BankMarketingCenter

By that I mean Gen Z. Who are the Gen Z’ers? They’re the individuals born between 1997-2012, which makes them between the ages of 10 and 26 as of 2023. Right now, they account for about 40% of the U.S. population, numbering nearly 70 million. 

Growing up in an “age of technology,” these consumers exhibit very different behaviors than previous generations… much different. Especially when it comes to how and where they find information, as well as how they shop and purchase products and services. They do everything online, and they're doing it from anywhere. No longer confined by a home computer, they’re transacting business on their cellphones while in the car (sometimes even while driving), and even on their watches while running on a treadmill (I’ve actually experienced this. Perhaps, you have, too.)

And as we’ve all come to know, their expectations of a bank’s digital experience (that is, the service they get via online or through a mobile app) is far different from any previous generation. In fact, research has shown that to this generation, a bank’s digital experience is more important to them than the products and services that it offers.  So, what does that mean for your bank?

Well, for me, to answer that question I need to travel back to my soft drink marketing days. If I learned anything from building a beverage company’s market share, it’s this: Get ‘em while they’re young. Remember “Choice of a New Generation”? That Pepsi theme line cuts right to the quick of what drives a soft drink manufacturer’s growth. The key to success in marketing a cola is grabbing that young consumer as they’re making the transition from juices to soft drinks… if I recall, that’s at about age 12 or so… at least, that used to be the case.  I just did a bit of googling and learned this from “Made for Mums:” “Age 8 is when most people said they'd let their child have fizzy drinks.” Personally, I find that deeply disturbing, but… I digress.

Anyway, my point is this:  Smart marketers work hard to earn customers early and work just as hard to keep them. That being because, as we all know, it’s something like seven times more costly to earn a customer than it is to keep one. Pepsi knows that they operate in a category where consumers are highly brand loyal, and that earning that customer at 11 or 12 pretty much ensures that they have that customer for life.  That’s just the way it is with soft drinks. Now, do banking customers exhibit that same kind of “my-brand-no-matter-what” loyalty?  Hard to say. I read this on lumindigital.com: 

“According to Foresight Research, 22% of users — or roughly 44 million people — considered leaving their old bank and starting over with a new primary financial institution. Of the consumers who “intend to leave their bank or credit union, almost 3 out of 4 are Gen Z or Millennials — the very block of business that drives the future of your financial institution.”

How do I interpret this?  I see it as an opportunity for banks. Right now, the GenZ banking customer is in the “consideration” stage of their buying journey. By that I mean that they’re just now reaching those milestones in life that will motivate them to choose a bank. They’re getting somewhat settled in their personal lives and career. It’s a time when they’re beginning to show interest in not just savings and checking accounts, but other products such as loans, mortgages, and investment products. It’s a perfect time for a community bank to earn their business. 

Granted, that business may not be record-setting right now, but that will change. With the oldest of the Gen Z population turning 26 in 2023, they’re still in the early stages of their careers. As they continue to grow in their careers, their income will continue to grow, as well. In a study done by Bank of America, Gen Z’s income is predicted to increase 5x to $33 trillion by 2030 and surpass Millennial’s income by 2031.

And here’s something else to consider; The Great Wealth Transfer, as it’s been called. It’s predicted that the Baby Boomer generation, the wealthiest of all generations in American history, will one day soon transfer its wealth to the next generation. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Not the “next generation,” but, supposedly, the one following it; i.e., Generation Z, the Baby Boomer grandchildren. The Great Wealth Transfer is estimated to be about $68 trillion. That’s a pretty hefty piece of change and any bank should want a piece of that.

So, what can you do to begin to earn the trust, and the business, of this coming generation?

Help educate them

The Gen Z consumer is hungry for information, especially when it comes to financial services.  They’re shopping for products and services and want to learn as much as they can about them. Now is a good time for you to position yourself as a Subject Matter Expert in the world of banking and financial management (which of course, you are) and begin building that personal, long-lasting relationship.

