What's on the blog today: a maryland community bank created a blog to act as a central depository for information that could be reused as social media content.

• Author: Albro, Walt

EVERY BANK NEEDS TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. RIGHT? But how does a community bank find enough content to post several times a week on three different social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter? The unending search for compelling content is enough to burn out any marketer.

Here's a look at how one bank is responding to the challenge:

Three years ago, the Community Bank of the Chesapeake (assets, $1 billion), Waldorf, Md., was not using any social media--and realized that it needed to start. The bank has 12 locations in several counties both north of the Potomac River (in Maryland) and south (in Virginia). It wanted to jump in with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all at once.

But where was it going to get all that content?

The bank started by creating a blog to serve as a springboard for its social media. Several times a week, the blog (Blog.cbtc.com) disseminates 300-word articles of interest to customers. The major theme for retail customers is financial literacy; for small-business customers, business tips. For retail customers, for example, there might be an article about how to stick to a budget. For small-business customers, there might be an item on bookkeeping suggestions. Only rarely does the bank write about itself or its products and services.

All posts are limited to a couple of hundred words. "We don't want them to be too wordy," says Dianne Hicks, CFMP, assistant vice president and marketing manager.

Once the articles are posted, short excerpts are repurposed for use on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter--or all three. The social media post contains some teaser information and then gives a link where the reader can go to the blog and read the full-length article.

"The idea was to direct all the traffic to the blog, which would serve as the hub of information," says Hicks.

Other examples of blog articles include: "Energy Savings: Turn Off the Lights;" "Six Tips for Protecting Your Identity;" "Seven Ways to Keep Your Credit in Check;" "Starting Your Own Business;" "Protect Your Small Business from Account Fraud;" and "What Businesses Can Do in the Cloud."

The blog was started in September 2011 along with simultaneous startups on the three social media. Two people handle the blog and social media. Hicks manages and develops most of the blog posts. Another person helps with writing the social media reports.

The approach has worked, Hicks says, although the subject matter of the blog has gradually changed overtime. In the spring of...