You have established a presence in social media. Now, how do you grow this social community you’ve created a space for?

1. Run a giveaway in your bank branches. For entry, require customers to fan your page on Facebook or follow you on Twitter. They could show proof of “fanship” on their mobile phone or use the “laptop station” you have set up in your lobby (simply a laptop on a table with internet access).

2. Have a local college or university? Set up a booth at the freshman orientation or other school event to promote your checking accounts available to students. At the same time, give away a freebie or do a drawing in exchange for students liking your page on Facebook (use same technique as above).

3. When customers open accounts, apply for a mortgage, etc., capture email addresses. Then, always send a “welcome” email thanking them for choosing your bank and asking them to join your community on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, Youtube channel, etc. You can download social media icons here for the links to your pages/feeds. Don’t forget to tell them why being a part of your social communities will benefit them. Haven’t tried email marketing before, checkout Mail Chimp (free for smaller email lists) and Campaign Monitor.

4. Also add these social icon links to the homepage of your website and blog.

5. Get your employees involved! Get them excited about being a part and contributor of the social community, and they will bring their friends along with them.

6. Encourage employees to add links (and use the icons from the link above) to your social pages/feeds in their email signatures.

7. Add your Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin urls to your business cards and all printed marketing pieces.

8. It’s not all about you! Make sure you are sharing the love with others in your social networks. Retweeting, mentioning, and replying on Twitter help to increase your visibility as you engage with others in that space. Sharing, commenting, and liking content on other business pages do the same thing for your efforts on Facebook.

Please share in the comments what your bank may already be doing in the realm of growing your social community or ideas you have for the future!