Reach them where they like to be

Gen Z is heavily influenced by social media. The social media channels they prefer are, by and large, Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter. Make sure that these platforms are an integral part of your social media marketing strategy.

Last but not least, deliver on their digital expectations

Remember. This generation of consumer has sky-high expectations and razor-thin patience. It’s great that you’re out there hyping your digital banking experience… just make sure that you live up to the expectations that you set.

About Bank Marketing Center 

Here at bankmarketingcenter.com, our goal is to help you with that topical, compelling communication with customers; the messaging — developed by banking industry marketing professionals, well trained in the thinking behind effective marketing communication — that will help you build trust, relationships, and revenue. In short, build your brand. 

To view our marketing creative, both print and digital – ranging from product and brand ads to social media and in branch signage – visit bankmarketingcenter.com.  You can also contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com.  As always, I welcome your thoughts on the subject.

Last week, we talked about the critical role that social media should play in your marketing mix; in building customer loyalty, in particular. Making the most of your social platforms is, well, a great start. The fact is, like any marketing medium, social media messaging must be monitored. After all, how else do you know what’s working and what isn’t? Monitoring effectiveness will lead to better-informed, data-driven decisions, which can then lead to optimizing your social media marketing strategy.

 1. Start with a social calendar

No, not the one with the indecipherable notes scribbled in Sharpie® that helps you keep track of birthdays; the one that will help you create (and stick to) a posting plan. To make building your calendar a bit easier, Hootsuite will even provide you with a calendar template!  And while, like everything in life, it’s nice to prepare weeks in advance for something you know is going to happen, well, we know it just doesn’t work that way. If you can plan your posts a couple of months in advance, you’re doing pretty well.

How often should you post to social media? According to Hootsuite:

• On Instagram, post between 3-7 times per week
• On Facebook, post between 1 and 2 times a day
• On Twitter, post between 1 and 5 Tweets a day
• On LinkedIn, post between 1 and 5 times a dayz

2. Set Clear Objectives and Goals

Now, before diving into measuring social media effectiveness, it is important to establish clear objectives and goals. These objectives should align with your overall marketing and business objectives. For example, your goals could include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, or improving customer engagement. Defining specific and measurable goals will provide a framework for measuring your social media efforts effectively.

3. Monitor the big three: Engagement, Impressions, and Reach

Reach, impressions, and engagement metrics provide valuable insights into the visibility and impact of your social media content. Frequently used and often confused, impressions and reach are each an important metric to track. 

• Reach: tells you how many unique individuals your post reached.
• Impressions: tells you how many individuals saw your post times the number of instances each individual viewed your post.

And then there’s engagement, which tells you how actively involved your audience is with your content. Engaged viewers interact with messaging through likes, comments, clicks, and shares, providing a much more drilled-down view of how your audience is responding to your post. Also, every platform offers some sort of engagement metric. Tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, and Instagram Insights provide detailed information on both reach and engagement.

4. Monitor page likes and follower growth

It’s nice to be liked, isn’t it? Well, you want your posts to enjoy that same feeling.  Put simply, the more your content is liked, the better. When it comes to Facebook, for example, “likes” are fairly simple. When someone likes a page, they're showing support for the page and its content. Facebook lets you track page likes easily through their Audience Insights Platform. With Twitter, you can simply click on any Tweet to get a detailed view of the number of retweets, replies, likes, follows, and clicks it receives. Twitter also offers an analytics tool, which you can access simply by logging into your account. Click on “Audiences” and you can view a complete report of your following over the last 28 days. Instagram, on the other hand, does not make social metrics easy. A third-party tool like Squarelovin can help.

Tracking followers

When someone follows a page, it means they are open to receiving updates about that page in their news feed. While quantity alone is not the sole indicator of success, an increasing follower count signifies expanding brand reach and potential influence. Monitor follower growth over time to identify trends and understand the impact of your content and engagement strategies. Additionally, analyze the demographics of your followers to ensure your content resonates with your target audience.

