2024 Journal of Community Bank Case Studies

SECOND PLACE: University of Illinois Springfield

adds additional costs for banks through recording, storing, and analyzing social media posts. According to Marilyn Titone-Schaefer, INB’s VP and Director of Communications, they experience extra difficulty in this regard: There are a lot of social media posts which use the bank’s initials, INB, in reference to other companies. This makes it difficult for INB to discern which social media posts are relevant for them to analyze (Interview with Authors). Complicating this issue of social media’s speed is public perception of banks in general. Donovan says that most people view banks as a utility, like the power or water, where they are just expected to be there. A bank is not noticed or thought about unless there is a problem. This unspoken attitude also affects a bank’s social media presence. A lot of banks’ customers follow their bank on social media but do not really pay attention to their posts until a major issue happens. Then depositors rush to a bank’s social media sites for information. Banks must be able to deliver information at the speed that customers expect it. Social Media at INB INB has two distinct purposes for its social media posts: (1) eduselling to potential customers and (2) engagement with personal and humanizing posts. Both goals ultimately aim at providing people with a useful and quality service, which will help improve their financial lives. INB must be able to achieve these goals while also maintaining a professional image on social media, so as not to lose the con sumer’s confidence about INB as a bank. INB’s first focus regarding social media posts is

...most people view banks as a utility, like the power or water, where they are just expected to be there. A bank is not noticed or thought about unless there is a problem.

eduselling. Eduselling is when social media posts are used to educate an individual about a topic in hopes that, once they see the need or utility in a service or product, they will become clients. For INB, this takes the form of posts about financial literacy, bank enrollment benefits, and fraud/ scam protection. A specific form of eduselling INB has recently done is by trying to encourage young people to create a bank account. After some research, INB discovered that there is a surprising number of young people between the ages of 18–25 who don’t have savings or even a bank account. Once INB has provided some useful information through eduselling, they offer links to their website so they can set them up with appropriate banking services. INB’s second focus revolves around showcasing how INB employs real people who care about what they do: serving people in the communities they are in. This helps establish a real “community” feeling for INB as a community

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