A little over two years ago, I helped the Councils launch CUNA Councils Connect, an online social network for members. Why? Soon after I started working here, it was clear there was a need for robust member searching and more targeted discussion groups with additional functionality. Working with volunteer credit union members of every Council, planning and development took about six to eight months before we launched the network. I learned a lot in that span of time, but I’ve probably learned even more in the last two years actually managing the online community.

The following are the biggest lessons I have learned. Keep in mind that it not only applies to social networks or communities, but could easily be applicable to some aspects of your credit union’s social media activity, particularly your credit union’s Facebook page.

Care and feeding is a must. This is huge. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply here. As most of you know, with almost any social media tool or website, you need to constantly remind and tell your prospective users about it. Council members are plugged into a lot of networks and still have a very heavily used list serve. Therefore, I not only set up and update Connect to send many types of automatic notifications, but I also frequently send email reminders with relevant news and information to remind members of the network’s usefulness.

Make it easy. If you work and work to get them to use your site, you want them to find what they are looking for. Otherwise, they probably won’t login again. For example, in the set up phase, I worked very hard to make Connect’s username and password the same as the rest of Council’s other password protected areas. That was a small thing, but I know it ensures members have one less hurdle to jump when using the site.

Your users will surprise you. That’s a good thing! Because social media is so participatory and conversational, often your members will have good ideas. For instance, we envisioned Connect’s discussion groups to be focused around areas of expertise, geographic, or topical subjects. And they were. But a few months after launch, some members started vendor “users groups” for members to share best practices and questions on a specific vendor or product. They took off immediately.  In the same vein, your users will also have good suggestions on usability and functionality. Listen to your users.

Beware of feature creep. You can do a lot with social media tools and you will be tempted to use all the bells and whistles at your fingertips. To make it easy and useful, just focus on your objectives and then look at actual activity. One example:  the company we work with to provide CUNA Councils Connect offers a bunch of cool features as part of their social networking platform. I use about 60% (ie: I really don’t have a reason to roll out wikis and geo-caching…yet). Additionally, when we launched Connect, we had a “live chat” feature, where we envisioned members talking to other members in real-time over CU issues, etc. After a year of usage and education, I noticed no one really used the feature correctly or even understood how to use it. We pulled the plug on it and no one noticed. That means one less thing to get in the way of Connect’s core features and usefulness.

Find a few evangelists & power users to help spread the word. You will find that certain individuals will take to the community right away. They post more than others. They love the features. They are not shy. They have good ideas. Get to know these people! I have a group of people like that in Connect and always promote their postings when I can, send them emails or notes after they post, give them a nudge sometimes, and even go so far as sending some small “trinkets” in the mail to thank them.

These are the big ones. Did I miss anything? Please feel free to leave in the comments.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending CUNA’s Marketing Management School in Orlando, Florida. Although my tenure (ten years!) at CUNA has provided me with opportunities to travel and work at various onsite events this was my first experience working with credit union marketers. It was an absolute delight!

Meghann Dawson, my colleague and fellow CUNAverse blogger, spent the last year working with Anne Legg (CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Chair), and Randy Schultz (of Weber Marketing) to revamp the existing school.

The result was a stellar 3D program, with “dimensions” for marketers of every level.  Dimension 1 was led by Randy Schultz; Dimension 2 was led by Mark Arnold, CCUE (of Neighborhood Credit Union) and Dimension 3 was led by Jeff Rendel (of Rising Above Enterprises). This trio was responsible for leading and facilitating the educational offerings. Throughout the week Meghann and I heard from students in each dimension that their facilitator was “the best of the three.” Clearly, Randy, Mark and Jeff brought their “A game” to Orlando, as did all of the other speakers.

I personally learned A LOT at Marketing Management School… I could write several posts on the experience…but, I’ve boiled it down to this:

If you want to be a strong leader, you need to embrace Web 2.0/Social Media. What do I mean by this? You need to start educating yourself on Web 2.0. This means reading blogs (this one is a great start!), subscribing to RSS feeds, investigating wikis, and watching videos on sharing sites like YouTube, to name a few.  Social Media  is not a passing fad. Strong leaders recognize the true power of the Internet and the importance of being technologically savvy.  Embracing Web 2.0 might mean asking for help. Enlist the help of your part-time student teller. Hire a marketing intern from your local high school or college.  If nothing else, check out other credit unions who are embracing Web 2.0 well. Do whatever it takes to get educated because education truly IS power.