 5. Monitor your site referral traffic

Using social to drive traffic to your website? Well, of course, you 'll want to know what platform is driving traffic and what messaging is doing it most effectively. A great way to effectively track website visits from your social campaigns across all channels is to develop custom UTMs which can then be tracked using Google Analytics. UTMs, or Urchin Tracking Modules, are a tracking device that can yield specific valuable information regarding site traffic visit sources. Simply put, UTM tracking involves adding unique codes to the URLs to which your posts link with a click through. If you aren’t familiar with UTM codes or aren’t sure how to set them up, you can find detailed guidance on Google’s Analytics Help page.

6. Utilize Social Listening Tools

Social listening tools allow you to monitor and analyze online conversations related to your brand, industry, or specific keywords. By tracking KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as mentions, sentiment, and engagement levels, you can gain valuable insights into the perception of your brand, product, and services on social media. These insights can then lead to a more insight-driven content strategy and help financial institutions identify opportunities to improve engagement, address customer concerns, and ultimately “fine tune” their product and service offerings. Again, HubSpot can be a great resource.  Here they list out the “best of the best” social listening tools, making it fairly easy for you to decide which listening tool is right for you.

Ready to get started?

Managing your bank’s social media marketing is not exactly a DIY project and this blog is by no means intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to social marketing analytics. Hopefully, it will get you excited about the possibilities that social media marketing analytics provide and inspires you to give analytics a try. If you decide that this is something you’d rather not take on yourself, don’t despair. There are a number of companies you can engage, such as Hootsuite and Sprout Social, that offer highly sophisticated analytics reporting tools.

About Bank Marketing Center 

Here at bankmarketingcenter.com, our goal is to help you with that topical, compelling communication with customers; the messaging — developed by banking industry marketing professionals, well trained in the thinking behind effective marketing communication — that will help you build trust, relationships, and revenue. In short, build your brand. 

To view our marketing creative, both print and digital – ranging from product and brand ads to social media and in branch signage – visit bankmarketingcenter.com.  You can also contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com.  As always, I welcome your thoughts on the subject.

We all know how social media has transformed the way we live, shop for products and services, make purchase decisions, share information, and much more. For businesses, the digital revolution has certainly changed, in monumental ways, how businesses interact with their customers. And the banking industry is certainly no exception.

Social media marketing offers banks a unique opportunity to engage with their customers on a more personal level, building strong relationships, and fostering the kind of customer loyalty that institutions need to compete and grow profitability. So, what are a few of the benefits that banks can reap from their social media marketing in attracting and retaining customers?

Enhancing customer engagement

Social media platforms serve as powerful tools for banks to engage with their customers in a real-time way. By actively participating in conversations, responding to queries, and sharing relevant content, banks can establish a trusted relationship… one built on approachability and accessibility. Regular interactions on social media platforms offer you the opportunity to humanize your brand, making customers (and future customers) feel valued and heard. This increased engagement creates the personalized customer experience that today’s consumer expects.

Providing timely and personalized customer service

Social media can also provide a direct channel for customers who are searching for assistance. Use your social media platforms to offer prompt and personalized customer service, addressing questions and concerns in a timely manner. By promptly resolving customer issues and providing accurate information, you’ll instill confidence in their customers, thereby strengthening loyalty. Additionally, social media – as a “conversational” medium – can provide valuable feedback from customers which, in turn, enables you to continuously improve your products and services based on customer preferences.

Building brand advocacy and trust

Social media platforms offer an ideal environment for your customers to express their satisfaction and share positive experiences with their personal networks. We all know how individuals love to share their experiences through their social media, and how important personal references have become. (Think “influencer”). By providing exceptional service and maintaining an active social media presence, you can encourage your customers to become “brand ambassadors.” When satisfied customers publicly endorse a bank's services, it not only boosts the bank's reputation but also helps in attracting new customers. Positive social proof through customer testimonials, reviews, and recommendations helps build trust, further solidifying customer loyalty.

