Mistake # 1 - Not believing that Interactive Marketing is for your Financial Institution

This year spending on Internet Media will surpass print and magazine spending while the gap between TV and the Internet continues to close. Financial Institutions (FIs) that recognize and adapt to their customers’ changing habits will successfully communicate to prospective and existing customers.

Mistake # 2 – Relying Solely on SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Few topics have received as much attention as website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and many FIs have invested heavily in efforts to optimize their websites. Unfortunately, SEO is problematic for FIs as the majority offer similar products with similar names – Checking, Savings, Mortgages etc. This makes gaining a higher search page position difficult and expensive. An effective and proven method to gain visibility on Search Pages is utilizing Search Ads for likely search terms. SEO has its place, but it shouldn’t stand-alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Tara, Langdon and Jillian will be attending The Great New England Credit Union Show on Thursday, April 19th. This is PWM’s first time at The Show and we’re excited to be a part of New England’s most exciting credit union show!

Be sure to check out the 11:15 a.m. session “Socialist CUs”. Jillian will be participating in a panel presented by the New England Financial Marketing Association on why credit union executives are embracing and promoting social media for their institutions. Other panelists include Jim Kelly, president of Polish National Credit Union in Chicopee, Mass; and Tom Montilli, vice president of marketing for Harvard University Credit Union in Cambridge.

Connect with us at the conference! We’d love to discuss how Pannos Winzeler can help your credit union with new marketing strategy, interactive and traditional media.

Jillian Adams, Interactive Media Specialist, has written an article for ABA Marketing Magazine, Driving Traffic to your Facebook Page.  Whether you are thinking of launching a Facebook Page or have already done so, read this article for 5 tips on how to build some buzz around your Financial Institution’s social presence.

Comments or questions? Email Jillian at Pannos Winzeler dot com

Yesterday Facebook announced that the Timeline is live for Brand Pages. Timeline is the newest profile format which has already rolled out to personal pages. True to Facebook style, they are making Brand Pages consistent with personal pages. As a Page Owner or Administrator, the new format is optional for now, but on March 30^th all Brand Pages will be automatically converted over to the new Timeline format by Facebook.

Timeline organizes content chronologically and provides an opportunity to add in history. So, a financial institution can go back and add key milestones, such as branch openings, key personnel changes, and product launches even prior to joining Facebook.

Pages will become more visually attractive since there is a stronger focus on photos. In addition to the standard Facebook icon, a big cover photo which extends the width of the page is new.  This photo can be changed at any time and provides an opportunity to shape your brand and identity through strong visuals. There are some rules around the cover photo to be aware of however, including no contact info, no call to actions, and no directing people to any features within Facebook such as liking or sharing. There is more emphasis on posts with photos, and apps now even have their own larger icon.

Brands now have more control over how their content is displayed. For example, you can Pin a post on the top of your Page which can stay up to 7 days. You can also feature posts larger than others. Pages can also hide individual posts without deleting them. Brands now have an activity log where they can find and edit old posts.

Custom applications and tabs still work and have moved to the right under the cover photo and header. Although fewer tabs are featured (4), they feature a much larger thumbnail. There is no more default tab option. Many Pages had used this feature to “fangate” contests which required a person to Like the Page prior to gaining access to the contest.

On the back end, there is a new Administrator panel which is a drop down screen and gives a snapshot of Insights, highlights recent likes, identifies notifications as well as a new message inbox. This is important: Pages can now be direct messaged by individuals. Pages on the other hand may not direct message individuals. You will need to start thinking about the customer service implications of this new method of contact and communication strategies.

Facebook constantly evolves. It’s been about a year since their last big redesign, so I guess we were due. If you have any questions/comments about the Facebook Timeline or implications, please feel free to contact us at (603) 625-2443 or sound off here.