Last week my 11 year old niece taught my mom more about her iPhone in 3 days, than my mom had learned in 3 months. Why? Because kids play! They aren’t afraid to push buttons until they figure things out.  Become a kid again. Play! Have fun! Open yourself up to learning. It’s the only way to survive in today’s fast-paced, ever-connected world.

If your credit union is not involved in social media efforts, it’s time to get on board. In each classroom, this message was resounding. Web 1.0 was about obtaining information, Web 2.0 is about people. More importantly, people connecting with other people. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

43% of the online community is now using social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter. (If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, this piece is a good starting point). If you want your credit union to thrive, you must have an online presence.

As Senior Vice President of Marketing for Neighborhood Credit Union, Mark Arnold shared his top  Five Reasons for Using Social Media to Reach Members:

1. To drive sales.
2. To improve member service.
3. To build your credit union’s brand.
4. To create name awareness.
5. To potentially save money.

As Mark pointed out so succinctly, social networking is about collaborating, interacting and transparency. Social networking is about honesty, authenticity, conversations and dialogue. Isn’t that what credit unions are all about too?

I returned from Marketing Management School refreshed, rejuvenated and reinspired by all of the wonderful things that are going on in Credit Union Land. I thank all of you who joined us on the journey!

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” —B. B. King

16GB/Wifi Apple iPad

So maybe you’ve been reading the CUNAverse blog here for awhile now or you’re a new reader. Either way, we’ve come up with a contest to spread the word and get a chance to win a new Apple iPad!

(Note: contest entries had to follow us on Twitter and tweet about the contest).

In addition to the iPad, the lucky winner received a copy of the 2010-2011 E-Scan Report.

Thanks for participating and stay tuned for more CUNAverse contests this year!

About a year ago now, I did a post at opensourcecu.com on some free online tools every credit union marketer should be using – Google Alerts, Twitter search, etc. The tools are still relevant because even if you aren’t embarking on a full-scale social media campaign, your membership and potential members might be talking about you. And you need to listen and respond if necessary. Ten or fifteen years ago, if a member had a good or bad experience with your credit union, they simply called or wrote the branch to complain.

Not anymore.

Now they can blog about it, tweet about it, update their Facebook status about it, and so on. And that information is public and most likely could live on forever. And Google loves blogs – for a personal example, about two years ago I got my auto loan through Great Wisconsin Credit Union here in Madison (now Summit CU) and did a blog post about my experience – Google “auto loan great Wisconsin credit union” and my blog post is (sometimes) towards the top of the search results. Do you think a potential auto loan seeker will read that blog post? Heck yes. So be prepared.

Aside from assembling your rapid response social media team, one thing you can do is to invest some time into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – getting your web pages higher in search results. For a primer, I recommend checking out a blog post I did for CU Communicator a while back and more importantly, Google’s free SEO starter guide (who knows search better than Google?). Once you dig a little deeper into SEO, you’ll find yourself forever changed on how you write copy for your web pages (example – stop using “CU” and write out “credit union”…are members searching “CU” or “credit union?”)

From inquisitr.com

Another overlooked outlet for disgruntled or happy members is Yelp. Yelp is a website where “real people write real reviews” of area businesses. Most likely your credit union is listed and has been reviewed. You might have only one review which might not mean that much to you. But remember two things:

1. 78% of People Trust Recommendations of Other Consumers (source)
2. Google likes Yelp – for example, Heartland Credit Union here in Madison has only one review (4-stars out of 5)). When you Google “Heartland Credit Union Madison,” their Yelp page is on the first page of the search results. Will curious parties read that review? Again, heck yes.

So what can you do? First, visit Yelp’s business owner section and edit/update your business information (remember – if it shows up on the first page of Google results, it’s about as important as your credit union’s website in terms of visibility…think of it as an “online branch” so to speak). Then read this great blog post by Samuel Axon – “Yelp for Businesses: 4 Steps for Success” and follow his tips. I like the idea of displaying a Yelp badge on your site for example or re-posting some actual reviews. You can also display reviews or stickers in your branches too (see image for an easy example).

I’d also recommending making the rest of your staff aware of both of these resources/strategies – Yelp and SEO. For example, you might find yourself editing content less and you don’t want frontline staff caught off guard by a member who mention’s your credit union’s Yelp review.

“Yelp? Do you mean you need help? I’m sorry, let me get a manager…”

This post originally appeared at creditunionman.com in a slightly different form.

Ever thought about starting a blog for your credit union? They’re an awesome opportunity to further connect with members.

In fact, it’s so awesome we decided a blog would be a great way to deepen the connection with OUR members… enter CUNAverse.

Resources such as Blogger, WordPress, and others make it easy to place blogs on the Web.  I’ve been known to set up a blog on the Web in less than an hour.

