Even if you don’t know anything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or have no interest in the movies and their (awesome) superheroes, it seems as if everyone always knows when the next movie is going to release. You have to wonder what these marketing geniuses are doing to keep everyone in the loop. You also have to wonder what financial marketers (like us) can learn from them. Aside from the multitude of trailers released leading up to each film and all the merchandise sold at every turn, another high-impact strategy is the social media campaigns generated for each release.
These campaigns attract fans who in turn attract the masses and start the conversation leading to a Thanos-sized marketing effort showing up even on your grandmother’s news feed. Here are four of the most common techniques Marvel uses that could be “super” ones for your financial institution.
1. Content: They post what fans want to see. This means exclusive content from behind the scenes, interactive contests for fans to win cool stuff, or even having Iron Man himself (Robert Downey Jr.) take over the Marvel social media accounts. Even though your institution may not have Tony Stark taking over your Instagram account, that doesn’t mean you can’t come up with interesting content your audience wants to see. Don’t be afraid to share short videos from corporate functions or community events. Keep it fun and engaging and pose a question people can answer. Don’t forget about contests and incentive programs either. People love to feel like they’re part of something, and this is the best way to involve your audience in your content.
2. Connected: MCU always connects with their fans and communicates with their audience as if they were a person, not a company. By doing this, they provide a sense of humanity to their social media posts. It’s called social media for a reason so don’t be afraid to engage with your audience by replying to their mention and create a lasting relationship with your audience. One in three consumers mentions brands while sharing personal accomplishments so this is the perfect opportunity to connect and build that trust, which is a large part of customer loyalty and retention. A great way to achieve this is by developing a brand ambassador team to monitor the conversations and engage with your audience.
3. Multiple platforms: They don’t just post content on one platform. They’re posting on all social media channels, each offering unique platform-tailored content. This allows for the power of social media to take over as people comment and share the content on each platform, organically growing the content’s visibility in multiple places. It’s important to know what content should go where so create a calendar and schedule what will post on a specific platform. Understanding the difference between the platforms and what should be posted on each is crucial so if you’re not familiar with what you should post, take a look at this great article from Business News Daily.
4. Heroes: The MCU is known for playing with our emotions. They started this back in 2008 when we were first introduced to Tony Stark. Through the years, they have continued to achieve this emotional connection with each new character they’ve introduced. As they grow each hero’s importance, they create personal relationships between them and the fans. Each character isn’t just a crime-fighting machine to us, they all have their own stories and personalities and specific traits we relate to, which makes us more invested in what comes next. Even a financial institution can forge that emotional connection and be seen as the hero. One of the best ways is by giving to those in need. Hosting a local charity or making a donation to an important cause puts your business in the hero spotlight. After we produced this spot for one of our financial clients, Ocean Financial Credit Union, they donated a new stove to a local soup kitchen—and the social media and public relations opportunities grew from there.
Utilize these key techniques and your financial institution is sure to be on your way to building a social media presence fit for a superhero.
