With the growth of social media and a slew of technological changes, banking has changed the way it functions. Just as online shopping and e-commerce are boosting sales, similarly social media, blogs and the technology for sharing videos are also creating buzz about specific brands and products. Businesses need to adapt and keep up with the changing trends in digital marketing.
Digital marketing trends in the banking industry is becoming increasingly important
Everybody's digital today. Virtually any bank will have a digital presence from social media to PPC ads across Google and Bing. Most banks believe that their digital marketing spending must be increased and efforts must be across every digital platform to make their advertising more efficient. The number of digital advertising and marketing companies now accounts for more than 50% of their marketing expenditure, compared to 14% of 2017. The similar banking marketing trend has occurred in mobile marketing, which spends less than 40% of its budget but is increasing.
Although the importance of digital marketing trends in the banking business demonstrates increased competition, it also makes it harder to distinguish. This means that banks must take uniquely different techniques, showcasing consumers and success stories, bringing value to market offering, and making the most of a highly competitive digital world utilizing non-traditional awareness campaigns instead of normal publicity campaigns.
Transition from paid to owned media
Paying or buying media is called paid media where investment is made through search, showing ad networks, or in the form of affiliate marketing where one can pay for visits, audience reach or conversions. The big share of paid media spent is still crucial to conventional off-line media such as printing, TV, and direct mail. Owned media is the brand's media. This includes online company websites, blogs, and mobile apps on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Brochures or retail outlets may feature offline-owned media.
While neither is new, digital marketers are clearly warming up banks' options for both owned and paid media. Financial institutions may use these sorts of media to organize their media activities and use the media mix according to their marketing plan and budget.
Marketing to Gen X and Y
As millennials continue to age into their 30s and 40s, banks must adapt to the needs of this increasingly powerful consumer market. As more millennials reach credit age, they must have access to affordable banking products from a wide range of sources. Recent research shows that young adults are three times more likely to engage in a high-cost activity like signing up for bank loans and credit cards than their elders were at the same age. In the last five years, the overall number of bank account applications has increased by 165% -- faster than any other age group, according to a report from ‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).’
As the baby boom generation draws closer to retirement, banks have to figure out how to serve this growing generation of consumers. Marketing to millennials is no longer exclusively about offering something free or cheap -- think free travel or goods in exchange for checking out their accounts. Instead, examine how you can develop engagement with millennials as part of your overall banking experience and marketing mix. This includes pairing social media presence with mobile apps that allow millennials to check out different accounts or receive personalized services from banks.
Consider a branded experience
Fintech is a fast-paced field that allows users to interact with financial providers through apps and websites.
The FinTech industry is growing rapidly, with a global reach and diverse competitive landscape. The FinTech culture is evolving rapidly regarding the customer base, service level, and governance factors. Digital transformation affects how organizations deliver services, deliver value and target their campaigns toward potential or current FinTech customers. Leveraging on the FinTech culture makes it possible for organizations to re-imagine their approach to customer service in a way that optimizes both results and cost-efficiency.
There’s been an explosion in the world of FinTech. And not just in financial services but also software for everything from e-commerce to real estate. There has been a real shift in how people look at financial products. People want to feel comfortable investing their hard-earned cash in FinTech products -- including
cryptocurrencies. It seems like everyone has an account at a financial services company. And they want access to new types of financial products that give them a branded experience. These services are designed to make it easier for ordinary people to get money from the banks, but not so easy that they miss out on exciting opportunities.
Invest in personalized ad campaigns
Personalization is the big concept behind any digital marketing campaign. It’s about figuring out which audience matches your interests so you can deliver the right product or service at the right time. In other words, personalization is about understanding your customer and discovering what makes them tick. How w0uld you know which customers will respond well to your marketing efforts is simply by understanding their specific needs and then tailoring your message to fulfil those needs.
There is a growing shift from basic data science to more sophisticated personalization. Data science is an incredibly powerful way to understand your customer’s preferences, psychographic traits and other data points. Applied in the right way, it can provide a strong push toward providing more relevant content, special offers and better customer service. The challenge is applying that knowledge in a way that totally works for your bank.
Integrate Digital Marketing Search Optimisation for banks
The difficulty in creating effective digital marketing search strategies lies in the fact that customer expectations have never been higher. With e-commerce on the rise, customers expect to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. As a result, SEO strategies that are once suitable for traditional search engine optimization (SEO) are now impacting organic search results. The problem is that it can be difficult to determine which approach will deliver the best results for your business through digital marketing search engine optimization (SEO).
Banks are beginning to pay more attention to digital marketing. They understand that by providing their customers with easy and convenient access to information. They will be more likely to spend money on the products and services said company offers. Digital marketing is not just about getting people to read blog posts or engage with social media pages - if that were the metric, everyone would read everything online! Instead, it’s about getting people who might not otherwise engage with business opportunities, or simply wouldn't know where to start looking for information.
Maintain focus on customer experience and commitment
The customer experience is the heart and soul of every bank’s digital marketing effort and every bank should strive to provide this level of customer service consistently. The digital marketing trend in the banking industry has taken to transparency and customer-focused messages. Many banks are beginning to understand how marketing messages can best stand on their own feet.
With the ever-changing digital landscape, maintaining focus on customer experience is becoming ever more important. For banks and their customers, this means developing a continuous and interactive digital experience that allows them to stay engaged with their valued customers. In addition to branding and marketing campaigns designed to continue growing customer confidence, banks should also continue developing relationships with their fellow business partners through digital tools and social networking.
The Take-Away
There’s a numbers game attached to online marketing: The more you know about your audience, the better you can tailor your approach and demonstrate ROI. This is why marketers closely watch industry trends – it helps them to understand their customers better. In fact, according to a
recent study by AdRoll, half of the businesses that use customer data to personalize their online ad campaigns have seen CTRs increase by 20%. Banks should be doing the same and looking to integrate data into their campaigns this year.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
What are the latest trends in digital marketing for banks?
AI, augmented reality, voice search optimization, programmatic advertising, chatbots, personalization, automated email marketing, video marketing, Instagram reels, shoppable content, influencer marketing, and geofencing are just a few of the most recent digital marketing trends in the banking industry to watch out for. These new additions in the banking industry paves the way for a revolution in how financial institutes market their services.
How do banks use digital marketing?
Banks use the following types of digital marketing to gain attention:
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Explainer videos to make complex financial concepts more understandable.
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Make your website the primary point of contact for your customers.
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Set up a YouTube channel to provide information-dense content.
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Marketing through email
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Marketing via mobile device
How valuable is digital marketing?
Digital marketing not only helps in saving money by bringing in customers at a cheaper cost than conventional marketing techniques, but it also assists you in increasing your income. The value of digital marketing can now be evaluated more precisely and the influence it has on your business may have a significant positive impact.
How do you advertise banking services?
Make use of these five tried-and-true bank marketing strategies to raise awareness, attract customers, and do more:
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Content marketing: Content marketing is a kind of marketing that uses written content to promote a company's products and services. Develop textual, graphic, and interactive components for your website.
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Search engine optimization (SEO)
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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
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Social media marketing
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Online Reputation management