For many organizations the question about utilizing social media is not “if,” but “when” – and “how.” How do we know it’s right for us? How do we choose which vehicles? What do we say? How do we manage and measure it… and finally, how do we get started?

Frankly, those questions must precede the budgeting process. But, if you’ve already worked through those issues, and are comfortable delving into this fast-growing area, you won’t be sorry. But, you have to plan ahead and be smart about it.

So, how do you accurately budget for this new endeavor? It’s tricky. While there are costs associated with the adoption of new technologies and tactics, the best way to minimize cost is to spread responsibility among existing staff, designate centers of expertise, and adopt popular, off-the-shelf tools.

If hiring a specialist on staff will help your organization embrace these new tools of customer conversation, then go for it. However, have a transition plan for that position when social media evolves into one of the many ways in which you communicate regularly with your customers.

Another piece to consider is technology. Does your website need an overhaul to make this work? Will you need additional programming — audio, video, more? And, of course, you need to set aside marketing dollars to promote this new venture. For now, and until social media is just another communication piece in an integrated marketing campaign, to ensure success you must dedicate time and effort to building and maintaining your fan base.

After cost-estimating your staffing, education, technology and marketing issues, creating a budget line item is a wise move. How exactly you do that will be different for every organization. At MFM, we believe social media can be used to effectively supplement the areas of education, public relations, product development, community giving, and overall campaign support, and, because of that, can be divided among those areas. Or, if you’re just getting started, adding a social media line item might work best.

And, although there is no standard budget number that can be applied industrywide, we can safely say that if you allocate 8-10% of your total marketing budget, you would be aligning with the national norms. Or, take our poll to see what others in your asset size are doing.

Whatever direction you decide to go in 2010, exploring the power of social media to connect with your customers on a whole new level will be a strategically valuable move. You’ll not only be stepping up your communications efforts by adding another effective and low-cost dimension, but you’ll be positioning yourself for effective communication with future generations. And, if you need help building a social media budget, or developing and executing a strategy, MFM can help. We can provide you best practice case studies, and research-based recommendations.

As Greg Icenhower, Vice President of Proctor and Gamble Corporate Communications so aptly said, “We were the biggest shouter in the 20th Century. In the 21st Century, we want to be the best listener.”

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Presentation Title:
Turn Your Branch Events and Promotions Into Bottom-Line Success — On Budget

Session Overview:
During challenging economic times, banks have the opportunity to seize a competitive advantage if they:

• Realign sales force utilization and incentives to generate additional short-term revenue
• Revitalize customer retention initiatives
• Reallocate marketing spending toward immediate revenue generation

All of these recession-sensitive initiatives can — and should — be executed where the rubber meets the road — at the branch level.

From retail share of market to small business deposits and cash management, branches offer targeted venues to keep and grow customers.

And, at a time when you’re challenged to do more with the same or fewer resources, leveraging the knowledge and customer relationships of your branch teams is critical. The good news is that opportunity at the branch level is significant, with 60%* of us consumers coming into a branch to do business every month.

Takeaways:
This session will give you 10 low-cost, tested and measured initiatives to take back to your bank and implement, as well as a comprehensive case study that is springboarding a community bank into regional prominence. We’ll also emphasize cost-saving options and offer “after the campaign” action steps to build more robust — and profitable — customer relationships.

Speakers:
Becki Drahota, EMBA, President, Mills Financial Marketing
Jan Knock, Marketing Director, Iowa State Savings Bank, Creston, Iowa

*Raddon Spring 2009

This unique account can be custom-designed, however, its premise is to acquire the personal business of your business owners, and can be offered to a select few on that person’s senior team. But here’s the catch … it needs to be packed with valuable benefits, making it a truly desirable, even coveted, account.

That means adding perks like premium daily ATM and POS limits, back rewards, no ATM fees or minimum balance requirements, an indexed personal line of credit – and more. And, of course, you must choose your qualifications carefully. For example, eligible business owners should maintain their primary business account with you to qualify.

If you’d like to review an Executive Checking rollout and case study, or for help in developing your new product, contact us today!

