From Yahoo to Uber and everything in between, 2017 has been the year of the cyberattack. As you might imagine, we’ve crafted a host of stories for clients that’s required a great deal of research on the topic and we thought we might share some of what we found of
Customer experience, automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), ease of use, flexibility – all of these were part of the discussions at this year’s SourceMedia’s Small Business Banking Conference in Austin, Texas. Now in its 23rd year, the conference featured more than 20 technology providers and rallied together innovators from
3 keys to turning members into “super fans”
As featured in this month's CUES PR Insights.
Apple, Starbucks and Nike – what do these companies all have in common? For starters, they are at the top of their game for creating brand awareness. More importantly, these companies have an incredible following of “super fans.” These super
This year’s Money 20/20 (held October 22-25 in Las Vegas) drew nearly 11,000 attendees and hundreds of exhibitors. Dozens of media and analysts from organizations as Bankrate, Breaking Banks, Cornerstone Advisors and Tearsheet attended, as well. The event hosted attendees from more than 4,500 different companies and 85 countries as
The 2017 Jack Henry Annual Conference (JAC) took place October 15-19 in Nashville, Tenn. with nearly 2,000 financial industry professionals in attendance. This year, Jack Henry & Associates (JHA) combined the Jack Henry Banking and ProfitStars Educational Conferences as well as the Jack Henry Banking Executive Forum into a single
As featured in this month's CUES PR Insights.
One of the most significant developments in the realm of digital communication has been the ability in recent years to track, trend and analyze data to gain insights into the effectiveness of communications programs. Specific to credit unions and their public relations executives, member
This year’s HubSpot Inbound conference was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center September 25-28. With more than 21,000 attendees representing 104 countries from almost every industry imaginable, it was truly an event to remember.
The conference featured four fun-packed days of keynotes, innovative talks, educational breakout sessions, hands-on
While October may mean college football and pumpkin spice lattes to some, for our agency and many of our clients, October is dedicated to all things MBA Annual. This year, MBA’s Annual Convention & Expo took attendees to the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado for a full four days
This year’s HubSpot Inbound conference was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center September 25-28. With more than 21,000 attendees representing 104 countries from almost every industry imaginable, it was truly an event to remember.
Approximately 1,300 attendees (including bankers, credit union executives, industry analysts and media representatives American Banker, Banking Exchange and BIG Media) joined 30 sponsor companies to immerse themselves in all things retail banking at BAI Beacon 2017, held at the Georgia World Congress Center October 4-5. Attendees could customize their day
As featured in this month's CUES PR Insights.
You’ve read countless articles about millennials and you’ll probably read countless more. People are quick to discuss the need to embrace millennials, by constantly sharing the latest data that follows the millennial trend as if the generation were an endangered species, which
This year’s Symitar Educational Conference and TechConnect was held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront August 28-31. More than 1,000 credit union employees, 65 prospects in the market for a core system as well as 118 vendors attended.
3 steps to easily infuse video into your marketing program
As featured in this month’s CUES PR Insights.
Video has taken the social media world by storm. According to YouTube, the site garners more than 1 billion views per day. Video has proven to be a powerful storytelling tool, helping people
William Mills Agency will be live blogging at FinovateFall 2017. Check back for new updates throughout the day.
02:53 pm
Best of Show Winners
04:13 pm
Well folks, it’s networking time and then later best of show at 5:15pm. I HOPE to be here
William Mills Agency will be live blogging at FinovateFall 2017. Check back for new updates throughout the day.
04:17 pm
That’s all the demos for today. Please check back for another day of sessions and if there is anything you like (or don’t like) about this live blog, please shoot me
Finovate Fall 2017 is shaping up to be another great event this year and I am excited to once again be live blogging the presenters featured in the Demo Sessions for both days. It’s hard to believe that next week’s event marks my seventh year live blogging and the reception
As you may be aware, 2017 is the 40th anniversary of William Mills Agency (WMA). Over the past four decades, our agency has grown from a small advertising firm to an established, industry leading provider of public relations, marketing and crisis communications for nearly 60 organizations throughout the United States
If you find it overwhelming to keep track of the many financial services trade shows going on throughout the year, you are not alone. While you may know the conferences you like to attend year after year, you could easily be missing out on some influential events that have even
Q: How was it growing up with the agency?
