Yes, your bank needs to blog. Here’s why.

Given the insatiable demand for useful information that we all have, especially in matters related to finance, blogs are a powerful asset that should be a foundation of any bank digital marketing strategy. Here are 5 reasons your financial institution should prioritize content marketing in 2022 and beyond:

If you look at most bank websites, you’ll likely find an “About Us” section with a mission statement that goes something like this, “Our bank empowers people, businesses, and communities to better their financial well-being.” You surely are doing this already through a combination of charitable donations, event sponsorship, educational events, and more. These activities certainly have value, but they also have limited reach. By leveraging the expertise of your employees, you can create educational content that can reach anyone, anywhere, anytime. Consider your customers’ needs when writing blog content – try to make your bank a resource that answers their questions and assists their research into banking and lending solutions. By doing this you are not only fulfilling your bank’s mission statement, but you are also demonstrating credibility and authority with potential customers.

Once upon a time, the buyer journey for consumers and businesses was fairly linear. Today, the buyer’s journey is more akin to a spider web of micro-moments. In fact, Google recently conducted a study of customer journeys and found that no two journeys were exactly the same. Regardless of the path they take, your bank can be present throughout a prospect’s journey by creating useful content that addresses the concerns they have as they have them. With nearly everyone researching online prior to making a purchase decision, you can be sure that your customers and prospects are also searching online for financial answers. Wouldn’t you prefer they find answers on your website, and not from a competitor?

If you asked your customers where they go online for financial advice, news, and inspiration, would your website make the list? Sure, most people would prefer to see cats in their Facebook feed than Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, but where do they look when they have financial questions? When they are curious about down payment assistance programs, want to find local resources for starting a business, or need help creating a trust? Blog content can be created to educate and empower your customers financially, which helps build loyalty with customers. 79% of people think of their banks only as transactional entities, so differentiate by providing them with more than just free checks!

The above traffic is completely non-paid, and the result of just a single blog post published each month. Once published, each content asset on your blog is working to increase the visibility of and engagement with your bank 24 hours a day.

Without great content, why would anyone follow your Facebook page or open your email newsletters? Content is the key to social media engagement, email opens, effective search engine optimization, higher webpage rankings,  online advertising that converts, and personalized marketing automation. If you want to stay top of mind with customers and local prospects, it all starts with providing value. Content isn’t the only way your community bank can provide value of course, but it’s a crucial part of an effective digital marketing strategy.

Convinced yet?

If you’re still on the fence about the value of a blog for your bank or credit union, contact us to start a conversation. We’re bank marketing experts/nerds who work with financial institutions across the country on inbound content. We’re always happy to take questions, share examples, or create a blog content strategy for your FI.