Whether it’s opening a bank account or looking for information, most people tend to “Google it” first.
Nowadays, there are millions of active users on the Internet, so it seems like it would be a smart move for the financial industry to adopt digital channels and get the most out of it. Here are some tips that might be useful.
It’s a guaranteed way to reach a large percentage of the population and convert them to loyal customers. But to widen your clientele is not all: satisfying loyal consumers with your services drives the banking sector too. So, what are the options to float on the digital marketing river and the opportunities you get with it?
- As a financial institution it’s important to sell wherever the consumers are. People buy products online all the time, so companies need a strong interaction through digital. The process has to provide safety, speed and ease.
- Banks may want to reach their clients whenever they’re ready to listen. Customers take two out of three most important financial decisions before they decide to visit the supplier’s website, so financial institutions need to learn how to provide information earlier in the process and before their competitors. The new generation doesn’t go through the bank’s door to open a savings account. It waits for a completely new experience where they can make sophisticated choices by using their mobile phones. Institutions need to adapt to this new omni digital performance.
- Quality content is very important. The best way to secure customer’s loyalty is offering good content constantly in different formats such as text, audio, videos or images.
[[Read more: A guide to run campaigns for financial services effectively]]
Go social, be social
- Social media is your chance to go visual and it should be “the” digital channel to communicate. People all over the world get to know the news first on Twitter, Facebook or a simple picture on Instagram. Three out of four bankers say that social media is important, but many financial institutions are just going through the motions. They post content without much strategy. Visual content is more likely to get shared than other types of content.
The Financial Brand named a few social media tips for banks
- Don’t try too hard, sometimes trying to use “cool” language comes across as “dumb”. Focus on micro-moments, when the consumers turn to a device to take an action. If you can reach them during that time, you’ll increase the likelihood that they will buy.
- Listen to your audience and answer them. Companies take this item for granted but it offers effectiveness when you’re trying to improve on how you reach your clients. Don’t be afraid of negative feedback, you can use it to improve. When the customer feels close to an institution, it means you win and you did a good job.
- Offer quizzes, contests and deals for likes. Those are interactive ways to connect with consumers on social media.
- If your bank is on Facebook or Instagram, you may try with ads. Organic content is almost dead. Unpromoted content generates only 90 interactions per post versus 1,930 interactions with promoted content, according to Unmetric.
- Define a solid strategy and then jump into social media based on clear objectives. The tactical roadmap then follows.
Get ranked
One of the first steps is to rank on Google, right? You can start by ensuring your organization is featured on Google Local Listings or you can also get showcased on Google My Business. But it is also a good idea to leverage the power of content marketing to get ranked so you have the potential to go viral on social media.
Facebook and Google ads have taken the world of advertising by storm. Banks can opt for an array of advertising techniques to attract their target group. Facebook is the best bet as you can go for detailed targeting based on age, online behavior, content consumptions and geographic location.
A Google AdWords is another option for financial companies to invest in so they can widen their clientele. These ads show up when potential customers search for relevant keywords, increasing the chances of being seen online.
Step up your game
- Newsletter or Email Marketing is an effective channel to direct the connect straight to the bank’s audience. This method is not to ttract new clients but to stay true to those who have been there with you for years. This is a powerful tool to sell products or services too.
- Online surveys are effectual on Inbound marketing for collecting data and developing Buyer Personas. It’s important to determine the target, what the bank wants to know about their clients. Questions need to be short and straightforward and surveys shouldn’t be long. More specific surveys mean better results.
- Real time data. The banking sector moves based on data. This eases decision-making and helps implement one strategy over the other.
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising. You essentially pay Google to show an ad of your site whenever someone searches for a relevant keyword. You can use this method to get your bank promoted while people are watching videos on YouTube and much more.
Digital marketing offers a number of powerful approaches to grow your business. Improving communication with your target audience can only make your financial institution grow.
However, the big challenge in digital marketing for financial institutions is not so much a matter of what to do but how to do it.
Here you'll learn about a real case of personalized omnichannel campaign using our marketing automation platform
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