Community Banks produce a lot of "educational" content, but a lot of it is thinly disguised sales material, or sounds the same as 1,000 other "how to buy your first home" blogs.

In this episode, we sit down with Emily Schwartz, Director of Financial Education at MidFirst Bank, about how her team helps build real trust in her bank, by focusing on education first.

If you are tired of just checking the boxes with your content, and trying to avoid "AI slop" (as you should be!), this episode is a great way to reframe how you approach financial education – no matter the size of your bank.

What we cover in this episode:

· The difference between truly educating your customers and prospects, versus just creating blogs

· Where to find the best education topics (hint: it's not keyword tools)

· Why smaller banks don't need big teams to start doing this well

· How education can support brand, loyalty, and community impact, without feeling salesy

· The results that MidFirst has seen from their efforts

Links & Resources

· Connect with Emily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-schwartz-ph-d-372a7815/

· Book: Inspired by Matt Richtel

· Website: https://bankmarketingshow.com

· Sign up for our newsletter: https://bankmarketingminute.com

· Contact Chris and Dan: contact@bankmarketingshow.com

100 episodes. Four seasons. Many dozens of conversations with bank leaders and innovators – and we're just getting started!

In this milestone episode, Chris and Dan look back at what they've learned from these conversations, and where they think community bank marketing is headed next.

They also turn the cameras on themselves – and put each other in the hot seat with surprise questions that dig into strategy, personal best practices, and how to navigate what's coming in 2025 and beyond.

In this episode:

• The biggest shifts in bank marketing since the show began in early 2022
• Lessons learned from dozens of interviews with industry experts
• What's working right now in brand, digital, and AI-driven marketing
• Key themes we expect to define the next year of bank marketing
• A special 100th episode Hot Seat session where Dan and Chris challenge each other with unrehearsed questions

Links & Resources

• Bankmarketingshow.com
• Sign up for our newsletter: bankmarketingminute.com
• Contact Chris and Dan: contact@bankmarketingshow.com

AI Agents are quickly becoming the biggest competitive edge for community banks to win and serve small business customers.

Chris and Dan sat down with the co-founders of Daylit, Jared Shulman (CEO) and Jerry Shu (CTO), to break down what AI agents actually are, how they work, and why banks should be thinking about building an AI Agent portfolio to stand out in the highly competitive SMB market.

Daylit (formerly Lendica) is the leading AI Agent for accounts receivable for SMBs, and they share deep insight into how businesses think, how they adopt new tools, and what they will expect from their financial partners in the next few years.

If you've been hearing the buzz about AI agents, and thinking about how they fit into your bank's AI strategy, this is a must-listen.

In this episode:

• What AI Agents really are, and what makes them different from just an LLM
• How AI Agents give SMBs enterprise-level financial intelligence, without the enterprise-level budget
• How community banks can use AI-enabled services to attract, retain, and grow SMB customers
• Why embedded fintechs and non-banks are quietly becoming competitors – and how to differentiate
• Practical ways banks can partner with AI technology vendors, without taking on additional regulatory or credit risk

Links & Resources

• Launch Event! Daylit is releasing the newest version of their AI AR Agent on December 2, 2025 at 6pm ET. Register here: https://luma.com/me4l88i0

· Daylit: daylit.com

· Follow Daylit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedaylit/

· Follow Daylit on X: https://x.com/daylit_ai

· Follow Daylit on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lendica

· Book: Zero to One

· Follow Jared on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shulman-jared/

· Follow Jerry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-shu-8502591b/

Connect with Chris & Dan

· Website: bankmarketingshow.com

· Email: contact@bankmarketingshow.com

· Companion Newsletter: bankmarketingminute.com or https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/bank-marketing-minute-7240439067794948098