Speaker Notes: From Keynote Speaker Dr. Stephen Happel, Professor of Economics at Arizona State University

“It’s time to take the “con” out of economics.”
If you can’t sell sex and booze, you sure as heck can’t sell cars and checking accounts. The government can’t run anything. When Uncle Sam took over the famous (and profitable) brothel, Utah’s Mustang Ranch, it was bankrupt within a year.

“A good heart is not enough. You need a good mind.”
We all want to help those less fortunate, but raising the minimum wage will hurt the poor. Beware the economics of envy. We want to be equitable, but when you raise taxes for the rich, you’ll collect fewer taxes. Today, the top 1% of our citizens pays 40% of all taxes collected.

“The combined effect of 4 things caused our economic crisis:”

• Abysmal performance by the Federal Reserve
• Clinton and Congress in the mid-80s re-writing CRA to get unqualified folks into homes
• Rating agencies were being paid by the entities they rated
• Mark to market

The good news? The consumption demographic looks favorable. Americans like to spend money, and as soon as they can, they will again. Which will be about the only thing to look forward to economically in the near term.

I really liked an article he handed out, “Demand and Supply” by Brian Wesbury (The American Spectator, April 2009). Here’s a nice excerpt:

“Demand-siders tend to be pessimistic, fret about greed, worry about leaving people behind, see everything as win-lose, and worry about running out of resources. They believe government can fix all of these issues. Supply-siders tend to be optimistic, get excited about others’ achievements, have faith that people can succeed, and believe things can always get better. They believe government often impedes success.”

If you want the entire article, email Rose and she’ll send it to you!

Keep the faith, my friends!

Becki

Get the Best “To Do” List Ever from Harvard Business Review

“Inaction is the riskiest response to the uncertainties of an economic crisis” is the lead sentence to one of the best business management articles I’ve read in years. Published in the February 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review, it’s a succinct but comprehensive outline of how to get your house in order so you can weather the economic storm and be poised to seize opportunities. The 29 recommendations are couched under the areas of Financial Fundamentals, Share Price and Current Business, and are excellent “go do” activities not only for your bank, but for your business customers as well.

Here’s a sample of their top-line management action steps:

1. Revitalize customer retention initiatives.
2. Realign sales force utilization and incentives to generate additional short-term revenue.
3. Reallocate marketing spending toward immediate revenue generation.

If you want to read the complete article, please let us know. With all the doom and gloom out there, it’s a useful, positive read.

The American Bankers Association will offer a new course this year through its School of Bank Marketing and Management, held May 14-16, 2009 in Dallas. Titled, “Effective Usage of Marketing Communication Channels and Public Relations,” our own guru, Becki Drahota, will teach the course which includes how to categorize and prioritize communication channels to increase efficiency and reduce costs by using the strengths of each channel for effective B2C, B2B, online and CRM outreach; how to develop an objective-aligned, measurable communication plan; and how to leverage public relations initiatives. If you have someone attending, let us know so Becki can look for him/her!

Senior Account Executive, Stacy Sporrer, spoke May 6 at the Iowa Bankers Marketing Conference in Des Moines on “How to Fix the Missing Links in Your Bank Marketing.” Her two-hour how-to presentation includes some excellent media selection information, so if you’re in need of current data, let us know!

Whether you prefer a pen and paper to a keyboard, or a personal conversation over email, it’s hard to ignore the opportunities technology has created for bankers and marketers today.

In a friendlier economy, promoting a product or service could be high-end, multi-targeted and multi-channeled. Meaning, lots of media, lots of buzz, and bigger dollars, but let’s face it, right now belt-tightening is our buzzword, and technology is the solution. Why? Because if done correctly, it’s the fastest, most cost-efficient way to spread your word – and it does most of the work for you.

Going Viral:
What does it mean? In short, it’s creating something interesting enough for people to pass on to their friends, families and co-workers — and here’s the key — without being asked to do it.

