When it comes to banking and finance, people tend to do business with established names. Trust, credibility and dependability are important because money is one of the things people value the most in life, along with health and family.
If you have money, the thinking goes, you can improve your life in a variety of ways. So even though money may not be everything, it's one of the things people are likely to be very cautious with. This is something you have to keep in mind when you're in the banking field and you want to start using digital marketing.
Don'ts
Being Too Casual
Although the internet has opened up a whole new world when it comes to marketing and communications, it has also made things a lot more informal. The way in which people communicate with email and social media is casual and friendly.
Can you really adopt this type of tone when you're a bank? If you're trying to get more people to open an account with your bank, should you address them with “Hi John/Paul/Anne” in an email? Should you say, “Awesome new deal” in your social media comment?
This might be the way many people communicate over the internet, even if they're running a business. But it just doesn't seem appropriate for a bank or a financial institution to use this type of language all the time. Sure, you have to be casual and conversational. And it's best to avoid using too much jargon and making your content too dry for your audience. But, you have to make sure you don't end up sounding too casual or else people won't think of you as reliable and dependable.
Using Slang
How do you develop a tone which is conversational as well as reliable? One thing you should keep in mind is to avoid slang. Many people use slang in their day-to-day lives. And teenagers are coming up with new types of slang everyday. However, a bank is an institution that appeals to people from all walks of life, from young adults to retirees. So it's best to use the kind of language they'll all understand.
Do's
Put Yourself In The Customer's Shoes
Another digital marketing tip you can use, when writing email, social media posts or website content is to imagine what you would like to hear if you were your target audience. If you were thinking about opening an account with a bank, what would you want to know about the bank?
Imagine you're not a part of the banking industry. So you're not familiar with banking jargon. What would you want to know, in simple terms? And what would turn you off? Make your decision after asking yourself these questions and answering them.
Use A Combination Of Tactics
There are many options open to you when it comes to digital marketing. You can popularize your products using inbound marketing, influencer marketing, social media marketing, email marketing and more. You might want to try out the different types of marketing and see which works best for you.
Most businesses employ a combination of different types of digital marketing. However, it's important to make sure your tone remains the same in the different types of digital marketing tactics you employ.
Think Of “When” Instead Of “What”
In his new book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink writes that we focus a great deal on “what” we should do when we should be focusing on the “when” instead. His suggestion is that timing is really important.
So, think about when you're sending out marketing email or posting to social media. For example, a lot of students might want to open accounts right before school starts in the fall. So it might be a good idea to send out your marketing email right before this happens, if you want to attract them as customers.
Similarly, there are many opportunities throughout the year, when you might want to target various types of prospects. And social media posts posted at certain times might get more engagement than others. So remember to keep timing in mind when it comes to digital marketing.
Contact us for more digital marketing tips for bankers.
