In Banking, Content Is Showing Results

Kevin Tynan, a regular American Banker contributor, recently penned an article: Digital Bank Marketing, It's All About the Content. He cited a recent survey that found content marketing ranks as companies' most significant digital marketing trend for 2016. 

He went on to say that at his bank, Liberty Bank in Chicago, pay-per-click mortgage leads cost $162 per lead, while content-related leads cost just $36. He said that there are even greater differences in lead generation for checking accounts and credit cards.

Content, in my opinion, is moving more from the wish list in the Marketing Department to front and center for bank customer acquisition initiatives. As with most digital marketing concepts, the talk surrounding using content to acquire customers is within the retail realm. See the ad in my Facebook feed today. A local supermarket. Clearly a retail customer acquisition approach.

But what about business customer acquisition? At a recent bank client strategic planning retreat, I pulled up my Twitter feed that had a sponsored tweet from Accenture Banking, directing me to a recent survey. Clearly this was a B2B marketing approach, as Accenture is a B2B consulting firm. If Accenture is working to extend its reach by using promoted tweets directing potential clients to their content, should banks consider it too?

There is friction within banks in considering such an approach. In most strategic planning retreats I moderate, the social media talk, including content, centers on retail. In senior management ranks, I do not think using social media for business client acquisition gets much consideration. But look at the sponsored tweet I just looked up in my Twitter feed?

Google Cloud. So if Accenture, and Google, think social media can promote B2B client acquisition, should your bank?

Read any sales book or go to any sales seminar and you will hear theories on number of touches and conversion rates. In my opinion, commercial bankers consider number of touches as phone calls or in person visits. Not a recent blog post, or information in the client's Facebook stream. 

If, at your bank, it takes seven contacts to turn a business prospect into a client, and reading a blog post or seeing content in their social media streams count, would you be more aggressive in your content efforts? Would this drive down your acquisition costs, as it did for Liberty Bank?

I think it's time to take content and social media marketing seriously for business customer acquisition, even if your "shoe-leather" commercial bankers think it's bunk.

Because what if it's not.

Do you use and have results from content marketing for business customer acquisition?

~ Jeff

Banking and Social Media. Guest Post: If Everyone Told You to Jump Off a Bridge...

By: Shannon Marsico

My sister is still in high school, and she claims she is deprived of everything.  A tactic my sister often uses with my mother when she wants something is stating how “everyone” else is doing it -everyone is going to 

the mall after school, everyone owns an iPhone, everyone is allowed to stay out past 10PM, and so on.  To teens, keeping up with their friends and looking trendy are of the utmost importance.  Their decisions are based on what’s viewed as popular rather than what works best for them as individuals.  Working in media, I have found that some companies get fixated on similar concepts.  Social media is one of today’s hottest trends and most brands are jumping on the bandwagon – If everyone is doing it, why not us?  Read more...

jfb note: The author is pretty sharp, no? The samples are particularly helpful. Enjoy!

Guest Post: Why Banks Fear Blogs by Dana Dobson

Banks have been dragging their feet about blogging since the beginning, rather than embracing the opportunities it offers. They are consumed by anxious questions:

• How do I protect customers and our technology infrastructure from phishing attacks to get customers to click links that lead to malware?

• What if one of our representative blogged a statement that was used as investment advice by a reader?

• What if I miss a customer’s complaint or I don’t document it properly?

• What if we fail to issue the proper disclosures? Can the bank be cited for a compliance violation?

• What if we get negative comments?

At the same time, bank regulators raise issues that are cause for concern. For instance, fraudsters and hackers become more sophisticated every day and seem to be one step ahead of security gurus. Most users, they fear, do not take into consideration the relative ease with which any form of electronic message can be redistributed in an uncontrolled manner. Alas, some bankers may communicate with customers without full knowledge about regulatory compliance issues.

For example, a business development officer, branch manager or commercial lender, each of whom is tasked to achieve aggressive sales goals, might create a personal LinkedIn account for the purpose of prospecting for new business and innocently promote rates and other features without including the required disclosure language.

All fears about blogging can be put to rest.

All that needs to be done is to present to management how any perceived risks should be addressed. Susquehanna Bank and Arvest do an excellent job of this by posting guidelines directly on their blog sites. Additionally, every bank marketing and compliance officer should work together to create a written policy that answers all the “fear” questions to management’s satisfaction. Marketers who are on top of the compliance issues that arise in print, broadcast and website advertising can easily manage blog content effectively and to the advantage of their organization.

These days, a company is in the minority of it doesn’t blog. People make buying decisions by using the Internet to learn about the products and services that best meet their needs. Banks who are holding out on blogging are missing an important tool to share their brand with prospective and existing customers.

Dana Dobson is an award-winning freelance copywriter who specializes in writing for banks and financial institutions. A former bank marketing executive, Dana has written a white paper entitled, “Banks & Blogging: Why they should, why they don’t, and how to go about it.” For more information, visit http://www.dana-dobson.com.