Social networking sites such as YouTube, AOL Video, MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Twitter and the oodles of professional networking sites that exist, as well as tools like e-books and blogging are just a few of the options available to those wanting to share a message online. Your first question is, what do you hope to get out of social media marketing, then, what channels do you use to achieve it?

In short, identify your target(s) and then choose your channel accordingly. For example, Facebook users are primarily Caucasian men and women between the ages of 12-34, and have a household income between $30,000 and $100,000 a year. Over half have a college education or higher, and children ages 6-17 living at home. Overall, there are more than 200 million active users, with more than 100 million users logging on each day. Interestingly, the fastest-growing segment is the 35+ age group.

Does this profile fit your target? If so, then Facebook could be an effective option for you.

Once you’ve identified your channel, here are a few important things to remember:

• Don’t be obsessed with staying “on message.” People want honest, interesting and most of all — original — content.
• Use humor, it works.
• Make your content easy for people to share using direct links and well-trafficked sites.
• Don’t sell … instead share, stimulate, and engage.
• Share your message with a few of your most loyal “fans” first; if they like it, they’ll share. If they don’t like it, they’ll tell you.
• Be open, and be creative.
• Nothing is guaranteed to go viral, so do what you can (including the ideas listed above) to boost your odds. And remember, social media is only one component of your total marketing plan. To be successful, it needs to be combined with other traditional and non-traditional marketing.

If you’d like to learn more about viral marketing, social networking or other online communications tactics, contact Sarah Bacehowski at sarahb@millsmarketing.com – or learn more online at http://www.youtube.com/millsmarketing.

“Now we don’t have to wait to order business cards until we meet a minimum quantity.”

“We have more control – we can have others do their own ordering (branch managers, department heads, etc.), but have the overall approval and control of not only what it looks like, but how many and how often they order.”

“I’m a one-person show and this will help me tremendously!”

“Your reporting is better than other web-to-print programs. You have more options available where I can choose the reports I want to see and where I want to see them. Previously, if one of the branches ordered, I couldn’t get that report on my own. And I can export the data to Excel, sort by items, and share reports.”

“I like the ability to see proofs immediately online.”

If you haven’t seen a demo yet, call or email Rhonda Handy (rhondah@millsmarketing.com or 888-733-4899). Save money. Save time. Save your sanity.

Like any well-planned campaign, using the right tools to reach the right audience is key, which can often require you to step outside the traditional “toolbox.” For example, are you promoting something so big that it deserves (and can support) its own stand-alone website? If so, a microsite could be the perfect tool.

Why? They’re small (typically 2-3 pages), which makes them highly cost efficient to develop and maintain, they’re easy to adjust, and, if necessary, they can be eliminated or realigned quickly.

A microsite can also be a primary driver of traffic to your traditional bank site – as well as create new marketing “buzz” for customers and prospects.

Q: When do I use a microsite?
A: Consider these scenarios:

1. The lead-in to a grand opening of a new location
2. Communicating your environmental commitment
3. Showcasing your corporate citizenship
4. In conjunction with a product promotion
5. Celebrating an anniversary
6. Housing your online newsroom
7. A new brand or image campaign

BOX:
How do I get started?

• Determine your objective and decide if a microsite is the correct forum for your message.
• Create and purchase a URL.
• Build a microsite map.
• Develop the site with content and design.
• Promote your microsite.
• Launch!

If you have questions about how and when to use a microsite, MFM has the answers. Get a free consultation … Contact Stephanie Beck (stephanieb@millsmarketing.com or 888-733-4899) today!

Here’s how you can benefit:

1. Ask us for info that aligns with your business growth goals. We’ll sift through all the data and get key information to you – fast.
2. Come to one of the two annual “data dump” workshops as our guest. You’ll meet 30-40 like-minded bankers and get an intense briefing.
3. Use the Small Business data as a baseline, and survey your own commercial customers (with an eSurvey) and compare your base with national trends.

For a web or phone briefing, we’ve got dates available in January and February. On-site visits may need a little more lead time, so contact Rhonda Handy (rhondah@millsmarketing.com or 888-733-4899) soon to schedule yours!