Hip Brand Group is well known for our branded campaigns and for the financial services industry. We have watched advertising shift from traditional communications channels to digital as time spent online doubled in the last decade. The average adult user claims to spend over 20 hours online per week. There’s no better place to reach existing and new customers than where they are spending the majority of their time.

This Digital Toolkit sheds some light into the explosion of digital advertising, particularly in the financial industry, and why it’s important for banks and credit unions to move some of their advertising dollars online and to build a digital strategy into their plans. For more and more banks, search marketing is giving new meaning to ROI.

hipbrandgroup.com/digital Key Definitions

Search marketing is the process of gaining traffic and visibility from search engines through both paid (SEM) and unpaid (SEO) efforts.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization earns traffic through unpaid or organic listings and is based on the optimization of your website.

SEM or encompasses buying traffic through paid search listings and is based on industry keywords you want to rank for.

PPC or pay-per-click, also called CPC or cost per click, is commonly associated with first-tier search engines (such as Google AdWords and Microsoft Bing Ads). Basically, advertisers bid on keyword phrases relevant to their .

PPC “display” advertisements, also known as “banner” ads, are shown on websites with related content that have agreed to show ads and are typically not PPC advertising.

Clicks are when someone “clicks” your online ad (PPC or PPC display).

Impressions are the number of times your ad is viewed by a visitor, or displayed on a web site, whether the ad is clicked is not taken into account.

Average CTR (click through rate) is a ratio showing how often people who see you ad end up clicking it. CTR can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing. The formula for CTR looks like this: (Total Clicks on Ad) / (Total Impressions) = Click Through Rate.

Social Media Marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter have also adopted PPC as one of their advertising models.

Retargeting or Remarketing is very popular way of advertising among PPC professionals. It’s an online mar- keting technique that enables advertisers to reach out to visitors who already visited a website with an online banner or display ad.

Google AdWords Benchmarks For The Financial Industry

“Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average.”

The average conversion rate in Google AdWords across all industries is 2.70% on the search network and 0.89% on the display network.

The average conversion rate for the Finance and Insurance industries is 7.19% on the search network and 1.75% on the display network.

As you can see from the graph below, The Finance and Insurance industries convert amazingly well. A conversion is the number of people who did whatever you wanted them to do (sign up for newsletter, open an account, make a purchase, and so on). Basically, the goal of any paid search strategy is to convert lookers into buyers at a high rate. Six Digital Marketing Strategies For Banks And Financial Service Providers

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You’ll Find More Customers When You Help Them Look For You.

The goal of SEO is to be there when people are looking for you. Think for a moment about the products you sell– such as loans, checking/savings accounts and mortgages. Before customers make a purchase, they are spending their time researching options and learning more about the product. Think about what you would do if you were interested in refinancing a mortgage. Chances are, you would begin by searching: ‘home refinancing rates’. In SEO, your goal is to be there to answer these questions for customers online so that they trust you and view you as the financial leader with whom they want to do business.

As a financial institution, your goal should be to be on the first page of Google search results when some- one searches for banks in your city. Research has indicated that more than half of your traffic comes through organic search, meaning people just clicking on links through Google or another major search engine. For your marketing efforts to be successful, you need to be visible on search engine results pages.

To get a website to rank highly on search engines, you need to communicate that your website provides value for customers. That means that the language you use in your content should match the vocabulary employed by your consumer base. It also means that your content should be thorough and provide meaning for a person clicking on the page.

SEO also involves optimizing pages, such as using keywords in the meta description, the page title and the URL. Try and build quality backlinks to your page by promoting your content through social media. Google looks at criteria such as the amount of time people spend on the website, the number of readers, how easy it is for users– and the Google spiders– to understand the site and how well it lines up with user queries when determining ranking. 2. Digital Advertising (or Search Marketing)

Search Engine Marketing Is The Ad Investment You’ve Been Searching For.

There’s a reason why one half of all the ad dollars spent in the US are spent on Google. If you are not utilizing search marketing, you are missing out on driving potential retail and business customers to you. When you advertise online, you are reaching people who are actively searching for your products and services. They are searching for mortgages, consumer and business checking accounts, mobile deposit, car loans, business loans, SBA lending and much more. In some cases, one mortgage or one loan can pay for your entire Pay Per Click or Display campaign. With the right sales conversion funnel in place, you now have the power of driving thousands or even hundreds of thousands of new visitors right to your website who have the potential to turn into new customers.

In the awareness building stage of the sales funnel, traditional media is still an important part of the mix. But advertising online makes it easier to target specific demographics and to personalize the message they see.You can collect data from your campaigns and use this information to optimize your marketing tools and add retargeting, thereby getting more for your advertising budget. For more and more businesses, SEM is giving new meaning to ROI. 3. Social Media

Social media facilitates two-way communication and enables banks and credit unions to talk with — not simply to — customers and members. Financial Social Media reports that 44% of mass affluent consumers that use social media interact with financial institutions specifically. Interacting with customers and members on social media cultivates mutually beneficial, stronger relationships, which can contribute to brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Possessing fun and friendly qualities, social media affords a distinct opportunity to sensationalize banking solutions with creative campaigns and positioning. A study performed by LinkedIn found that 63% of mass af- fluent consumers were motivated to take action after learning about financial products and services on social media – so there is legitimate value in talking banking on social media.

