Getting Ready for FSM Conference

Below is the outline for our forthcoming pre-conference workshop on Social Networks, Blogging, Podcasting and More: How Financial Marketers Are Using Web 2.0 Techniques. We welcome your comments and questions prior to our event on October 14. If you would like more information about the conference, please see the link alongside.

The moderator and speakers will offer a brief presentation. The rest of the session will be devoted to floor discussion with Q&A. Please let us know through this blog if there are any topics you would particularly like us to cover.

Moderator: Evelyn Ehrlich, President, EC Communications, Author, The Financial Services Marketing Handbook
Web 2.0
- What is it? Definitions
- What are some of the elements of Web 2.0?:
- User-generated content: Blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking sites
- Why is Web 2.0 important? What are the benefits?
- What are the risks?
- Who¹s doing web 2.0? Who¹s doing it well?
- How can you get started?
- What¹s coming in Web 3.0?

Gary Jackson, Head of Financial Services Media Southeast, Google

Evolution in Financial Services to Web 2.0 and beyond

Who is doing what --- some examples: financial and non-financial:
• Blogs
• Social networking sites
• You Tube video contest
• RSS feeds
• Gadgets/Widgets
Why should advertisers care about Web 2.0 tools
Key "lessons learned" for Web 2.0 participation (key takeways)

Eric Lucero, Vice President, Creative Strategies, Umpqua Bank
Social networking on and off the net
Attracting new business customers - Umpqua Bank MainStreet Overview
Social Networking for small business customers
Umpqua's Local Space Umpqua LocalSpace
Umpqua's promotion of MainStreet

Welcome again to FS Marketer

This blog is designed for those who market for or market to the financial services industry. Please feel free to post articles, thoughts, or questions related to this topic. In preparation for the Financial Services Marketing conference in Phoenix on October 14, 2007, the topic for the next few months will be how financial marketers are using or can use interactive online media to meet their marketing goals.

If you have signed up for the FSM conference (or are planning to), please leave a comment so that we can all "meet" in advance.

McKinsey Web 2.0 study

McKinsey recently released a new study on how companies across industries are adapting web 2.0 technologies. Most companies that are adopting interactive services are using them to support communications internally, rather than with customers and prospects. Among the five industries surveyed, the financial industry ranks next to last in plans for investing in web 2.0 technologies in the next 3 years. Retail leads with 77% having such plans; high tech with 74%, telecomm with 70%, financial services with 63% and pharma with 53%.

Companies that are using customer-centered social media are doing so because it "provides a means for customers to have a dialog with us." It serves as an early-warning if things are not working as they should be, and lets customers provide insights that can help improve product and service offerings.

For the full report, see McKinsey