Smarsh

When it comes to social media for financial services, compliance is not just a priority; it’s a necessity. With much of the industry relying more today on social media to communicate and engage with customers, there also comes an increase in associated risks and challenges that require compliance with many regulations governing their outbound communications.

Financial institutions must be able to navigate the complex web of regulations while staying up-to-date with modern forms of communication, including social media. Companies that fail face consequences that can be severe and far-reaching. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) annual report in 2022, $48.1 million in fines were issued by FINRA to financial institutions for failing to comply with regulations. These fines can range from thousands to millions of dollars – potentially crippling a financial institution. 

Regulatory bodies, such as FINRA, place rules on language usage, terms, and the archiving of data, which is no different for social. That’s why we’re excited to announce Oktopost’s latest integration, Social Archiving with Smarsh, a game-changing integration that helps our customers in the financial services sector deploy powerful and engaging social media programs while remaining compliant and addressing the risks that come from social media.

What is the Smarsh integration?

For many financial services organizations, Oktopost has become the go-to social media management platform to engage with customers and build employee advocacy programs. However, while Oktopost archives content, it is not a dedicated risk management solution. This is where the Oktopost and Smarsh integration becomes invaluable.

Smarsh is a leading provider of archiving and compliance solutions for digital communications, helping organizations meet regulatory and legal requirements.

Oktopost allows you to easily capture and securely store your social media posts. Whether you are using the social publishing solution or the advocacy solution, once the integration is turned on, every post from Oktopost is seamlessly sent to Smarsh for archiving, ensuring that your social media activities align with compliance standards. 

In addition, with the Oktopost and Smarsh integration streamlining the archiving process, the adoption of an advocacy program becomes easier as not every advocate may need to connect their profile to Smarsh directly. Here are a few more benefits of the Oktopost and Smarsh Integration:

• Reduced Compliance Hurdles: You no longer need to connect each social profile separately to Smarsh or any other risk management solution. Social Archiving with Smarsh integrates directly with Oktopost, making the archiving process more streamlined. 
• Reduced Technical Barriers: No more complex technical wiring or API connections. Social Archiving with Smarsh makes it easy for compliance teams to receive and review social media data without technical hassles.
• Supporting Employee Advocacy Program Adoption: By streamlining the archiving process, the Oktopost and Smarsh integration encourages employee advocacy program adoption. Advocates can focus on promoting their content without the risk of compromising compliance procedures.
• Unlocking Data Unavailable Elsewhere: When financial service organizations use Oktopost, they can gain access to comprehensive data that social media platforms alone are unable to provide, such as insights into the relationship between social posts and campaigns, identification of the employee responsible for writing specific posts, and confirmation of content approval or review status before publication. This additional context for governance teams enables them to construct a well-organized, compliant social media processes for optimal and secure performance.

Start archiving with ease

Thanks to the Oktopost and Smarsh integration, marketing teams in financial organizations can confidently navigate compliance and seamlessly connect with their risk management solutions.

In an era where compliance is non-negotiable, the Oktopost and Smarsh integration ensures secure social media practices in the financial services sector and helps compliance teams navigate the complexities of regulatory bodies such as SEC, FINRA, FCA, and ASIC.

Don’t just meet compliance standards; exceed them with confidence across your entire organization.