Whether the institution is presenting a limited-time offer, special rate or simply trying to promote a solution, financial marketers should use applicable social media platforms to increase awareness, generate interest and drive results. In the absence of a defined offer, social media can help create a sense of exclusivity and timeli- ness to increase consumer appeal and motivate action. Research by McKinsey & Company determined that using social media for promotions improves marketing effectiveness, increases leads and cuts overall costs of promotion substantially. Research conducted by HubSpot shows that lead conversion rates using social media are 13% higher than the average lead conversion rate.

Social media presents opportunities for banks and credit unions to generate meaningful connections with customers and members, attract desirable consumers and achieve ongoing business initiatives. With improved targeting, enhanced advertising, compliance support, developments in ROI tracking and more, social media now has the potential to play a meaningful role in your financial institution’s marketing plan. 4.

When customers search online, they are looking for content. They want to find a brand that will answer their question and provide them with value. If you regularly produce articles on topics that customers appreciate, you will be able to generate more traffic from search and encourage people to engage with your site.

Your content might include pieces such as tips for first time homebuyers or an announcement about CD in- creases. Your content can also be used in other marketing and promotional materials, such as your social me- dia sites and email newsletters or your PPC campaign landing pages. Use these sources to introduce people to your material and encourage them to further engage with you on the website.

Use the content also as a means of encouraging people to continue to build the relationship. For example, a person reading an article about being a first-time homebuyer is likely interested in making a purchase. Invite them at the end of the content to speak with a specific representative at your institution for more information.

5. Email Newsletters

You want to have multiple opportunities for people to opt in to your email list. When you set up new accounts, you can collect email addresses. You can also have forms on your website and search marketing landing pages for people who find your content valuable and informative. Use these regular email newsletters to keep people engaged with your brand. Include relevant, interesting articles you are producing. Send out announce- ments about new hires, new products, events and community outreach with which your institution is involved. Email remains a highly effective means of keeping in touch with people– roughly 91 percent of people with email check their inboxes at least once per day. Build brand loyalty and upsell your products through a regular, valuable newsletter. 6. Make Your Website Usable and Mobile Friendly

Most millennials will begin a purchase decision with a web search. If people land on a website that is difficult to navigate, however, you will have a significantly harder time making them a customer. An estimated 50 percent of sales are lost because site visitors cannot find the information they seek.Your website should be designed to be an extension of your sales team– it will often serve as the first point of contact between customers inter- ested in your products and services and your brand. It is key to landing new customers.

Mobile or “responsive” across devices and screen sizes is also crucial. Mobile searches now exceed desktop searches as people use their mobile devices to search for things while on the go. In April 2105, Google also launched an algorithm update that penalizes websites that are not mobile friendly. Mobile friendly means being easy-to-use on a mobile device, and not just being a miniature version of the desktop site. You should think about the goals that people often have on their mobile devices, such as searching for a contact number, the nearest branch or an ATM. Make this information easy to find on the mobile site with a minimum number of steps. Buttons should be easy to use on a touch screen and they should not be too close together, either. Hip Brand Digital Sampler Hip Brand Group is helping financial institutions throughout the Southeast capitalize on digital advertising.

FirstBank Nashville, TN

The Bank With A Head For Real Estate.

FirstBank has made a name in real estate that makes them the bank of choice for Middle Tennessee’s Top Residential Builders. They partnered with Hip Brand to strongly communicate this selling point in a fresh new way. As the lead sponsor for the Nashville Business Journal’s Power Leaders in Real Estate, a full page, four color ad placement was reserved which would give FirstBank a prominent position in the event’s pull out sec- tion. Our creative strategy positioned FirstBank as the “lender of choice” for 8 out of 10 Top Middle Tennessee Builders. We reinforced this message by highlighting the power local bankers lend to the communities they serve. Using Nashville skyline images, we helped FirstBank build a real connection with prospective business customers. Striking online banner ads on the business journal site drove traffic to a distinctive campaign land- ing page featuring the direct contact information for FirstBank’s Nashville area business bankers and lenders. We are now planning a Pay Per Click | Targeted Display Campaign in the Nashville area that will utilize the same creative. www.firstbankonline.com/business

Merchants Bank Cullman, AL

Build With The Bank That Treats You Like A Big Fish.

