Marketing Insights

Our take on marketing in the financial services industry

Brady Walen; bwalen@formarketinsights.com

Blog Questions at the Great Exchange

During the America’s Community Bankers Great Exchange Conference in April, I had quite a few discussions with attendees about blogs.  People were asking me about everything from “what is a blog?” to “why would I want to have a blog” to “what would I write about if I had one?”  

In response to these questions, I think it’s appropriate to share some basics about how blogs can support the marketing efforts at your institution; how you can get started; and things to keep in mind once you have your blog up and running.  As always, if you have questions beyond the material discussed here, feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call.

The Blog

Blogs have undoubtedly reshaped the online experience for many of us. They have become a part of our daily routine, and serve as a source of information, entertainment and discussion.  According to the Pew Charitable Trust’s Internet & American Life Project, eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog.  Thirty-nine percent of internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs.  More than half of bloggers (54%) are under age 30.

Still, there are so many people that have never read a blog, and many who couldn’t tell you what a blog is.  And while some estimates indicate that there are more than 70 million blogs online, and more than one million posts made every day, it’s interesting that there are still only a handful of financial institutions using blogs to inform their customers, connect with their communities and market their businesses.

For those of you who don’t know, a blog is a frequently updated online journal where an author posts content that can be read and responded to online; the word blog is short for web log.  The content can really be anything: information, thoughts, rants and raves, photos, podcasts, video, news – and the list goes on and on. 

For more blogging basics, visit About.com

Why you want one.  

There are a number of reasons why people write and read blogs.  For financial services, however, one of the most compelling reasons is quite simple: blogs provide an avenue for institutions to deliver information and to connect with their employees, their customers and the communities they serve. 

First of all, a blog is a great internal venue to connect with your employees and to keep them informed.  In addition, an internal blog (not visible to people outside the institution) gives your colleagues with less blogging experience the opportunity to explore and learn about how a blog works; and it’s a great way to start building content for a future, publicly accessible blog should you decide to start one.  Establishing a blog for the management team or a project team is also a good way to get an internal blog started.  A blog for employees allows you to make posts regarding events, marketing campaigns and various other issues; and it allows employees to post their questions and concerns for everyone in the institution to see.  This helps the communication process and keeps all employees informed about the same issues at the same time.  

In addition, financial institutions can use a blog to connect with customers.  In today’s competitive marketplace, customers are bombarded with choices, and successful financial institutions have realized the importance of establishing and building a deeper emotional connection with their customers.  One avenue that institutions can use to connect at a deeper level with customers is through the use of a blog.  This adds another layer to your online presence; blogs are dynamic and offer information that changes regularly through updates; and it allows customers to see a side of your institution that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Beyond employees and customers, institutions can use a blog to connect with and provide information about the communities that they serve.  This is especially important for community-based institutions that take pride in playing an integral role in their communities.  In addition, it creates a venue for discussion about community events, news and the institution’s involvement in the community.   This type of discussion also encourages non-customers to visit your website and to connect with your institution, which ultimately creates the opportunity to attract new customers.

What you could write about.

The easiest place to start with blog content is to think about information that you would normally publish in your newsletters.  A newsletter typically has articles about news at your institution, events in your community and a variety of other topics that interest your employees and customers.  While there should be guidelines established regarding what can and can not be posted on your blog, typical newsletter-like content is a good place to start.

What to include:

• Current news at your institution.  Discuss new branch opening dates; introduce new hires; talk about upcoming and recent events; and discuss the reasons why you may be considering development of a new product.
• Discuss local news, how it impacts your institution and your community 
• Highlight and/or discuss local businesses
• Your blog should also be well branded; it should include profiles of contributors and it should link easily back to your institution’s website.  For more information about what to include in your blog and how do drive traffic to it, check out the following links:
• Seth Godin: How to get traffic to your blog
• Ron Shelvin: If you’re going to blog – This is directed to credit unions, but the same recommendations hold true for banks as well

What to avoid:

• Selling products and services.  Your blog is an extension of your website where you undoubtedly have enough information already about your products and services readily available.  Your blog should be a place for conversation and connection, not making a pitch for sales.
• Irrelevant information.  While your posts should not only focus on business at your institution, they should be focused, relevant and newsworthy.  Recipes for cookies are not newsworthy.
• Putting your blog on the backburner.  Once you start your blog, you have made a commitment, and your team should be encouraged to make routine, buzzworthy posts.

Blogs, and many other relatively new technologies, should be given consideration by financial institutions as means to market your institution, reinforce your brand and your messages, and to connect with your customers and prospective customers.  The benefit here can be great as we see many financial institutions looking for ways to attract a younger, and in many cases, a more technologically-savvy market segment.  While some institutions do not have the time and/or human resources to start and manage a blog today, it’s critical that widely used technologies like blogs do not fall by the wayside as today’s customers are more demanding than ever and expect that you are relevant and in-touch with their wants and needs.  

Blogs worth checking out:

1.  Grow Your Bank: Market Insights’ blog dedicated to bringing you our take on trends, news and issues relevant to today’s financial services industry.

2.  NetBanker: Jim Bruene at NetBanker regularly reviews financial institutions’ blogs and posts his feedback on his blog.  Read what Jim has to say about institutions’ blogs: (www.netbanker.com/blogs)

3.  Prove Your Story: Creative Brand Communication’s blog emphasizing the importance of creating a brand experience.

4.  Marketing ROI: Whims from Ron Shelvin – touches on a variety of financial services issues with a marketing focus

5.  Idea-Sandbox: Paul Williams shares his ideas relative to the customer experience, branding and being remarkable

6.  Seth Godin:  Great content applicable to any number of industries; Seth challenges your thinking and encourages you to be remarkable.