Rumors are now confirmed. The question that all Facebook Brand Pages have had since the introduction of the new Facebook Timeline has finally been answered; Brand Pages will be required to convert layouts by March 30^th, 2012 or Facebook will convert them automatically. Think of this as an opportunity to take your Social Media marketing to the next level.

The appearance and layout of Timeline for Brands is very similar to the Personal Pages of Facebook with Timelines. One highlight is that Brand Pages still have the opportunity to have custom tabs and actually have even more opportunity to customize them with icon images along with custom names. A new feature that the Timeline offers is the ability to have a cover photo that will be the first thing people see when they visit your Page. This creates new strategic opportunities from a marketing standpoint from building your identity to creating a more engaging experience for the user. Another highlight is the logical flow the Page now has. Here’s a tip! Look at the middle of the Page to follow the timing of Posts. These are only a few of the changes and additions that have been made to Brand Pages. You have the ability to “preview” what your Brand Page will look like with the new Timeline before the March 30^th deadline. Brands can choose to make the switch prior to March 30^th. They can experiment and update their Page in the new layout without publishing right away too.

Facebook had kept quiet about any official announcement since rumors started about Timeline for Brand Pages. Now that the word is out, we here at Pannos-Winzeler are busy digging in and developing enhanced strategies for our clients. Now is the time to begin planning the next phase of your Facebook marketing strategy. When will you make the switch?

Tara Hersherger, PWM Media Director

For Pannos Winzeler Marketing 2011 was a year where emerging trends in Social Media and Interactive Marketing became essential components of our work for many clients. At the same time we continue to integrate traditional media with new media initiatives. We find this is a great way to optimize our clients’ campaigns. As we often say, fishing in many ponds is the way to increase your new business opportunities.

Although they don’t always tell the whole story, statistics are a good way to see how integrated the media mix is becoming and provides a snapshot across a variety of community financial institutions ranging from a one branch bank just outside Boston to an 11 billion dollar institution with branches in four different states across the heartland.

As our business expands across the country, we’re finding a growing need for customized interactive and social media solutions. All to often we are seeing “cookie-cutter” programs that seem easy and inexpensive to implement, but in the long run can cost financial institutions the ability to drill down and target desired markets and demographics. Our clients are finding it costs no more (and usually less) to take a custom optimized approach…Let us build a campaign for you.

^* Other Media included Billboards, Transit Ads, Radio and TV

Langdon Andrews, Vice President, Financial Institutions Marketing

Remember the year 2012. It will likely be the year that Interactive Marketing becomes a part of your media plan. In fact for many financial institutions that have already made the leap it will become an important part of their media plans. Print will (and should) still be present, however, in a reduced role.

According to the Pew Research Center in 2010 online advertising spending surpassed spending on newspapers by 2 billion dollars. Ad dollars are simply following our eyeballs as everyday more of us get our news online and spend hours visiting Social Media sites at the expense of traditional channels like newspapers and television. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Bouchard, Director - Web Development

Until recently, websites were considered sufficient if they were attractively designed and provided informative content. Rarely did most websites consider the steps/process of adding to and updating that content. As a result, most websites remained unchanged with little new information because it was difficult, or expensive to make changes.

Today, your website is, more often than not, the first place consumers look to learn about your products and services. Your website is expected to serve many of the same functions as your branches – and it’s open 24/7.  New rates are continually posted, product info is updated, frequently there are cross-sells that need to be changed to reflect current promotions, educational content is being created and news and press releases are regularly being published. Read the rest of this entry »

Media & PR Director, Tara Hershberger, recently authored an article featured in the January/February issue of ABA Bank Marketing Magazine. If you’re currently using social media for your financial institution, or thinking of utilizing social platforms in the future, check it out!

Comments or questions? Email the author: Tara at Pannos Winzeler dot com

Tara Hershberger has written an article for Banker & Tradesman, Integrated Strategy Enhances Mobile Banking Launches.  If you are investigating the benefits of mobile banking or looking for ways to sign customers up drop us an email and we will be pleased to send a copy.