What makes a good community? Is it the number of followers? The quality of content? Engagement on posts? While these may be useful metrics to measure and evaluate marketing efforts, they don’t necessarily create community by themselves. The key to building a robust and energetic community centers on creating one essential thing for your followers: value.
Value is the magnet that will draw engagement while helping banks and credit unions reach new customers. Customers are online and looking for ways to not only learn more about financial topics, but to also build a long-term financial relationship. By aiming to meet their interests and encouraging participation, you have the chance to convert a new prospect into a lifelong customer.
If you want to take the next step in building your community, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Post Relevant Content Regularly
In the debate of quality versus quantity, the answer is both. Brands that can build the strongest following online not only share engaging content, but also do so consistently. A good rule of thumb is to post at least three times a week (but we recommend five). Use data to maximize your marketing efforts as analytics can help you identify both engaging topics and optimal timing to reach your audiences. These methods will help keep your customers engaged with content that interests them.
Pro Tip:
Use marketing software like Social Assurance to help you plan, manage and connect with your customers. This will help you save time so you can focus on other priorities.
Encourage Participation
Create an environment where people want to contribute to your posts. This helps foster a sense of community while allowing customers to contribute their insights and add value. Go the next step by running a social media campaigns where you invite your followers to share their favorite local business or photos of their home renovation progress for a chance to win a prize. By directly soliciting their participation, it helps customers understand that you are interested in them as much as they are in you.
Pro Tip:
Reply to comments quickly. Whether you use preapproved responses or customized messages, messaging back helps customers know that you are paying attention to their contributions.
Don’t Give Up
Unfortunately, communities aren’t built overnight. It can take several months, or years, for brands to have an engaged community of followers on social media. Don’t quit because your numbers aren’t what you expected. Continue to try using new forms of content (like video), or schedule at different times to see what’s most effective.
Pro Tip:
To accelerate your results, run paid social media campaigns. These can help expand your audience and reach new pockets of customers.
Are you interested in additional ways on how to effectively market to your community? Be sure to register for our monthly webinars where we’ll be sharing the latest insights and best practices. To learn more about our marketing platform, schedule a quick intro call with us below.
