Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 2

July/August 2016 29 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. guidelines on company business cards and letterhead. In addition, brand standards can include information on the proper format for email signatures for all bank employees and even address the requested style for voicemail greetings. 4. By following the timeframes below, you will be able to increase the conversion rate on all your bank’s social media efforts. (Source: “Cheat Sheet for Publishing Times on Social Media,” by Joseph Mourot of Rivalfox, http://bit.ly/29XHtBg ) Facebook: Best days to post: Thursday and Friday Best times: 1 p.m. to get the most shares / 3 p.m. to get the most clicks Avoid posting between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. Twitter: Best days to tweet: Any weekday for B2B Best times: 5 p.m. for retweets / 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. to get the highest click-through rate (CTR) People spendmore timeonTwitterduringcertainhours when they need to occupy their time, such as lunch breaks (12 p.m.) and their commute home (6 p.m.). LinkedIn: Best days to post: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Best times: 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. or 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pinterest: Best day to pin: Saturday Best times: 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. 5. Free Webinar Wednesdays by Eric Cook withWSI Internet Consulting provide weekly learning opportunities for business leaders, serviceprofessionals, and anyone else who wants to join the conversation. You also can refer your business customers needing additional assistance with social media. Past webinars are archived at www.freewebinarwednesdays.com . In addition, Midwest Independent Bank offers archived MIB webinar sessions presented by Cook regarding the use of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These ses- sions may be accessed for a nominal fee and include the Social Media Bonus Session at the 2015 MIB Users Conference and the 2016MIB Social Media Boot Camp. 6. Read the book “Marketing Financial Services, Building a Better Bank: Strategies for Implementing a Marketing Process” by Bruce A. Clapp. The book is a great read, especially for beginning marketing professionals. If you are planning to become a Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP) through the American Bankers Association (ABA), this book is a must-read before taking the exam. 7. Begin following other state and regional banks or bankers associations on Facebook or Twitter so you can see what type of content they are posting. 8. Seven key data points that every bank should track monthly, or quarterly, on its company website are listed below: •Sessions/visits •Page views •Average time on page •Referrals •New versus returning users •User behavior •Events 9. A standard of excellence certification, known as theCertifiedFinancialMarketingProfessional (CFMP), is available through the ABA for marketing professionals working in the financial services industry. All bank marketers should consider studying and testing for this marketing certification. Additional information may be found at http://bit.ly/29JqF20. 10. If your bank is amember of the ABA, then your marketing person should join the ABAMarketing Network (cost is only $295 a year), a national network of the best minds in financial marketing. Bank marketers enjoy easy access to marketing best practices, resources, and creative insights from peers and experts. For more information, go to http://bit. ly/2aqEdMG. 11. Is your community bank set up for Google Alerts? It’s free and easy to use. With Google Alerts you will receive email notifications any time Google finds news results on a topic that interests you and/or your bank. For example, you are able to receive updates about a product or service you like, and find out when people post something about you or your bank on the web. You can even get alerts about the competition in your marketplace. The link for getting started is at http://bit.ly/2a66I3t. Hopefully, after reading these tips, youhave foundnewways to enhance the marketing efforts at your community bank.  Donna Harden, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Midwest Independent Bank, may be reached at (573) 556-1324 or dharden@mibanc.com.