5 Social Media Steps to Engage Membership

It isn’t news that members increasingly turn to their mobile devices to aid decision making.  But this is especially true regarding where and to whom they entrust their financial wellbeing.  They are eager for information, to share experiences, and to receive reassurance that they are choosing the best checking, savings, loan, or any number of other financial products and services. Understanding this behavior is one key to improving credit union member retention.

Whether mobile or desktop, they turn to their friends, family and colleagues for recommendations on the best fit for their financial institution.  They examine Facebook business pages for current customer feedback. They research consumer reviews and trade industry ratings.  They scour Twitter for the latest in financial news and updates.   They search LinkedIn for helpful financial planning resources.  And of course, they ask questions of social media friends, contacts, and connections.

Far too often, credit union marketers enter the conversation too late in the game, or miss out on this conversation entirely.  However, it doesn’t need to be that way.  If approached in a timely manner as an integrated marketing effort, social media can effectively put credit unions right in the middle of the online conversation with these information-hungry customers.

Those marketing financial products and services need not be overwhelmed by “how” and “where to”.  With an incremental investment of time, coordinated research, creative forethought and ongoing planning, actively integrating social media into all aspects of the business is quite achievable and maintainable.  The keys to getting all of this underway are often already in place.

Credit unions often maintain an excellent reputation for member service and personal interaction.   This reputation for excellence should, and typically does, permeate various facets of the organization.  But why stop there?  Tangible opportunities exist for increasing customer reach and engagement while improving member retention and credit union brand culture.

Pick the Best-Fit Platforms

The best platforms are the ones where the current membership is active and research shows that your potential customers are also active.  Sticking with just one site (i.e., Facebook) will not maximize social engagement.  Start with at least two social platforms.  Even if you don’t maintain a presence on other sites, you should still actively listen for customer needs, wants, and behaviors.  This will provide you a more cohesive ability to reach customers where they are.

Active Listening

Getting started effectively in the use of social media begins with effective listening.  After selecting which social platforms offer the greatest strategic potential for your organization, begin monitoring those sites regularly. Ideally, appoint a multi-disciplinary team to observe and listen to customer-generated content.  The credit union staff members assigned to this effort don’t necessarily need to immediately jump into conversations.  They should instead simply listen, learn and observe.  Take some time to examine demographics, review self-reported financial needs, observe behavior and vernacular, and learn what is important in a financial institution partner to each customer segment.

Build a Strategy

After some time listening actively, it’s time to build the integrated strategy.  Social media is one tool in the marketing toolbox.  The strategy should aim to address the customer needs, wants, and take into account their behaviors and preferences.

The strategy’s foundations should be rooted in the goals of the credit union as well.  These goals will be unique to each organization.  However, CU Insight recommends that all credit union strategies include provisions for: response escalation plans, policies and rules of engagement, staff training and education, and brand ambassador strategies.

Develop a Content Calendar

The tactical execution of the strategy begins with the content calendar.   The content calendar blends creativity with practicality.  It should define types of content, which gives the strategy legs and meets customer needs, as learned in the active listening phase.  It should also define posting frequency by platform.  The calendar should also define roles within the multi-disciplinary team, so team members clearly understand who is responsible for each type of content.

Consistently Enact the Tactics

Once the content calendar has been developed and approved, work transitions to building brand loyalty and to surprising and delighting members.  Consistency is key!  This is easily achievable if everyone sticks to the content calendar and content mix for each active social media platform.

Yes, there will be unexpected situations and scenarios that arise which will divert efforts away from the schedule of content.  However, with a strategy that accounts for contingencies and crisis situations, your membership will perceive engagement as nimble and responsive, rather than sporadic and chaotic.

These five steps can put any credit union well on its way to growing membership and improving brand culture through thoughtful execution of social media engagement.  Meeting potential and existing members where they are online, and providing the information they seek on social media platforms, will ensure they receive the same level of service excellence online as they do in person.