K.T.: It was nice growing up at the agency. I remember coming to the agency after school to help my dad with his filing. As a kid, the littlest things are the most memorable. I remember sitting for hours crushing cans
Q: How does it feel to be in your 40th year?
Eloise: It’s hard to believe. Time really does fly.
William: Time has gone by amazingly fast. I can’t believe it has been 34 years since I joined the agency full-time right out of college. This decision has shaped my life
Three lessons for credit unions on running the long race
As featured in this month’s CUES PR Insights.
There is a well-known expression in the public relations world: “PR is a marathon, not a sprint.” At times, credit unions become trapped in the pitfall of relying on short-term tactics, as opposed to
In today’s business environment, buyers aren’t solely purchasing products and services based on word of mouth. In fact, more than 90 percent of B2B buyers say they conduct some form of online research before purchasing a business product. This makes search engine optimization (SEO) even more important for B2B companies
As a PR executive, I have often encountered sales teams who feel too busy to talk to public relations representatives. In some cases, I am not entirely sure that the sales teams know public relations teams exist and/or understand what they do for the company. It’s kind of like having
Many years ago, a friend asked me why I wanted our firm to specialize in the financial and financial technology industries. “You spend so much time traveling – why don’t you just work with companies in your area? Why do you want to put all your eggs in one basket?”
I
Three key PR strategies to implement so you don’t get lost in the shuffle
As featured in this month's CUES PR Insights.
From omni-channel digital banking and multifactor authentication to voice-enabled technology and machine learning, innovation is now inevitable. The new generation of credit union members demand better and more advanced products
Earlier this month, the head of sales for one of my clients sent the following memo – titled PR MATTERS – to his entire sales and support organization, with his company’s marketing team copied as well:
Today during a meeting at $25B W_____ Bank, I watched this fellow scroll through
Podcasting continues to gain ground in popularity and that is translating to the fintech industry as well. While there are many great podcasts to listen to, here are a few fintech podcasts (not ranked in any order) that we listen to regularly and think are worth your time as well:
In 2013 Facebook published a blog announcing the addition of video features and functionality, and provided a simple, yet brilliant, definition of its latest digital connection tool,: the video. Fast forward to the present date and video has taken the social media world by storm; over half of video content
In just a short decade, social media has grown from a couple of platforms connecting music fans and college students to the de facto channel of communication for millions of people every day.
How pervasive has social media become? The Pew Research Center’s study on social media usage found that
The modern office is currently experiencing a situation never seen before: there are now four generations fighting to coexist in the workplace. In many offices, veterans (born before 1946), baby boomers (1946-1964), Generation Xers (1965-1979) and millennials (1980-2000) are all represented and struggling to work together in harmony.
Such a
What the fintech industry can learn from this year’s top three PR nightmares
The fintech industry is certainly no stranger to crises, and with the frequency of data breaches and even some self-inflicted scandals, it’s likely that every fintech company will be forced to face one at some point. But
With Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the one constant it seems, is change. Google, for example, continuously makes changes to its search algorithms in an effort to improve their accuracy for users. These changes, in turn, directly impact your company’s website and your SEO initiatives. As SEO evolves, so should your
55% of B2B marketers say they are unclear on what content marketing success or effectiveness looks like, and that’s understandable since the sheer volume of activities alone can be overwhelming, including:
With the proliferation of communication channels available today—from traditional print media and broadcast to online and social media—effectively managing a credit union’s communications strategy is a complicated business. While credit unions have always tailored their messages to specific groups of members (auto loans to younger members or estate planning to
William Mills Agency will be live blogging at FinovateSpring 2017. Check back for new updates throughout the day.
William Mills Agency will be live blogging at FinovateSpring 2017. Check back for new updates throughout the day.
