Last week I wrote a post about promoting your business RDC programs. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, you can find it here. As promised I’m following up today with ideas for promoting your consumer RDC programs.

One thing you’ll notice about the following examples is that the financial institutions clearly took time to identify their key messages. They don’t clutter the promotions with extraneous product details. Generally they focus on one or two key benefits, making their communications clear and concise. My advice is to focus on your key messages up front. They will be instrumental creating your promotional strategy and can help with staff training and planning.

1. Social Media

"There won't be any turning back on the growth on social media and there will be a slow gravitation toward services delivered in the channel. Social media will continue to force service industries like banking to find ways to engage with customers."-Michael Versace, global research director, IDC Financial Insights (http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_23/five-ways-banks-can-use-social-media-1056408-1.html)

I could point you to a thousand articles about how banks and credit unions are and should be using social media to connect with their customers/members. If you don’t yet have a social media strategy, or are having trouble maintaining one, a simple search online should provide a wealth of ideas. Remember though, social media is an ongoing process, so make sure you have someone dedicated to maintaining your profiles and staying engaged.

Bank of Urbana’s facebook page offers a great example of how to make Mobile RDC front and center in your conversations. They used their Facebook header image to promote their mobile deposit solution, and frequently post and encourage customers to give feedback on mobile deposit.

NSP St. Paul Credit Union also used Facebook to launch their mobile deposit solution and to answer questions from members.

Don’t forget that using social media can provide your customers/members a forum to complain as well. Don’t ignore these comments! On both of the pages mentioned above there are complaints from at least one customer/member, and the financial institution always responded promptly and positively. They asked the concerned user for more information about the problem and offered to talk directly about how to make the experience better.

2. In-Branch Promotions

If you listened to our recent marketing RDC webinar, I’m a huge fan of my financial institution’s “Cupcake Friday.” Every Friday they serve delicious cupcakes in the branch and invite members to come learn about their latest product or offering. It gets me every time!

Bank of Urbana also ran an in-branch promotion for their mobile deposit solution. Branch staffers wore shirts inviting visitors to “meet our newest teller” and were trained to give demos and help customers make their first mobile deposits.

Numerica Credit Union took it a step further and hosted “Mobile Experience,” special demo parties at popular local restaurants featuring a custom booth with demo screens and on-site experts to help members get started with mobile deposit. “The ‘Mobile Experience’ events allowed us to get face to face with our members,” said KayCee Murray, AVP of development at Numerica. “If they don’t know about mobile deposit or how to use it, we can show them. Mostly, when people see the new feature and find out how it works, it’s something they want to use.”

3. Videos

Whether you run television commercials, or just use them on online, videos are a great way to demonstrate the ease of use and benefits of mobile deposit to your customers/members. You can do something fun and commercial-like, as Great Southern Bank or Texas Trust Credit Union did, or go with a straight forward demo of the product like this one from Well Fargo.

4. Contests/Incentives

There are a number of different contests you can conduct to get people excited about mobile deposit. It can be as simple as a raffle drawing for customers/members who have signed up for the service or submitted a check in the past week. You could also take Bank of Urbana’s approach on Facebook and ask your customers/members to tell you what they love about mobile deposit and offer prizes.

If you clicked on the link above, you’ll also know that Numerica took the incentive idea to the next level by offering members $5 checks to test mobile deposit. This idea has come up with our clients often, and I think it’s a great one for promoting a new mobile deposit solution. It can easily be done with checks in the branch or through a direct mail campaign.

5. Promotional Items/Give-Aways

Nearly everyone loves SWAG, you just need a reason to give it away! There are a variety of options depending on your budget (from candy to water bottles to phone cases). You just need a catchy slogan and a QR code to get started.

Hand prizes out at the branch and at community events, or mail something fun to prospective customers/members. Another great example, a client of ours recently printed water bottles with a QR code linked to the mobile app site and handed them out to people making deposits at the drive through window.