Bank of America has turned to social media marketing to generate positive conversation regarding the brand since the issues it experienced after announcing a $5 monthly debit fee, which has since been retracted.

Bank of America, still reeling from the outcry its recently nixed plan of charging account holders $5 per month for debit card use, is using social media marketing to boost perception.

According to CBS, the company has launched aggressive paid and unpaid Facebook marketing campaigns to highlight some of its positive efforts.

While some have questioned the honesty of the company’s tactics, it’s clear that they are succeeding. A campaign that places a photo of people building a home has appeared as an advertisement asking Facebook users to “Click ‘Like’ if you believe community is important in America.”

The user will then have Liked Bank of America on Facebook, as the company highlights its credit being used to build houses and help families buy their first homes throughout the country. Whether or not the campaign is ultimately successful, the value of social media marketing as a critical component of brand management and positive web visibility is clear. Businesses of all sizes are using the channel to reach new customers and generate discussion about their company.

Other major companies that have opted to use social include Coca-Cola. Brafton recently reported that the soft dink giant has more than 20 million Likes on Facebook and aggressively employs social media marketing to appeal to younger consumers.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.