Q&A one community bank, five types of social media.

• Position: Interview

FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, North Shore Bank (assets: $ 1.8 billion), Brookfield, Wisc., has been actively employing social media as part of its marketing efforts. It currently uses Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Foursquare. ABA Bank Marketing magazine talked with Tim Gluth, Webmaster and e-business coordinator for the bank and asked about the bank's social media involvement.

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Why did the bank decide initially to get involved in social media?

We felt it was very beneficial for us to be in the same online communities where our customers and potential customers were spending their time.

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While customers are still visiting branches to discuss their financial goals, more and more of them are doing their banking online. That's where they are getting their news and keeping connected with friends, family members and the organizations with whom they have relationships.

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It just made sense for us to be out there interacting with the people and organizations within our communities. It has helped us strengthen customer relationships, and gain new ones.

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Not all bankers are familiar yet with Foursquare. Why did North Shore decide to go into this particular social media?

We have seen location-based social networking quickly become the next area of interest for individuals and we felt that services like Foursquare would have staying power.

These services offer us a chance to potentially connect locally and face-to-face with our online followers and fans. Additionally there are business benefits and loyalty rewards that we can create for our customers that use this service to further strengthen our relationship with them.

What type of things does the bank do with Foursquare?

We have run "mayorship" promotions in the past where the person who checks in at any of our office locations the most received a free gift.

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