The banking industry is often considered sterile or cold. The marketing that many financial institutions put out can be regarded as stiff and impersonal, making it harder to attract new customers. Personalizing your marketing helps you separate your institution from the others, allowing you to recruit new customers who will be loyal for years to come. 

Growing your brand’s Instagram is a simple chain of events. The more followers you have, the more likely you are to see engagement on your posts; the more engagement you get, the higher your chances of appearing earlier on post feeds, story feeds and the explore section. This snowball effect leads to more engagement and exposure to even more followers. It’s all in Instagram’s algorithm, which works a lot like that of search engines.

When I think about hashtags, the first thing that comes to mind is Jimmy Fallon's skit on the Tonight Show with Justin Timberlake. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out (check it out here). And yes, hashtag use can get a bit obnoxious, especially when your old-high-school-buddy-turned-influencer puts seventeen different hashtags in her Instagram posts.

As silly as it may seem, there is real value in using hashtags from a digital marketing perspective. With a little research, you can identify a few that are commonly used by your target demographics and start contributing to their conversations through social media. This strategy is commonly called "hashtag mining" and we think it's #awesome! Here's everything you need to know about executing your own hashtag mining strategy.

Though email is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, it is not to be ignored. According to HubSpot, email generates $42 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 4,200% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available. So while new social media channels may be all the rage, don’t swap something that just works for the latest trend. Email marketing is a tried and true method that’s been honed over the years, and credit unions can use it as a way to grow and foster membership.

Remember the wanderlust you felt while under lockdown in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic? You and everyone else were scrolling through Instagram, gathering inspiration for the day you’d be able to travel again.

Social media marketing can often be a double-edged sword. In one sense, you can reach people in a very personable and authentic way. On the other hand, if done poorly, your social media can dismantle your brand's credibility that you've worked so hard to build. Regardless, social media marketing is a necessity for most real estate agents, groups and developers today who are looking to compete in today's digital landscape. You know it's important, but you need to do it right. 

Many financial institutions suffer from low followership on social media. Think about your own social activity – how many banks and credit unions do you follow? Probably not a lot. Maybe the ones you bank with at most.

Social media advertising has been on the rise since social media’s inception, but the year 2020 took the power of social media to a new level. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook became the go-to for online shopping in several industries, and a way to discover new brands that people hadn’t heard of before. Globally, 3.6 billion people use social media – so if you’re wondering where your untapped customers are, chances are, they’re on social media.

User-generated content (UGC) is any content created by someone outside of your brand. It could be a video recorded by an average Joe, a photo taken by a local amateur photographer, or a customer sharing their written experience with your product on social media. Resharing this kind of content that’s created by others can be a successful marketing tool to help you build connections with your current customers and attract new ones. More than that, UGC can help your brand truly build a community through social media.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media played a huge role in our lives in 2020. As people, we spent more time sitting on our couches scrolling, shopping and interacting on social media than ever before. As marketers, we spent more time honing in on social media as a tool to reach audiences and get our messages across. The year 2020 undoubtedly changed social media forever, spurring on new trends, tools and experiences.