Independent Banker - January 2022 - 19

a headline, you're dragging and
dropping an image, you're copying
and pasting a link, " he says.
How to measure success
Targeting the right audience is
straightforward when the campaign
objectives are clear. For example, if
a community bank wants to promote
products for first-time homebuyers,
the ad creator would select audience
characteristics to target. Parameters
such as interests, age and gender
help ensure the ad reaches the
intended audience.
Community banks can monitor
performance and fine-tune their ad
as needed through a social platform's
analytics dashboard. However,
depending on the campaign
objective, return on investment
(ROI) may not be clear cut. For
example, a new customer may see
a social ad and open an account or
take out a loan in person after the
campaign is over.
Combine paid social and
search intent
That said, it is possible to measure
the success of specific campaigns.
" It's pretty simple to set [a Facebook
boost campaign] up. You can say,
here's my budget, here are the
parameters, add your payment
method and hit go. "
-VANESSA HANSON, ICBA
What is paid social?
Paid social is paid
advertising on social media
platforms. Paid posts
are distinguished by a
" sponsored " or " promoted "
tag and appear on the social
feeds of targeted audiences.
Paid social can also be a
catch-all term for other paid
advertising like Google Ads.
Ben Pankonin, CEO of Social
Assurance, a marketing firm in
Lincoln, Neb., shares how one
client could attribute 90% of its
new online account openings to
a multichannel ad campaign-in
other words, a campaign that runs
on two or more platforms.
That client targeted specific
parameters like its servicing region,
an essential consideration for
community banks. But, as Pankonin
says, " That's just one [layer] of
the onion. "
Using Google search intent
data to uncover consumers in a
community bank's market who are
preparing for a major purchase,
expanding their family or searching
for a new home enables that bank
to optimize its paid advertising so it
gets results.
" That's where there's a lot of
magic for a community bank, "
Pankonin says.
DIY vs. partnering
Paid social represents one
component of a digital marketing
strategy. Whether community
banks opt to run a campaign
themselves or use a vendor depends
on several factors.
Pankonin offers a perspective
on this question. " I would say, in
general, what you have to be able
to answer is, 'Can I build it? Can I
create an audience? Can I create the
content that's necessary? Can I be
precise enough in my marketing that
it doesn't require a handshake to
deliver this service?' " he says.
If your community bank's
resources are limited, or if building
your brand is a key objective,
Hanson suggests putting your
available budget into the ad itself
rather than partnering with a thirdparty
vendor. Englund agrees. " If
you have that capability in-house, or
if you develop it through a series of
trainings, that could be the way to
go, " he says.
As community banks consider the
best approach for their organization,
Hanson says paid social has become
instrumental to marketing. " With
the algorithm changing all the time,
Facebook has sent a clear message:
If you want to get your content
out in front of your customers ...
you're going to have to pay to do it, "
she adds.
Englund puts it this way: " It's
almost become table stakes for a lot
of small businesses. " 
Amy Geist is a writer in Colorado.
independentbanker.org Q 19
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - January 2022

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