Financial institutions such as banks and credit unions need to market their services just as other businesses do. Marketing is a way for financial professionals to inform clients about services and benefits they offer and to create public images for their institutions. One of the best tips for marketing financial institutions is to use language and images that create the impression of a serious institution that individuals can trust. At the same time, marketing campaigns should be inviting and should be different from the campaigns used by other banks and credit unions.
Individuals tend to remember campaigns that are funny or which speak directly to them. When marketing financial institutions, it can be advisable to use light humor so that consumers will remember how banks differ from one other. If marketing is perceived by consumers to be too light or whimsical, however, they might get the impression that a financial institution does not take its clients' finances seriously.
Another key principle of marketing financial institutions is to use Internet marketing. This is most easily achieved by setting up social networking pages for institutions. Clients can choose to follow a social media page and suggest it to their friends.
Marketing financial institutions online is often most effective when professionals use content marketing. Content marketing is a principle by which marketers create pages where consumers can retrieve information instead of looking solely for services or products. For example, a personal finance resource page sponsored by a financial institution might draw a number of viewers who have general finance questions. If visitors find that they need banking services after reading content, there often is a chance that they use the financial institution that sponsors content since this institution is linked on a page.
Email capture is another effective tool for marketing financial institutions. Individuals who sign up for checking and savings accounts or who inquire about services generally provide financial institutions with email addresses. This is valuable information. Financial representatives can send out email messages to all captured addresses announcing new services and exciting news about growth.
When marketing financial institutions, it is also important to pay attention to demographics and regions. A large bank with locations all over the world should have different marketing campaigns for urban versus rural environments. Credit unions in small, tightly knit communities should be marketed as important parts of communities that provide financial services to many local businesses.