Offering educational, informative content

People are hungry for financial guidance. Banks can leverage social media platforms to share educational and informative content, meeting the needs that customers have when it comes to financial needs and interests. By offering valuable insights, tips, and expert advice, your bank can position itself as a trusted source of information, reinforcing your brand as a valued member of the community and an expert in financial products and services. By consistently providing relevant, educational content, you can nurture long-term relationships with your customers and build both loyalty and retention.

But, “what about those negative reviews,” you ask?

A bit wary when it comes to social? Well, there’s a lot of truth to the old adage that you can’t make everyone happy all of the time, no matter what you do or how you do it. Taking this to heart, you can begin to understand that perhaps negative comments and reviews are not the worst thing in the world. In fact, they can actually work on your behalf. Why is that? Well, for starters, remember that social media is a conversation and for that reason, it’s an opportunity to hear what customers (and potential customers) think of who you are and what you offer.  It’s a great way to learn and, if and when needed, make refinements to products and services.

Be Proactive

Be proactive with our social media management.  That means staying ahead of potentially negative comments by “diffusing” them before they even appear.  This is accomplished through positive comments. Integral to your social messaging is the message that you welcome comments. Invitations such as “tell us about your experience,” and “don’t forget to mention your great experience on our social media,” will ideally keep the positive messages flowing on your social platforms. And, believe it not, a negative comment can even “add legitimacy” to your social messaging.  Sad to say, people tend to question the legitimacy of comments/reviews when they see only positives and no negatives.

Take the high road and take it quickly

Another step to take in keeping your platforms working for you is to always act promptly.  Individuals watching your social media are just as interested, if not more so, in how you respond to a negative comment than the comment itself. 

Monitor your platforms regularly

By keeping close tabs on the dialogue you’re having with your customers – and responding promptly and in a productive way – you’re creating personal relationships that can then become mutually-beneficial business relationships. You can learn from these social interactions. Perhaps many people are complaining about/commenting on a similar topic, service, or member of your team. Social media comments can help you gain insights into how customers, and potential customers, see your business; very useful information when you want them to do business with you!

Are you making the most of your social media?

Social media marketing has revolutionized the way you can connect with your customers, both building and maintaining a deeper sense of loyalty and trust. By actively engaging with customers, providing personalized customer service, building brand advocacy, and offering educational content, you can strengthen your relationships, drive customer loyalty, and grow share of wallet. However, it is crucial for banks to implement social media strategies that align with their brand values and customer preferences. With the right approach – that is, a message that aligns with your brand and compels your audience to act – social media can be a powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal.

About Bank Marketing Center 

Here at bankmarketingcenter.com, our goal is to help you with that topical, compelling communication with customers; the messaging — developed by banking industry marketing professionals, well trained in the thinking behind effective marketing communication — that will help you build trust, relationships, and revenue. In short, build your brand. 

To view our marketing creative, both print and digital – ranging from product and brand ads to social media and in branch signage – visit bankmarketingcenter.com.  You can also contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com.  As always, I welcome your thoughts on the subject.

First came Budweiser. Then Target. Then Kohl’s. Am I missing anybody? I very well could be, since it’s almost impossible to keep up with the news of companies running afoul of consumers with their stance on “inclusivity.”

Please don’t get me wrong. I support companies that believe in, as Webster’s defines it, “the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those having physical or intellectual disabilities or belonging to other minority groups.”

Despite that fact, I guess that, just like millions of Americans at the moment, I’m still scratching my head a bit over this spate of what some are calling woke marketing, i.e., “wokeness” in corporate branding.

I’m sure that you, too, have been hearing and reading about it… and quite a lot lately. From alcoholic beverages and infant clothing lines to dating apps and detergents, brands galore are jumping (or at least making an attempt to jump) on the inclusivity bandwagon. The big news recently is that instead of getting ON the bandwagon, recent attempts seem to have landed brands UNDER the wagon. 

