Marketing Tips to Increase Local Presence for Your Financial Institution

Are you looking to boost your financial institution’s marketing presence on a national scale, positioning your firm as an industry leader? Or would you prefer to entrench your firm within your local area and help the lives of the community that helped you develop? Regardless of aim, many tactics overlap when conducting your marketing. Diversification is vital to creating a growth-driven marketing strategy for financial institutions. Smart marketers build on a patchwork of local community support to leverage multiple marketing channels. Through strategic diversification, firms have increased brand awareness, built a reputation of expertise and trust, and ultimately increased ROI.
Let’s explore the power of intelligent marketing for financial institutions looking to grow this quarter.

How to Increase Your Finance Firm’s Local Presence

Successful financial firms are pillars of the community, committed to empowering homeowners and small businesses alike. Our firms stand by the values of the clients we serve. Investing in the community establishes a positive cash flow to empower a vibrant local economy. It demonstrates a belief in the people forming these communities, establishing the firm as the first entity they’ll turn to when a new opportunity arises. Prioritizing your firm’s local presence is the first step in building a solid foundation of national acclaim.

Increasing your firm’s local presence means engaging with your community through diversified, multi-channel marketing. Look to the platforms you’re reading, seeing, and hearing and identify gaps in your current marketing strategy to find new avenues for your financial firm to connect better.
Get started with these core marketing tips for financial institutions.

Marketing Tips for Finance Firms

A streamlined approach to diversified marketing will position your financial firm as a leader, first locally, then industry-wide.  

Customize Local Digital

Generic content won’t reach your key prospects. Create your digital footprint around local keywords incorporating specific locations to your geographic area, which includes blogs, social media posts, landing pages, location tags, headers, and meta descriptions. Keywords should flow naturally into your content, so that means allocating sufficient time and expertise to researching the most-searched-for keywords in your area.
Another thing that affects local keywords is locations listed on your homepage or action-oriented pages on your website. When customers look for local banks or financial institutions, those listing local areas or places they serve will come first.
When delivered effectively, keyword optimization ensures your firm gets ahead of its top prospects while keeping current and returning clients engaged.

Tap into Audio Ads

According to a recent report by Statista from July 2023, radio remains one of the most powerful advertising mediums, with 82% of Americans tuning in weekly. Financial firms stand to capitalize on this statistic as radio listeners tend to be part of an older, well-established demographic – typically those most likely to be seeking wealth management experts. 
Consider sponsoring local shows or podcasts, especially if your firm can partner with existing clients to strengthen current relationships while building new ones. There are many podcasts and shows that target business or working communities. You can reach people in various stages of their careers who will need different parts of your service offerings. Those new to their careers may be interested in opening a credit card or bank account, whereas you’ll also reach people starting families looking for a home mortgage.

Optimize for Local SEO & SEM

As with the importance of keywords, the value of local SEO and SEM cannot be understated. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing further define what your clients are looking for. Where keywords improve relevancy, using SEO and SEM targets visibility. SEO utilizes organic search methods to rank well on Google and other search engines, while SEM uses paid digital marketing to achieve the same result. The most successful firms use these tools in tandem to boost reach and target the right demographic.

Sponsor Community Events

Investing back into the communities we serve is one of the best ways to be a community partner. Get your name out there by sponsoring local sporting events, school activities, and nonprofits. Many firms are beginning to offer “VTO” or Volunteer Time Off for team members to participate in community involvement. Volunteering as a member of the firm increases local presence while creating a positive, community-centered company culture.
You can sponsor events of any size, whether local sporting events, music or arts festivals, or something specific to your area. That will help you present your name to the people in the community you want to reach while providing fun experiences to create positive associations with your brand name.

Share Financial Advice Catered to Local Economies

Leverage local economics in email and content marketing to stay relevant and in touch with your community. That may include state and regional trends, sharing knowledge specific to urban, suburban, or rural markets, and discussing how national economics impact local economies. Sharing advice will help educate your customers on financial matters, helping them create more confident plans for their futures and help increase their trust in you. In helping potential customers, you can communicate your offerings and let them know more about services that benefit them.

Bringing Your Financial Firm’s Marketing Strategy Full Circle

Strategic marketing for financial institutions is rooted in your community presence, as these firms help local businesses get started and residents find homes. Building a solid rapport is one of the best ways to generate new customers while cultivating existing relationships. 
Ready to elevate your marketing outlook? A media partner can help you get started. Reach out to our experts today to expand your marketing strategy.