Over the course of my life, my family has always been involved in banking. My dad has spent his career working at several banks throughout Iowa and Nebraska. Just over a decade ago, our family settled in York, Nebraska, where my dad became the CFO of a community bank.
While I now live in Lincoln and attend the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, I initially heard about Social Assurance because the community bank my dad works for is actually a Social Assurance customer. I thought given my history with banking and my interest in marketing, this was the right fit for me. Almost two semesters later, my perspective on banking and financial education has changed.
Raised by a Banker
Because I grew up around banking, I learned a lot about things like the importance of saving money and accruing interest. I started my first personal savings account early on in elementary school using the money I had received from birthdays and holidays. Initially, I was reluctant about giving my money up, but after learning about accruing interest (which at the time, seemed like money magically appearing), it was clear that maybe my dad did know best (but don’t tell him that).
In seventh grade, I opened my first checking account after I started my first job working in the cornfields. Around this time, I also applied for a line of credit to protect against overdraft fees. At that age, most kids aren’t even thinking about their finances — let alone managing them.
I was fortunate to be educated on different account types and their advantages from a young age. This byproduct of being a banker’s son has been a great help in my current professional life.
Now a Bank Marketer
In my current role, I write creative social media content for banks and credit unions. My background has helped me better understand and communicate not only about products, but also the benefits of working with a community bank. The majority of the products and services I write about are ones that I had prior knowledge of before starting this job. I attribute this to spending the last two decades being raised by a banker.
Marketing for banks without directly working for any of them has been a new experience. I’ve seen how different banks choose to run their social media and how the content they cover is truly unique to their communities. Creating content for a bank almost feels like looking at its services from the inside, out — the importance lies on presenting the public with the information they need to know and why it should matter to them. By combining my pre-existing knowledge with what I know about social media marketing, I’m able to approach product, community and financial education content creation in a way that helps banks advance their message.
Looking back, I never thought the knowledge my father gave me would help me later on in my professional life. While it was hard to understand this when I was younger, the financial education I received at home helped me more wisely manage my money. Not only because I was able to learn responsible money management techniques from a very young age, but because I am now able to help financial institutions engage and educate their audience on social media.
I’m thankful that the world I grew up around and the educational path I’ve chosen have crossed — providing me with one of the most valuable work experiences I could ask for.
