Using social media to energise the local community: supporting Obihiro Shinkin Bank's challenge through social media training

Our guests this time are from Obihiro Shinkin Bank. In 2021 the bank began the Tokukachi Project, to strengthen sales of local produce inside and outside the region. Its distinctive ideas, such as the Achikochi Tokachi vending machines selling local produce, drew attention.
Social media was essential to the project, but they had little know-how in running it. We asked how the work with NowVillage came about, what it was for, and what has changed since.

Needing social media, and the problems with getting started

Image: the team at Obihiro Shinkin Bank (from left, Mr Wakimoto, Mr Ota, Mr Hayashi)

―First, could you introduce yourselves and your work?

(Ota) Hello. I am Ota, deputy head of the regional economy support department at Obihiro Shinkin Bank. Beside me are Hayashi and Wakimoto. The three of us here today run the bank’s social media.

Obihiro Shinkin Bank on Instagram＠ｏｂｉｈｉｒｏｓｈｉｎｋｉｎ）

What is the goal for your department?

(Ota) Our regional economy support department provides various kinds of business support aimed at solving our clients’ problems: opening up sales channels, developing people in the region, and succession planning.
We also take on longer-term work to promote local industry, which is where the Tokukachi Project came in.

―We hear the Tokukachi Project is a focus. Could you tell us about it?

(Ota) The Tokukachi Project was selected for the Nippon Foundation’s Wagamachi Fund, and its biggest goal is to strengthen sales of Tokachi produce inside and outside the region. As part of it we installed Achikochi Tokachi vending machines selling local Tokachi produce in five places, mainly in Obihiro. To strengthen how the project communicates, we are also investing in social media.

What were the problems with social media at the time?

(Hayashi) Agreeing to use social media for the Tokukachi Project was all very well, but when it came to doing it, many of our staff, depending on their age, had no familiarity with it at all, and getting them to see why it mattered was the first difficulty.
And of course not all our client businesses were making full use of social media either. One of the big tasks was to deepen staff understanding of what social media is, and then create a positive atmosphere, inside and out, of building it up together with those businesses.

Please let us do it: their enthusiasm decided it

What led you to come to NowVillage?

(Hayashi) Frankly, an introduction from an acquaintance.
We were feeling our way entirely. I searched online for companies offering digital marketing support, but they all said good things, which left me unsure what to believe. We also had cold calls from companies we knew nothing about, and no idea what criteria to choose on.

Looking at your website after the introduction, I felt we could work with you. The person who introduced us said youwork veryhard on all sorts of things, and when we spoke on Zoom you said please let us help. That enthusiasm was what we saw, and we came to you with full confidence.

(Ota) We had no criteria of our own, so we were wondering what to do, and looking at NowVillage’s website and Twitter, we had the impression of a company giving detailed support across a wide range of work, which also counted.

More likes from senior management after the training, and easier understanding of social media across the organisation

We ran training twice online and twice in person, starting from what social media is. How clear was it?

(Hayashi) In the survey afterwards, more than half said it was very easy to follow, and to the question of whether training like this is needed, almost allparticipantssaid yes。

What did you think?

(Ota) You explained in detail, from the basics of how to use it through to targeting, so what had been a vague idea of social media came into focus. It was also good to confirm how well Instagram fits this project.

And we learned it is better for several people to work on it rather than one person carrying it alone.

Mr Hayashi and Mr Wakimoto use social media themselves. What did you think?

(Hayashi) Unlike a personal account, with a company account I had no idea what to post. Hearing a professional view on planning, generating ideas and even photographywork verywas useful. It also gave me hope that if each member of staff can bring their own character to it, the Instagram account could be distinctive and interesting.

(Wakimoto) I use social media personally too, but to publish as a company, I felt we needed to think about how to draw users in. The training showed that in a very practical form, so it was a real education.
It also brought home how comfortable younger staff are with social media. As we keep running it, I think their instincts and views will be valuable.

Has anything changed internally since the training?

(Hayashi) After the training, officers and managers including the chairman, who had not had accounts, created them and now react to the official Instagram posts.

Senior people, who carry weight in the organisation, taking the lead is welcome for spreading and building that awareness. Moving on from what exactly is social media management, and finding it easier to be understood internally, feels like a tailwind for what comes next.
As understanding grows further, I think more staff will be able to talk with clients about their own social media problems, and we may start getting requests to feature clients on the bank’s official Instagram.

Their attention to detail meant we could face the training day with confidence

Is there anything from working with NowVillage that stayed with you?

(Wakimoto) How carefully you handled our requests. For example you arranged a rehearsal and online meetings before the training.

(Ota) This kind of training was a first for us too, and with no sense of what right looks like, your willingness to take even small questions seriously was a help.
You worked the content through with us beforehand until we were satisfied, so we could face the day itself with confidence.

What do you expect from NowVillage next?

(Hayashi) At the moment social media sits within the regional economy support department, but in future we want sales staff at each branch to think about posts too.

As that spreads, we would like to ask NowVillage for training again, split into beginner and intermediate levels. We are also thinking of including more of a marketing perspective.

The Tokukachi Project runs until November 2024, and we want to keep strengthening what we publish, so we hope for your help again.
(Ota) Social media does not start working simply because you have had training. To raise the level of the team, getting a specialist view as we did here is the efficient way. If we can, we would like training like this again, and at a higher level.

Finally, which companies would you recommend NowVillage to?
(Ota) We started knowing almost nothing about digital marketing or social media. On that basis, companies that feel motivated but have no idea where to start and want to be taught from scratch are where NowVillage’s attention to detail shows.

---

Obihiro Shinkin Bank
・HP：https://www.shinkin.co.jp/obishin/
What we do
　Deposits
　Lending
　Foreign exchange

---