Bank Creates Web Sites
It's been a long time since something has shaken up our world like the World Wide Web. The mainstreaming of this worldwide computer network rivals some of the great inventions of our time--and could have an even greater impact on society than the telephone, radio, and television.
Just consider how quickly Internet use has grown. Only a handful of years ago, the Internet was an expansive network of computers created and used by a small number of government and academic scientists. After the virtual overnight commercialization of the Internet, there are now 50 million Internet users capable of browsing through the World Wide Web on a daily basis. And they have nearly an endless--and constantly growing--supply of places to visit via the Internet: from companies, sports teams, and museums to universities, musicians, "cybermalls" and "chat rooms". E-mail also allows on-line subscribers to send messages back and forth to other subscribers anywhere in the world.
This summer, Second National Bank will create its own cyber destination on the World Wide Web. That puts Second National in the vanguard of financial institutions on the web--only 800 of the country's 8,000 commercial banks have an Internet presence.
Second National's home page, created by the Marketing Department in conjunction with Bill Brokaw Advertising and the American Banking Association, gives a snapshot of the Bank and our services. If you have access to the Internet, you'll find Second National's home page at www.secondnationalbank.com. Here's a quick tour of what you'll find on our site:
- a general description of the bank
- our achievement statement, mission statement, and core values
- a departmental and branch office directory
- a description of all products and services, including Alternative investment Services, Commercial Banking, Private Banking, and Trust Services
- employment information including current job openings
- a look at What's New: a constantly changing list of product specials and happenings at the Bank and in our marketplace
- 'hyperlinks' to other sites, such as the the Butler Institute of American Art, the Cleveland Indians, local public television and radio stations, the Weather Channel, and Second Bancorp, Incorporated.
Throughout Second National's site (and most sites on the Internet), certain words are also 'hyperlinked', or underlined. When selected, hyperlinks transport the viewer to another place within Second National's site for more information, or to another site on the Internet. For example, the Home Equity Line of Credit is underlined in the list of product descriptions--when selected by a click of the computer mouse, the computer jumps to the What's New area where the current home equity promotion is detailed.
Visitors to the Second National Bank home page also have the option to e-mail the Bank. Second National will respond the e-mail inquiries by routing the question or comment to the appropriate staff and then returning a message the individual.
As for the "look" of Second National's web site, it's consistent with the design of the Bank's new brochures. Icons at the bottom of the page direct the visitor to categories of information--from the bank directory to product information to job listings, even to a financial calculator where mortgage and other loan payments can be figured.
"In designing Second National's site, we looked at several other bank sites and found that some seemed remote and cold," explains John Butler of Bill Brokaw Advertising. "We wanted the SNB home page to be accessible and inviting. You'll see that the the page design and especially the icons at the bottom of the page are just that--inviting, bright, and big. They almost make you want to push them just to see what they do."
Second Bancorp, Incorporated
Second National has another presence on the World Wide Web: it belongs to the Bank's parent company, Second Bancorp, Incorporated.
Information on Second Bancorp, Inc. can be found within the PR Newswire site at www.prnewswire.com. PR Newswire is a news wire service responsible for distributing news on Second Bancorp, such as our quarterly and annual earnings news releases. When on-line users visit the PR Newswire web site, they may call up Second Bancorp, Inc. to review our last year's worth of news releases, the current annual and quarterly report, general information on the company, and a current stock quote.
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