Digital Marketing for Banks During COVID
Ed Weeks Junior
Empowering businesses under $25M to grow, scale, or prepare for exit with proven systems, accountability, and strategic expertise as a Fractional CMO, Scalable Business Advisor, and Exit Advisor.
The banking industry presents special marketing challenges. That’s why it’s always smart to let a digital marketing agency that has previous experience with banks handle your ad campaigns and social media. HV Social Media has years of experience providing a suite of marketing services for banks in New York and throughout the U.S.
And as complex as digital marketing for banks has been in the 21st century, COVID-19 has brought new challenges no one could have anticipated.
The Easy Part of Digital Marketing for Banks
While many consumers seem to love to hate banks, the truth is a lot of them have bank accounts. They have savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, credit cards. Everyone who has a mortgage gets it at a bank or a credit union.
Consumers love to shop around for the lowest mortgage interest rates, they jump at the chance to transfer a balance to a credit card with a 0% interest for a year and they’ll quickly abandon their favorite bank for a different one with more conveniences.
Trumpeting your low fees, your plethora of ATMs and your easy-to-use apps can get results, quickly.
The Hard Part of Digital Marketing for Banks
Unfortunately, many Americans aren’t very good at managing their money. They bounce checks, they miss payments and they overspend. Then when they have to pay the fees that go with this irresponsible behavior, they get exasperated and blame the bank.
Worse, the scandalous behavior of a few disreputable banks stains the reputation of the entire industry.
How COVID Is Affecting Marketing for Banks
Few industries have been left untouched by the ravages of COVID-19, and New York has been especially hard hit. Banks are still doing their jobs — keeping clients’ money safe and providing necessary services. But devastating job losses, business failures and other financial issues are dealing a blow to the banking industry.
Many homeowners are having trouble keeping up with their mortgages. Clients are missing payments on car loans, personal loans and student loans. Consumers are maxing out their credit cards to pay for food.
The banking industry has responded, allowing extra time to make payments and waiving fees. But instead of breathing a collective sigh of relief, consumers quickly demanded more.
How Good Internet Marketing Can Help Banks
While bank failure doesn’t seem imminent at this time, the truth is that banks are businesses and need to charge fees to stay afloat. But for American consumers, these are desperate times.
Now more than ever, banks need happy, paying customers. And the way to get them is to elevate their public image, to secure the trust of the American people. Customers want to know their bank cares about them and will be there for them — through good times and bad.
Even in calmer times, providing good customer service was paramount for banks. Now, it’s their lifeline. A bank’s digital marketing strategy during COVID must be centered around their humanitarian side. Their campaigns must strike a chord with customers, and they must do it first, and better than their competitors.
Choose a digital marketing company that understands banks: HV Social Media. Call us today to find out what we can do to help position you as the bank that stood by its customers through one of the most difficult times in history.