Shred Your Marketing Beliefs at the Door: As Community Banks Explore Social Media like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, Fresh Thinking Helps. Social Media Marketing Is Different

Take a break from the ABA School of Bank Card Management and enjoy a Coke with its inventor, John "Doc" Pemberton. We've never actually physically met Jesse Torres. Indeed, we've only ever talked to him on the phone once, for about an hour, for the article you're about to read. We've e-mailed a great deal with him, and we've also Twittered, and we've seen and read a fair deal about him on the internet. The likelihood of ever having so much as a cup of coffee with Torres is small. But today, that's increasingly not all that unusual. While many of us have had relationships that were only "phone connections," even that is being left behind. Now we have acquaintances that are strictly e-mail or web-based. We reached out to Torres because late last year, we'd received an e-mail from him promoting an e-book he'd written, and wanted to make available to fellow community bankers for free: Community Banker's Guide to Social Network Marketing. (Get it at http://www.tinyurl.com/cbgsnm). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Something in Torres' book struck us, which became a focus of the interview that follows: "The most important lesson community bankers should learn about social networks is how to be part of the conversation. [Emphasis added. ] Given that community bank success is based on understanding the needs of the local market better than larger regional banks, community banks are well positioned to adapt. And community banks that learn this lesson will find that consumers are more than happy to be part of a community bank's social network and as such, part of the marketing campaign. For the last century, marketing messages have been pushed out to consumers. But now community banks have the ability to create and maintain ongoing conversations with consumers. " Torres is something of a financial jack of all trades. He has been a national bank examiner, consultant with a major accounting firm, banker at larger banks in Los Angeles, community bank turnaround consultant, and more. He is currently a managing director at Carillon Capital Partners, www. CarillonCapital.com. Here is an edited summary of the interview with Torres. ABA BJ: When you and I e-mailed earlier this week and I mentioned that this magazine is Twittering, you said, "Give me a few hours and let me see what I can do for you. " My Twitter following has been exploding since. What did you do? Torres: The whole basis of the Web 2.0 technology platform is that it's driven by peer-to-peer networking. I reached out to one of my networks, one comprised of bankers. I said, "Hey, guys, ABA Banking Journal is now on Twitter. Those of you who want to be on the cutting edge, follow the Journal's tweets. " Twitter is about sharing information, really, more than plugging products or services. And so suddenly you saw an explosion in folks following you on Twitter. ABA BJ: Quite literally. [We've got hundreds of followers now. Are you among them? Follow us at www.twitter. com/ABABankingJourn] Torres: And that is the beauty of this whole social media platform. People recommend to other folks things that they think are valuable. What comes recommended by someone, they're more likely to buy in on it than if it were a form of advertising or a form of direct marketing. You still get the marketing effect, but it comes through someone that folks have trust in. ABA BJ: What inspired your book? Torres: I've always had a fascination with technology, and I've been a banker or involved in banking my entire career. What I found in community banking is that reputation and loyalty go a long way in getting a business. Then this whole peer-to-peer technology started coming about. It seemed to begin with Amazon.com, when they put their customer rating systems up there for books. I'm an avid reader, so I was fascinated by that. I spent hundreds on books recommended so highly by others. …