Making Online Banking Social
MainStreet Bank, a community bank based in Northern Virginia, conceptualized a unique
way to engage consumers through an online and socially interactive banking experience.
The bank’s goal was to make banking friendly, interactive, and social. The challenge
was to develop and execute a comprehensive strategy incorporating the best elements
of website design, social media tools, and interactive multimedia to create a unique
experience – it needed consultants with the expertise to make it happen.
Understanding the Vision, Assembling the Right Team
MetroStar Systems achieved the bank’s goal of developing an interactive online banking
presence by understanding MainStreet Banks’ vision for airbanking.com, generating
innovative ideas and solutions, implementing the vision, and continuous support.
A cross-functional team of experts including, New Media Producers, Creative Writers,
Graphic Designers, Social Media Strategists, Video Producers, and Developers worked
with MainStreet Bank to gain a complete understanding of the bank’s current situation
and where they wanted to be in the future.
The team generated ideas through ideation jams and brainstorming sessions to develop
several concepts and themes. Focus groups were also conducted to improve content
development. The Results that were implemented were: airbanking.com, a fully branded
and designed website, the airbanking personality, "Billy," which provided best banking
practices and tips to consumers, a series of video blogs, a customized Facebook
application to attract users, an online photo contest which promoted airbanking.com
and engaged current and potential users.
Integrating the Traditional with the New
airbanking.com officially launched in January 2011. MetroStar Systems enabled MainStreet
Bank to achieve its goal, to be a leader in social banking, by combining traditional
marketing techniques with social media marketing techniques to offer new solutions
for old problems. The website front-end and back-end design was developed by MetroStar
Systems. From brand identity, logo, and tagline development, information architecture,
wireframes, base code, application development, user-testing, and video blog production,
we were able to help create all assets for airbanking.com.
The videos were produced in-house utilizing our high-definition (HD) equipment, green
screen technologies, and edited with motion graphics, typography, and sound design. The
online photo contest, “Enjoy Life,” was hosted on MetroStar Systems’ photo contest platform,
Votridea. It was created to encourage consumer participation by submitting a photo that
captured "how you enjoy life" and sharing on social networks to rally support. A customized
Facebook tab was also developed to promote the contest. The airbanking website has received
over 16,000 page views between June and September 2011, video blogs have received over 650
total views, and the “Enjoy Life” photo contest received 391 photo submissions with over 2,000
casted votes
Since the launch of airbanking.com in January 2011...
- Over 16,000 page views between a 3 month period (June – September 2011)
- 650 total views of all video blogs
- 391 photo submissions and over 2,000 casted votes in the ‘Enjoy Life’ photo contest