3 Tips from a Bank’s Chief Public Affairs Officer

Ben Wakana is the Chief Public Affairs Officer at Forbright Bank, where he leads Communications, Marketing, Sustainability, Community Impact, and Government Relations. Alliance Partners is a wholly owned subsidiary of Forbright and the asset manager to BancAlliance, a network of over 400 community banks across the country. We sat down with our parent company’s in-house expert to highlight how community banks can meet customers where they are with modern, flexible, and accessible solutions that can compete with bigger banks. 

Technology that keeps pace in a modern world: Customers care about easy, secure, and convenient access to their money. Updating outdated customer-facing technology may be a big project, but it can be a worthwhile investment.

Innovate your marketing strategy: Gone are the days of set it and forget it online ads or magazine spreads. Constantly refining, updating, and tracking your online ads based on performance and resonance with your audience is now key to a successful marketing campaign. One easy way for community banks to jump into online marketing game is by engaging in paid search advertising for your bank’s name or attributes.

Active community engagement: Your customers want to see your name supporting organizations that align with your bank’s mission. Maybe that’s the local little league team or small businesses or health care providers. For Forbright Bank it was (in part) becoming an official partner of the National Park Foundation. Whatever your cause may be, standing out amongst your banking peers for the work you do outside of deposits and loans is a good way to differentiate your bank.

Learn more about Forbright’s partnership with the National Park Foundation here