Digital marketing and banking may seem like a natural combination in today's inbound and social media marketing world, yet it doesn't always happen. You still see many banks preferring to market on television, or through snail mail. While it's a given you'll see national corporate banks advertise on TV and in print, independent banks can't always afford those large markets. You're maybe in that situation now with your own bank where you realize digital marketing is the best path. Nevertheless, you may not fully understand how to approach prospective customers through inbound marketing or social media.
You shouldn't feel that just because you work in the financial industry, you have to do more buttoned-down marketing. This only creates more stigma about banks and financial institutions always being overly businesslike. In Colorado, FirstBank has really taken the lead in creative, out-of-the-box digital marketing.
Your marketing should show you as real human beings, including some entertainment value to give you a personality. It's something to consider seriously in a time when banks are ubiquitous. When all banks market themselves in the same way, they start looking all alike. Why not take a risk and produce some marketing that allows you to stand out from the rest of the pack?
Take some of these tips to heart in helping you stand out as unique, plus having more personalized communication with your customers and prospects.
Revising Your Brand
Inbound marketing can help you establish your brand, and even create a new brand to give new life to your bank. Brand awareness is critical to how you're immediately perceived by prospects when they receive a marketing email or see your posts or ads on social media. By creating a compelling logo and revising your overall identification, a foundation is in place for you to build all of your marketing on.
When you send marketing emails, make these branding elements clear, including a logo that represents your core values. You may want to add new services for your customers that other banks don't have. This means doing something different other than offering free gifts when someone opens a new account.
Connecting More Personally With Customers Using Content
Marketing content is essential for a bank in order to establish credibility with customers who seek something unique. There isn't any better way to accomplish this than with videos on your website, in marketing emails, or embedded on social media. The visual culture we're living in allows you to present the faces of those who run your bank, plus incorporating a story behind your existence.
Storytelling is the lifeblood of content marketing today, and it's clear that every industry has a story behind it. You may not think that the world of banking is capable of telling stories, but it's actually one of the best story subjects.
What other thing in the world creates more positive (or negative) situations than money? It encompasses all emotions, which gives you a wide creative canvas for telling either real or fictional stories on video. Also, don't be afraid to use humor since it removes the stuffy atmosphere banks sometimes endure.
Using real customers to tell video stories about how you helped them with their money is one of the surefire ways to establish immediate trust.
Promoting Mobile Banking with Mobile Marketing
One of the best ways to capture new customers today is promoting the idea that you offer easy mobile banking. You can corner this demographic with mobile marketing using mobile ads, or through content that's easily readable or playable on mobile devices.
Making your own banking site easy to read and use for mobile is essential, whether you employ mobile banking or not. Regardless, with many people on the go, one of your best marketing tactics is proving you know how important mobile is to the lives of those managing their finances.
Bottom line: bank advertising doesn't have to be stuffy and conservative to sell. Be creative. Be funny. Bring in customers with your creativity and quality products.