This year’s National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo took place March 26-29 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. MBA reported this was the largest attendance for this show in at least five years, and our client LendingQB concurred, noting the event was attended by largest number of lenders
The 2017 Bankers as Buyers report focused heavily on mobile including mobile banking, mobile devices and mobile technology in the banking industry. Many experts agree that mobile still has room to grow, and many financial institutions have not yet adopted all the capabilities that come with mobile. The infographic below
Credit union service organizations provide valuable tools and services to help credit unions improve efficiency, promote innovation and better serve members. However, no matter how great the offering, CUSOs need to advocate for their brand awareness in order to stand out among the countless number of solution providers and vendors
“Content is king” is an adage that every PR professional is familiar with. Between creating content for websites that highlights your value or crafting messages for social media in hopes of driving engagement, there are three things that must be done to
This year’s Retail Banking conference took place at the Trump National Doral in Miami March 22-24. There were about 450 attendees, including financial institutions as well as vendors, and the atmosphere was lively and professional. The first day was dedicated to credit unions with sessions about Best Practices for CreditUnions, Omni-Channel Banking – Is the Branch Dead or Is it the Future and How to Best use Branding. The following two days focused on both banking and credit unions with sessions on regulations, revenue strategies, innovations, digital banking and branch banking.
Social media has become an extension of an organization’s brand, and there are many aspects fintech organizations should consider as they build their online presence and brand identity. In our article, Social Media: The Basics, we offer best practices for addressing negative comments and increasing engagement.
Social media is anexcellent way to distribute and promote company news, events, community activities and other powerful content. However, simply making an announcement is not enough to get your followers’ attention. Here are a few tips and tricks to help your organization increase social media engagement.
Originally addressed by Alexis C. Madrigal in her 2012 article, “Dark Social: We Have the Whole History of the Web Wrong” for The Atlantic, the term “dark social” points to the sharing of content through social media platforms from outside sources that are not trackable by analytics platforms. So in other words, visitors coming to a specific business’ website via an email link are not visible to those companies and as such, they have no source to provide insight as to where those visitors might have originally came from.
This year’s MBA Servicing Conference & Expo returned to Dallas, Texas where 2,300 registered attendees continued conversations about the high cost of doing business, the uncertainty surrounding compliance and how to use technology to help save money. There were also general sessions that included a look at loss mitigation now
As we are settling into the new year, now is the perfect time for self-reflection and planning for everything that you hope to accomplish this year. We often make resolutions—whether they are business or personal goals—without really taking the time to look at how we got to where we are.
There really is no such thing as “trade show season” in the fintech industry. Major trade shows occur throughout the year, and it can be overwhelming to keep track of them all, which is why William Mills Agency has compiled its 2017 Trade Show Directory, which can be downloaded here.
Redefining advertising for the online world
By now, savvy internet users have likely noticed that after viewing a specific product at a retail website (like Target.com or Amazon), that ads for that specific product seem to follow them when they visit other sites like Facebook or the New York Times
The digital age has fundamentally changed the way we deliver and receive information both in B2C and B2B. Prospects are much better at filtering advertising and content that is irrelevant to them and technology has given them more control over who and what they choose to engage with.
This shift
Investment in fintech remains strong year over year. Innovation in all things having to do with money is helping to improve both front and back office operations; remodeling the customer experience (CX); and generally making things faster (such as payments). Bankers as Buyers explores what is possible and what is
Many credit unions are setting their trade show and conference calendar for the coming year. These events represent a great opportunity for credit unions to promote new business efforts, build relationships and see the latest innovations. But less considered is the ways in which these events can be used to
HubSpot’s annual Inbound conference was just as lively as ever in November with jaw-dropping keynote speakers and new product enhancements that will change the way we market. HubSpot never disappoints by bringing in the big names such as Alec Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Anna Kendrick, Serena Williams and Michael Strahan. We
As more consumers shop, receive news and manage their finances through digital devices, publishers have adapted to suit the preferences of their readers. The result is that increasingly, publications have transitioned from print editions to become digital only or at the very least, dramatically reduced the frequency of their print
For many companies operating in today’s business world, their company’s website now serves as their corporate storefront, so ensuring your website is optimally designed is key to a solid online business strategy. For some time, websites have served as the primary communications and delivery channel for customers and prospects, but
The arrival of a new year signals a fresh start, providing everyone with a jolt of motivation to make 2017 the best year yet. When it comes to public relations, credit unions should use this time wisely to kick off the new year on a strong note. January is the