Why is inclusive marketing so important in 2023? Deloitte’s Authentically Inclusive Marketing tells us that “on a given day, up to 10,000 discrete advertisements bombard consumers during their waking hours. Consumers—especially the youngest generations—are expecting more from these messages than just details about the latest seasonal sale. Rather, they are questioning whether a brand supports diversity and inclusion both publicly and behind the camera—and this focus is becoming increasingly important to brands, as well.” 

How important? From Gallup’s US LGBT identification steady at 7.2%: “After showing perceptible increases in 2020 and 2021, U.S. adults’ identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual held steady in 2022, at 7.2%. The current percentage is double what it was when Gallup first measured LGBT identification a decade ago.”

It’s pretty clear that here in the U.S., our consumer population is growing increasingly diverse, whether we’re talking race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or even physical differences in ability. With that growth is an ever-increasing expectation—on the part of these consumers—that brands respond accordingly.

KPMG’s article, The Power of Inclusive Marketing and Why It Works makes, what I see, as the essential point here: “Inclusive marketing isn’t a tick-box exercise. Images of white people can’t be just switched with those of ethnic minorities, coloring packaging to pink won’t attract more female buyers, and rainbow flags pinned to a glossy campaign message won’t make them inclusive. So, what actions should brands take?” I’ll answer that question with a question of my own: At what point do brands take this too far in the other direction?

Fortunately, there are a few simple steps – so simple, in fact, that I can’t understand how Bud, Target, and Kohl’s missed them  – that marketers can take to develop their inclusive marketing campaigns.  

One, know your audience. As Shakespeare once said, “know thy audience.” Well, not really, but he sure was an expert marketer. When you’re developing your marketing message, do the research. Know your audience. I remember very well the focus groups, the 50-page consumer research decks, the commercial concept testing… There are a lot of ways to create and maintain a brand that is inclusive, and understanding your audience is a foundational step. I do think that, in some ways, “inclusivity” has almost become an approach to branding that is more fashion than fact. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in marketing to your audience, and again, in not marginalizing individuals. But I do question sometimes—when viewing a commercial, for instance—the necessity of an inclusivity subtext. It all goes back to research and “the numbers.” If the LGBTQ population is less than the 8% of the American populus, how will the other 92% respond to an LGBTQ lifestyle-focused message, i.e., one that doesn’t speak to them? Some will ignore it. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen recently, others will be angered by it. Angered enough to get on social media and push for boycotts, doing irreparable damage to the brand and often, the stock price.

Two, staff accordingly. Sure, the women in the shop could have been assigned to the motor oil account and the men assigned to women’s apparel, but that was never the case. When you see tone deaf marketing, it can very likely be traced back to the folks who created it not “being in touch.” Could you effectively convince a stranger, or even a friend, to purchase a product that you yourself never used? Probably not. At least, I wouldn’t put money on it.

Three, be authentic. This is critical and, of course, the most challenging. And that’s because in the end, (and we would see this when concept testing a commercial before it aired) people know when you’re not being authentic. Consumers can sense the difference between something you truly believe in and something that is merely an attempt at lip service.

So, as more and more consumers are looking to align where they spend their money with the brands that fit their values, it's smart to put an inclusive lens on your marketing… but keep in mind the three steps above. And let's face it, these steps aren’t important only in the context of inclusive marketing; they’re important in any of the marketing messaging you create.

About Bank Marketing Center 

Here at bankmarketingcenter.com, our goal is to help you with that topical, compelling communication with customers; the messaging — developed by banking industry marketing professionals, well trained in the thinking behind effective marketing communication — that will help you build trust, relationships, and revenue. In short, build your brand. 

To view our marketing creative, both print and digital – ranging from product and brand ads to social media and in branch signage – visit bankmarketingcenter.com. You can also contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com. As always, I welcome your thoughts on the subject.