Merchants Bank stands out as one of the few banks in their area offering new construction loans. The bank wanted to communicate the capability to prospective homebuilders, especially those interested in Smith Lake property. Hip Brand researched online search trends based on a narrow keyword list relevant to Smith Lake real estate, lots on Smith Lake for sale, building on Smith Lake, and related keywords. Since search volume was highest in the summer and early fall, a three-month search engine marketing campaign was launched in late June including pay per click and targeted display ad remarketing. We rounded out the media mix with an eye-catching print magazine ad in Smith Lake Living. The ongoing campaign is driving sizable online traffic, clicks and leads to a customized that connects prospective homebuilders and buyers with local mortgage lenders. merchantsbankal.com/lending

Bank Independent Florence, AL

Our Dream Mortgage Pulls It All Together.

A search engine marketing campaign designed to increase mortgage loans combined Pay Per Click with Online Targeted Display and local News Site banner ads. The Dream Mortgage landing page became one of the most trafficked pages on the bibank.com web site. Over 75% were new visitors to the site, meaning they were not only potential new mortgage customers but also potential new banking customers. The cost per click (CPC) on average for banks running AdWords is between $2.83 and $8.68. This campaign had an average CPC of $3.84 and contin- ued to lessen over time. The total impressions over an eight-week timeframe was close to 5 million with 4,183 total clicks and a major uptick in new mortgage loan applications.

BBVA Compass Houston, TX

Digitizing Communications Is A Must, Even With Internal Audiences

In addition to working with BBVA Compass on direct mail creative for loans and credit card offers, we also serve as a Google developer and designer for their internal communications such as the bank’s first blog: Upfront with Manolo Sanzhez (we named, branded it and developed it as a Google site). We also launched Storyboard, an online bulletin board for employees and created PageONE, an internal email newsletter with a custom newsletter editor app.

The Citizens Bank Philadelphia, MS

Enter Our iPad Mini Drawing And You Could Win Big.

The Citizens Bank launched a Facebook campaign that coincided with the bank’s new mobile-friendly Online Banking service. During the Fun Size campaign which ran for two weeks, customers were encouraged to “like” the bank’s Facebook page, and then register to win one of two Apple iPad minis. The iPad mini was the perfect incentive to pair with the Fun Size promotion not only because of its popularity, but also because it would help the bank promote the ease of banking online from any sized device, from mobile to desktop. The contest resulted in a 270% increase in the bank’s Facebook fans during a two-week period. Fans increased from 2,200 to 5,900. During the last week of the campaign, the Total Reach was 25,000, up 46.2% from the first week of the contest. The Halloween theme brings forth good memories from childhood with a lot of people and they associate that good feeling with the bank’s brand.

FirstBank Nashville, TN

Around Here, Even The Local Banking Sounds Good.

The Southern Style Banking “consumer switch” campaign integrated traditional with digital media channels. The promotion included print, radio and outdoor advertising on the traditional side and PPC and targeted display on the digital side. We also rolled out an in branch and Facebook giveaway contest. During the course of the campaign, a total of 104,910 new users were on the site. We do not have the final numbers yet, but new accounts increased and FirstBank was very satisfied with the results. The campaign was also designed to build the FirstBank “local bank” brand.

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Enter our Southern Style Banking Giveaway Though you don’t have to be present to now through November 6 for a chance to win, you could stop by for a fresh win a gift box full of locally crafted goodies Moon Pie or Goo Goo Cluster to get that we will draw for every Friday! your weekend started.

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The Accent Is On You.

You may enter as many times as you wish in the branch and once daily on Facebook until the campaign ends on Nov. 6, 2015. You do not have to be present to win. Limit of one gift box per individual.

Let us help you drive traffic and leads to your website and campaign landing pages. Through tested creative and sales conversion strategies, we help you build your brand while creating sales opportunities based on your marketing goals.

Hip Brand Digital Products and Services

Search Marketing Pay Per Click Targeted Display | Banner Ads Retargeting, IP Targeting and Audience Targeting Responsive Campaign Landing Pages Sales Funnel Strategy Search Engine Optimization

Video Marketing Services

Responsive Website Development Branded Digital Marketing Foundation Latest Design Techniques Viewable Across Devices (desktop to mobile) Easy To Use Content Management Systems Online Account Opening and Applications Live Chat Features Custom Content Marketing

Social Media Management Facebook Promotions | Giveaways Advertising on Social Media Channels Compliance Regulated

Email Marketing Email Product Offers Targeted Landing Pages Newsletters Conversion Strategy

Build An Online Presence Or Get Left Behind

Financial institutions need to add digital to their traditional media mix, such as TV, outdoor or newspaper. Customers are online and on social networks, and banks need to be there to engage them and build the relationships that lead to brand loyalty and growth. Those ready to take the plunge into modern advertising should reach out to Hip Brand Group today to get started.

We can start with a digital audit of your financial institution to build a customized online strategy that can be executed over time. Or you may want help with mapping out a digital plan for specific online channels such as Responsive Web, SEO, SEM or Social. Hip Brand can help you build your brand online where more customers are.

Contact us today:

Julie White Hip Brand Group [email protected] 205-222-2375 View our work at hipbrandgroup.com/work