Why I Love My Community Bank

Overview

The I Love My Community Bank campaign is a grassroots-style social media campaign offering consumers and small businesses the ability to evangelize their experiences with their own community bank. Its goal is to provide a creative forum for consumers and small businesses to proclaim their bragging rights on how choosing a community bank gives them distinct advantages. Consumers and small businesses can post comments, upload photos, and deliver video testimonials via the one-of-a-kind interactive website — www.ilovemycommunitybank.com.

Would you like to participate? Sign up your bank below:

Enrollment Form:

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The National Campaign Goals:

Provide consumers and small businesses a forum to evangelize/promote their experiences with community banks.
Bring national grassroots awareness to the importance of community banks in the financial recovery and stability of the United States throughout the year but especially to promote Community Banking Month in April 2012.

Campaign Specifics:

February 1, 2012, the site will begin as an intake form for participants to make their comments, upload a photo and/or deliver a video testimonial. All submissions will be gathered and sorted at ICBA.
What’s in it for you, the community bank? Beginning April 3, 2012 as part of Community Banking Month, in exchange for participation in the campaign, ICBA will provide semi-customized advertising at no cost to the bank. These Community Banking Month Ad Templates will be available for download from the campaign’s self-service website (www.icba.org/love). All participating banks can request to have their bank’s testimonials forwarded beginning March 1, 2012. Participating banks may customize the Ad templates with a selected quote, the banks logo/contact information and include a standardized community bank “financial foundation of the nation” message.
What’s in it for the consumer or small business? Consumers and small businesses who share testimonials of their experiences are eligible to receive one of five, $500 gift cards courtesy of ICBA. In addition, the website look/feel will change on or about April 1, 2012 to coincide with the beginning of ICBA’s National Community Banking Month to focus on the testimonials gathered to date. (photo’s, videos, written statements) The site will be heavily promoted via social media Twitter (@iLuvmyCB), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/#!/icbaorg), and through traditional press opportunities. Contributor’s material will be shared around the world via social media as we highlight the importance of community banks in our country!
What does my bank do with the testimonials we’ve received? Your customers have spoken and how better to thank them than to include them in your marketing. Share these messages of love via your bank’s social media channels, newsletters, website and other marketing channels.

Beginning April 3, 2012 as part of Community Banking Month, in exchange for participation in the campaign, ICBA will provide semi-customized ad templates at no cost to the bank. These Community Banking Month ad templates will be available for download from the campaign’s self-service website (http://www.icba.org/love ).

Participating banks may customize the ad templates with a selected testimonial of their choosing and should include their bank’s high resolution logo and contact information (Your web address, phone number, Twitter handle etc). If you do not have the resources available to create your own ad, ICBA has arranged with a provider to customize your ad for a small fee.
The campaign will conclude May 1, 2012, but the site will continue to display testimonials through the remainder of the year 2012.
Click here to view the complete rules and campaign information.

Promotion:

The I Love My Community Bank campaign is promoted via community banks who promote the program via their website using the provided banner ad, their Facebook page, Twitter posts, direct mail using the provided customizable postcard or any other creative method of bringing attention to the national social media campaign.

Sample Facebook posts:

Tell America how much you love your community bank. Visit www.ilovemycommunitybank.com. Be creative, be honest and most of all be heard!
Valentine’s Day isn’t the only day to celebrate love. Tell America why you love your community bank at www.ilovemycommunitybank.com. Write it, video it, photograph it, most importantly share it!

Sample Tweets:

Do you love your community bank? Tell us @iLuvmyCB or visit www.ilovemycommunitybank.com
We want to hear from you. Why do you love your community bank? @iLuvmyCB or visit www.ilovemycommunitybank.com