Pub. 9 2020 Issue 2

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 14 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING. TIME TO GET IN THE GAME. By Neal Reynolds, President, BankMarketingCenter.com T he name of the game, when you’re a financial institution looking to grow deposits, customers and revenue, is to build relationships. This can be challenging, however, in the digital age. While you still have customers who bank in more traditional ways, there’s a new breed of customer out there. And building a relationship with this customer is not easy … but it’s also critical. These are digitally-savvy individuals with high expectations and low attention spans, individuals who are much more apt to open an app than a magazine. The way to reach these future customers, who you really need now not tomorrow, is through the media with which they’re most comfortable. Social. Is social a big deal? You can Bet your Bottom Dollar it is. According to the latest Global Digital suite of reports from Hootsuite, the number of people around the world who are active social media users reached 4 billion in 2018. Today, well over half of the world’s population is online. Needless to say, social is here to stay. How are financial institutions responding? According to a recent study by the American Bankers Association, 9 out of 10 banks surveyed are either “somewhat active” or “very active” on social media. It’s no surprise that banks are working hard to build strategies that can make social media marketing an integral part of their overall marketing. After all, social platforms can help you connect with your customers, build relationships, increase awareness about your brand, and generate sales leads. All good things, right? If you’re not convinced, consider the following: Why Social? The quick answer? It’s both efficient and effective. Social media marketing can be implemented for a fraction of what more traditional media such as television and outdoor boards can cost. Second, social media marketing is measurable, which means you can refine and realign your messaging as you go. A benefit that traditional marketing tactics such as print and direct mail, simply can’t offer. Third, this type of marketing facilitates interaction that others don’t; interaction equals engagement, engagement equals relationship which eventually — hopefully — leads to loyalty and increased revenue. So, what’s next? Right now, you’re probably experiencing that “pre-social media euphoria,” a feeling that social media marketing is quick, cheap and easy. Unfortunately, making the most of social platforms isn’t quite that simple. A successful social media marketing campaign, like any successful endeavor, must start with a plan … a SMART approach. Social media marketing. It starts with a SMART plan. The secret to successful marketing is, of course, planning. Before you spend a dollar, you want to have a comprehensive picture of your market. Who are your potential customers? Where will you find them? What should you say to them? What are your competitors saying? When is the best time to reach them? And, how can you get your message to them in the most cost-effective manner? As a critical component of your overall marketing plan, social messaging deserves the same consideration as any marketing initiative. So, before you even consider posting to Instagram or opening a Facebook account, here is what you need to do first: Set SMART goals Step one of any planning process is always goal setting. What are you looking to accomplish? Perhaps your goal is to build brand awareness. To generate qualified leads and drive sales. To cross sell new products or services to existing customers. Or, to improve customer retention. This is where a SMART goal-setting framework can be of tremendous help. Establishing such a framework will help you create meaningful, measurable, and achievable social media goals that will support your business in the long run. What does SMART mean? • Specific Specific goals are more readily measured, making it easier for you to track your success. • Measurable Make your goal measurable. “Reducing costs” is a worthwhile goal, but it’s vague. “Reduce payment and deposit processing costs by 20%” is a goal that, by contrast, is not. • Attainable Sometimes, you won’t be able to really determine the achievability of your goal until you’ve begun your efforts to accomplish it. If you set a goal to reduce your processing costs by 20% and reduce them by 10% in the first month, you need to re-think that goal. • Realistic Is your goal a realistic one? A 20% reduction in cost seemed, initially, like a realistic, attainable goal. Adjust as needed. Keep your goals attainable, but give yourself something to aim for. • Time bound Every goal needs a start and a finish. Without a completion date, you can’t measure success. Now that you have an idea of how to set goals, next we’re going to talk about social media channels and what they have to offer in terms of helping you grow your business.