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Make Every Season Count With Year-Round Marketing Strategies
Fall is back-to-school season, winter welcomes a range of holidays, spring brings Financial Literacy Month, and summer spurs all sorts of warm weather activities.
Why is Streaming the Hottest New Marketing Platform for Community Banks?
As streaming services grow in popularity with viewers, community bankers are exploring the targeting capabilities and flexibility of advertising on connected TV.
Marketing Personalization Is More Than Adding Names to Emails
The advent of data-focused, personalized marketing has opened up doors to deeper customer relationships for community banks.
How Marketing Can Win Over the C-Suite
Getting buy-in from the C-suite is essential in all facets of the bank, including marketing. Here are tips for how to get executives and the marketing team working toward the same goals.
Powering Potential: Marketing Made Easier for Your Community Bank
The ICBA Marketing Resource Center delivers dynamic, evolving resources that can help you save time, elevate your messaging and win over current and prospective customers.
Jim Reber: Spreading the Good News
Incremental yield can indicate relative value.
Michael Benedict: Make Portfolio Strategy Fun Again
Things are looking up for portfolio management in 2025.
Strategies for Consumer-Centric Banking: an Exclusive Bud Webinar
Bud Financial has joined community bankers for an Independent Banker webinar where we’ve explored the actions they would take to drive success, revenue and customer engagement.
Jim Reber: Will the Wave Return?
Falling rates should boost cash flows.
Michael Benedict: Bridging the Gap
Rate cuts may not provide immediate margin relief, but you can take steps to reduce near-term pressure.
You’ve Launched a New Website—What Happens Now?
“Build it and they will come” is great for a baseball field. But when you’ve just put your all into a new website, find out how to generate ROI, produce actionable results and more.
Jim Reber: October, Effectively
How have the financial markets performed in the tenth month?
Michael Benedict: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Balance is key when it comes to capital and profitability.
7 Steps to a Successful Regulatory Audit
Preparation is key to passing a regulatory exam with flying colors. These tips for the stages before, during and after an audit will ensure your bank and management impress regulators.
The Importance of Change Management at Community Banks
As new technology and solutions ebb and flow, community bankers have to manage the change that comes with them. While change can be hard, offering a hand and lending an ear can ease the transition.
Maximize Your Community Bank's Digital Experience
A high-functioning digital platform is no longer an added perk for bank customers—it’s the standard.
Jim Reber: The Fed Loosens Up
A slowdown in quantitative tightening has an element of policy easing.
Chippewa Valley Bank: Fueling Growth With Innovative Bank Stock Lending
Chippewa Valley Bank has pioneered an innovative bank stock lending program, providing community banks with an expedited and cost-efficient avenue to acquire capital and interest-earning assets.
Powering Potential: A Successful Year for ICBA's National Campaign
Since its debut in April 2023, the ICBA National Campaign and its vital marketing resources have made significant headway in raising awareness for community banks and their mission.
Jim Reber: Rolling With the Curve
An upward slope can bolster market values.
Jim Reber: Dialing It Back
Simple bonds find favor with portfolio managers in 2024.
5 Tactics to Turbo Boost Your Marketing
It can feel impossible to keep up with shifts in social media and other digital marketing channels.
Member Benefits: Educated Investing With ICBA Securities
In partnership with its exclusively endorsed broker Stifel, ICBA Securities offers practical and educational investment resources for community banks across the nation.
How Community Banks Target and Support Fast-Growing Cities
Surging population growth brings opportunities for community banks that are positioned to take advantage of it.
Citizens Bank & Trust Brings Banking Back to School
Citizens Bank & Trust saw a need and a demand for financial literacy in local high schools. Now, the community bank has two school branches that are run by student tellers and teacher presidents.
Using Data to Boost Mortgage Lending
Can community banks reengage existing mortgage customers through data, or find new ones? We spoke to experts on where to find data that could increase sales—and what to do with it.
Bank of Anguilla Weathers the Storm
In the wake of a destructive tornado in Mississippi, Bank of Anguilla continues to develop initiatives that will help people recover from the damage and return home.
Can Third-Party Vendors Ease Wealth Management?
Community banks with wealth management programs can access a new source of revenue, but starting from scratch can be a major undertaking.
Is Cybersecurity Insurance Worth the Higher Premiums?
Cybersecurity should be a foundational element of any community bank, but do you really need to be insured for it, especially as premiums rise? We spoke to experts to learn more about cyber insurance.
Leveling Up: How Community Banks Should Navigate Asset Size Growth Thresholds
As your bank grows in asset size, it’s vital to keep up with compliance regulations to meet the standards of each new threshold. By planning ahead and preparing your staff, the process can be...
