Effective marketing is crucial for banks to attract and retain customers. However, marketing budgets can be tight, especially for smaller institutions. Fortunately, there are numerous free tools available that can help bank marketers maximize their efforts without breaking the bank. 

The following are some of the best free tools that can enhance your marketing strategies, streamline your processes and boost your overall efficiency. Whether you’re managing social media, creating eye-catching graphics or analyzing customer data, these tools are designed to support your marketing goals and drive success for your bank.

Strategic Marketing Tools

• Google Analytics: Having Google Analytics 4 properly set up on your site will help guide decisions on what to change and how to better understand user behavior.
• AI: Using AI, such as ChatGPT or Microsoft CoPilot, can help you create a strategic marketing plan for the month, quarter or year. You can also have it help you come up with social media post content!

Social Media and Graphic Design Tools

• Canva: Create professional-quality graphics with ease using thousands of templates for social media posts, flyers, presentations and more on Canva.
• Buffer: Connect up to three channels and have 10 scheduled posts per channel using the platform Buffer.
• forbinfi Blog: The forbinfi blog shares free social media ideas and a digital marketing playbook. Follow for updated free resources on a monthly basis! 

SEO and Content Marketing Tools

• Google PageSpeed Insights: Use this tool to improve performance. You won’t get 100 on everything, but it helps you see areas where you can slightly improve!
• Google Search Console: This is what you use to help measure your site’s search traffic and performance, fix issues and make your site shine in Google Search results.
• Microsoft Clarity: Check out Clarity to see how users navigate the site, access heatmaps and more!

Training and Additional Resources

• American Bankers Association (ABA): The ABA offers free programs, training and consumer resources to help banks build long-term financial security.
• ICBA: ICBA provides curated marketing assets specifically for community banks, including statement inserts and marketing manuals.
• forbinfi Blog: forbinfi’s blog updates monthly with free advice, trends and resources dedicated to the financial industry’s website and marketing realm. 

By strategically cutting costs on your marketing budget, you can redirect those savings to critical areas like ad spending or hiring a marketing agency to supplement any gaps. These free tools empower you to make informed decisions and optimize your budget effectively!