Powering Potential: Maximize Your Social Media Impact

Community banks face mounting challenges in social media marketing as platforms continuously evolve and customer expectations shift. ICBA’s comprehensive marketing solutions address these challenges through targeted resources designed specifically for the community banking sector. 

Get educated on marketing

With online training courses, certification programs, webinars, training manuals and on-demand content, ICBA Education offers scalable professional development opportunities to enhance community bankers’ marketing expertise without disrupting their daily tasks.

“ICBA offers many ways to empower our members to build out their toolbox,” says Vanessa Hanson, ICBA’s director of social engagement. “Webinars make it so that you don’t even have to leave your office.” ICBA’s on-demand webinars cover marketing topics from customer journey mapping to budget-friendly marketing ideas.

For professionals looking to obtain marketing certification, ICBA Education’s Marketing Institute delivers courses on marketing challenges, digital marketing analytics, compliance management and more. 

The program culminates in the certified community bank marketing strategist (CCBMS) certification program, designed to equip chief marketing officers and all marketing and operations roles with a comprehensive understanding of marketing strategy and data‑driven decision-making. 

“When thousands of community banks champion the same message, it becomes impossible to ignore.”

—Vanessa Hanson, ICBA

Build momentum with the Marketing Resource Center

ICBA’s Marketing Resource Center (MRC) offers a monthly content calendar and customizable templates for press releases, op-eds and blogs, among other resources. 

According to Hanson, keeping a monthly content calendar is critical for social media success. 

“There will always be opportunities for real-time coverage, but having things like holidays and other important dates loaded up and ready to go will help any social media manager stay ahead,” she says.

The MRC’s preloaded content calendar extends beyond national holidays, incorporating industry-specific observances like Credit Education Month, Community Banking Month, Financial Literacy Month and more.  

Many of the MRC’s assets are customizable, and its graphics are designed so users can easily drop in their institution’s logo, adjust brand colors and add imagery to maintain a unique identity without needing specialized software or design expertise. 

New MRC resources are added regularly, and ICBA members can sign up to be notified when new marketing assets become available. 

Ensure compliance and manage reputation

Regulatory compliance makes ICBA’s Check Your Ad program an essential tool for marketing departments. Accessible through the MRC, this program helps ensure deposit and lending advertisements comply with regulatory requirements before audits or examinations.

Check Your Ad, an interactive Microsoft Excel-based program, presents a series of questions to generate a report to verify advertisement compliance, which can be saved as proof of compliance. 

ICBA members can also use ICBA’s Social Media Monitor, a tool that supports online reputation management. It identifies keyword mentions across the internet and delivers daily email alerts with summarized results. This can help community bankers track their bank’s digital presence and proactively respond to potential issues before they escalate.

Amplify your message locally

Social-savvy community banks know that effective social media marketing requires both strategic planning and authentic, local connections. ICBA continuously adapts its resources to evolving social media trends while ensuring its assets align with community banking, says Hanson. 

For example, one of the newest ways ICBA is addressing social media trends is with its Guide to Local Influencer Marketing for Community Banks, which is free and available for download for ICBA member banks, says Hanson. The influencer marketing guide offers practical strategies for community banks to engage local influencers to connect with younger demographics and expand their customer base through authentic partnerships.

Additionally, ICBA’s Bank Locally playbook and its downloadable assets empower community bankers to integrate a unified message in their marketing efforts while keeping their brand prominent. The playbook offers customizable community banking graphics, videos and templates, as well as editable Adobe Illustrator files for social media and display ads. 

The Bank Locally playbook helps create what Hanson describes as a powerful collective voice for the community banking industry. “When thousands of community banks champion the same message,” she says, “it becomes impossible to ignore.”