How Banks Can Combat Deposit Insurance Disruption
Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, community banks look to alternative deposit insurance options.
Charles Potts: Budgeting for the Future
We’re in a tricky economic environment, but by focusing further down the line, we can get ahead of industry evolution and prepare for what’s next.
Jenna Burke: Are Changes to Bank M&A Rules on the Horizon?
The Department of Justice and other banking agencies are evaluating a new potential M&A framework. What does this mean for community banks?
Should You Talk to Customers about your Community Bank's Finances?
With the recent failures of a few megabanks, customers may have questions and concerns about their own banks. Here’s how you can address them.
9 Ways for Community Banks to Cut Expenses
As the start of the fiscal year approaches, it’s a great opportunity for community banks to revisit vendor contracts, technology and more to limit expenses. We asked experts for their top tips on...
Jim Reber: Portfolio Power
Barbell structure may be the right regimen.
Paid Marketing: A Boost for Your Community Bank
In a changing marketing landscape, the benefits provided by ultra-targeted online campaigns with budgets behind them are more valuable than ever.
General counsel strategies for community banks
Having general counsel is critical for community banks, but what’s the right balance between in-house and external counsel? Community bankers and legal experts weigh in on how to create the right...
Scaling your community bank's core as you grow
As community banks grow, their cores need to, too. We spoke with experts on how to prepare your core for scalability and growth.
Jim Reber: Performance? Simple
Some of the least complex bonds now have attractive returns.
Brad Bolton: Keep advocating
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as chairman. I will continue to advocate for community banking, and for the rest of my career, stand side by side with you to fight our future...
ICBA's Marketing Communications Toolkit
Using ICBA’s Marketing Communications Toolkit, your community bank can tell its story with intention and precision.
Charles Potts: How to use data to drive bank growth
Working hand in hand with digital transformation, data provides a powerful tool for community banks. Its accessibility, readability and applicability in today’s digital-first environment has...
Market your community bank with first-party data
Customer data fuels efficient and effective marketing these days. Community banks own an enviable amount of data, but not all are leveraging it to its fullest extent.
Crafting a marketing plan when a community bank merges
Community bank marketing teams need to consider many factors following a merger or acquisition. We spoke to experts and community bankers on how to market during a merger.
Expanding horizons with cross-country branches
Community banks across the nation are breaking into markets outside their typical areas of operation. Here’s how four banks are successfully finding new locations, acquiring new customers and...
Enhancing content with AI
From grammar suggestions to content ideation, artificial intelligence has evolved to be an asset for marketing industries. Learn how AI can enhance the work of community banks’ marketing teams of...
Board succession planning after a merger
From blending differing values to choosing a new chairman, many challenges can arise after a merger or acquisition.
Is it time to rebrand your community bank?
Some community banks are taking a cue from consumer products and marketing companies as they rebrand with catchy new names they believe are more memorable and better represent their values as an...
ICBA pushback on FHFA capital standards rules makes headlines
ICBA’s joint letter urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to align its capital standards with federal banking agencies was covered in PoliticoPro, American Banker, and Housing Wire.
What community banks need to know about ESG
SPONSORED | The conversation on ESG went from a murmur to deafening in a short amount of time, so much so that taking a first step might seem overwhelming. There are many reasons to consider ESG...
Become a thought leader on social media
Becoming a social media thought leader isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes time, consistency and authenticity—but the benefits can be worth the effort.
Jim Reber: Inversion investing
Upside-down yield curve offers some possibilities.
5 marketing strategies to put on your radar for 2023
SPONSORED | Now is the time to evaluate marketing strategies for 2023. Given the latest marketing trends as identified by Vericast in its latest Financial TrendWatch, these five strategies can make...
Should you offer financial planning services?
Offering financial planning services is one way to expand a community bank’s footprint and deepen customer relationships. We spoke with several banks about why and how they offer wealth management...
Entering the cannabis banking market
While the federal legal status of banking cannabis-related businesses remains fuzzy, community banks in some states are finding that, with proper controls, they’re able to enter this niche market...
Does your bank need cyber insurance?
As digital crime evolves, cyber insurance could be part of the solution. We explore how it can protect banks against financial losses and provide resources in the event of a cyber attack.
Charles Potts: Agtech’s innovation opportunities
Agtech—the application of technology to every aspect of the food production process, from farm to table—is growing in importance to the mission of ICBA and community banks.
Capitalize on social payments
Social payments methods like Venmo and Cash App continue to grow in popularity, creating an opportunity to give customers 24/7 access to cashless, P2P and mobile transactions. So how do social...
4 trending social media tips to know
The Social Bankers, a collective of community bank marketers, offers inspiration, information and professional development advice to community bankers focused on marketing and social media. We...