CategoryFinancial

Katie Hansen – VGM Forbin, Web Marketing Specialist If you had to choose your largest issue as a financial marketer, I bet it would have something to do with measurement. Whether it’s a bank president who wants to know how many conversions you’ve achieved, or one of your local customers who asks why more people don’t like your Facebook page; measuring the progress of your marketing initiatives is a never-ending process. Today, I am happy to share HOW you can measure these Read More

Of all the awesome online marketing channels, robust digital tools and data analytics platforms available to banks these days, there is one channel that can impact how well all of these work: search engine optimization, or SEO. Chances are your online marketing efforts (social, search, paid ads, email, etc.) point traffic to your website. But if your bank’s website and user experience are ugly and sluggish, the greatest online marketing tactics in the world aren’t going to provide Read More

Matt Cunard, Sr. Digital Marketer There may be no better feeling than launching a brand new website. It’s the culmination of a lot of effort, time and hard work. But over time, a website can deteriorate. As updates are made, usability can suffer, content becomes flat and search engine optimization may suffer. But there is good news! There are relatively easy ways to identify when these issues arise in order to fix them. Below are five areas to look at to determine how healthy your website Read More

Save Time and Transform Your Bank's Facebook Presence By Matt Cunard, Sr. Digital Marketer “Is Facebook even worth it for community banks anymore? Don’t all the changes the platform is making that kill organic reach make it a lost cause?” We get these questions on a weekly basis from bank marketers frustrated with the lack of reach and engagement they’re receiving. But there’s so much more to social media for a bank than the reach of your posts. For Read More

We are often asked “How do you keep up on all the changes happening with social media?” It’s a great question, as social media tips, tricks, trends and best practices seem to change weekly. Our overly simplistic answer is that we work with social media every day. But for you as a bank marketer most likely wearing multiple hats or acting alone, time is a limited resource. If you happen to get five to 10 minutes during the day, you’re probably not spending it clicking Read More

To say that technology has changed banking is an understatement. Your customers can now access their accounts whenever and wherever they like, deposit checks without coming to your drive-thru and turn their debit cards on and off. As an institution, you’re sitting on massive amounts of data, and you can use advanced analytics and advertising platforms to target and track campaigns to the most specific degree possible. But in this boom of technology and data, a disturbing trend has come to Read More

Let’s face it: you don’t always have time to read every interesting blog post or article you see. Certainly not you, the bank marketer/multiple hat wearer with a schedule that’s generally full from day to day. That’s where our “5 In 5” monthly blog post comes in handy. These monthly articles are meant to cater to bank marketers just like you: dedicated to their work, but with limited time to digest information. Here’s the gist: we offer five tidbits of Read More

In 2016, our financial team traveled. A lot. We didn’t only travel within our home state of Iowa or to five of our six neighbors (sorry, Minnesota). We were at association, marketing and technology conferences everywhere from Denver, Las Vegas and Nashville to Kansas City, Orlando and Virginia. Why did we travel so much? There are a couple of reasons. First, we love to support the associations we are part of because they have been so good to us. Second, we’re passionate about learning Read More

What should go into a strategic plan? If you look at the commonly held definition of a strategic plan you would say it sets priorities, focuses energy and resources, gives your institution direction, ensures everyone is on the same page and that all stakeholder issues are accounted for. Your strategic plan probably includes the tactics and personnel needed to meet your goals, as well as protocols for measuring and assessing your progress. However, a vital element that may be forgotten is your Read More

Matt Cunard, Sr. Web Marketer There is a reckoning coming for smaller financial institutions when it comes to cyber security. Until this year, online thieves have mostly focused on larger institutions in the country because of the amount of personal and financial information they hold. However, that trend is changing.   In an article titled “Large Banks Team Up in War Against Cyberthieves” in the Aug. 10, 2016 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Sr. Special Writer Robin Sidel Read More