But it’s not the speed at which you set up a blog that determines its ultimate success. Careful planning and preparation before a blog launch is vital.

Yummy cake at internal launch

One item to plan for is the internal launch. Just like a new product being launched to the public, initial success for the blog is influenced by information shared internally before an official public launch.

Why? The more staff you have on-board, the more resources will be available to those shepherding the blog. The internal launch is your chance to efficiently build additional support, generate ideas, identify potential contributors, and educate those unfamiliar with blogs.

With that, I’m pulling back the curtain to share a glimpse of our internal launch for CUNAverse. This information will be helpful to those who wish to launch a blog for their credit union—and just plain amusing to the rest of you.

Watch the video:

Of course, I can’t just end a post like that! It’s kind of a let down if I don’t share more than just conversation and cake.

Here’s what we did for the internal launch:

1. Buzz before. We posted signs, e-mailed invitations, and implemented what turned out to be a “grass roots” effort to get staff curious and raise awareness. The signs were intriguing (featuring the Vicuna… a llama-like
   

   The Vicuna: A Llama-like creature

   creature), e-mails were informative, and the grass roots effort included sharing general information about what we were doing during meetings and everyday conversations around the office.

2. Interactive. We held activities, contests, and posted more signs in an informal setting for our internal launch. We wanted to do things a little differently than what staff may have been expecting to help grab their attention. Each effort helped communicate our mission, generated post ideas and identified potential resources.
3. Perpetuate excitement. Another contest was announced after the internal launch to keep staff interested and harness the energy and excitement generated. The contest awarded a prize for the “best” blog post on a subject of the writer’s choosing.

So, what do you think? Any tips to share from your own internal launches?

There has been much written about what to do if a member starts bad-mouthing your credit union in cyberspace (whether it be on a blog, Twitter, Yelp, etc).

But what about employees? Last year, a receptionist at a credit union wrote a lengthy post on her blog about her work “pet peeves.” She named names, including her credit union, so it was viewable by anyone with access to Google. Thankfully, after it was found online, a concerned third-party contacted her and she took it down (read about the whole incident here).

Credit unions should have guidelines in place to ensure that employees don’t also inadvertently harm their brand online. For example, what do you do if a staff member posts negative comments about work on their personal twitter account or blog? You’ll want to be prepared. You’ll need a social media policy.

Let’s be clear because I’ve heard the term used a few different ways. A social media policy is not what websites your employees can and can’t visit at work (that’s most likely covered in your “employee internet usage guidelines” or similar policy) or what and when your marketing department is posting to your credit union’s Facebook page (likely in your social media strategy or marketing plan). Instead, it includes guidelines that clearly show appropriate employee use and behavior with social media.

So what should you include in the policy? A new research/white paper, “Social Media Guidelines & Policies,” from the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council and CUNA HR/TD Council (where I work) includes detailed information on the necessity of having a credit union social media policy and what it should include.

Jim Jerving—the paper’s author—looked at existing credit union social media policies and broke them down into major sections. Here is a high-level overview of sections from a very comprehensive policy:

1. Introduction & Purpose – Who is the policy written for? Why?
2. Core Values - Some credit unions may want to emphasize that their values and mission as an organization should be carried over online.
3. Accountability – You are responsible for what you write.
4. Inappropriate Use – What’s acceptable behavior?
5. Financial Disclosure – If you mention a product online, advertising disclosure regulations must be met.
6. Identification as Employee Online – If you do identify yourself as a CU employee online anywhere, how would the CU want you to be presented?
7. Copyrights – Respect copyright laws, attributions, etc.
8. Confidentiality – Don’t post any sensitive, confidential, proprietary, or financial information.
9. Defense against Personal Attacks – If your credit union has a blog for example, a disclaimer that tell visitors to basically be nice to each other.
10. All Rights Reserved & Hold Harmless – You need to state your legal rights as the owner of your CU’s blog while saying that those who comment in your blog are responsible for their comments.
11. Language & Behavior – Another disclaimer on your CU’s social media site that tells visitors to keep it clean.
12. Spam – Another disclaimer that tells your site visitors to not leave spam in the comments, etc.
13. Security – Reminds employees to follow IT security rules, etc.
14. Social Media Rapid Response – Who responds to positive & negative posts about the CU? How?

Or maybe you want to keep it short. Here is a sampling of policy wording from the HR Specialist:

• Don’t let personal use of Twitter or other social networking sites interfere with work.
• Employees must get company approval to use Twitter to conduct business. (Note: This isn’t far-fetched. Many organizations have successfully incorporated Twitter into their marketing strategies.)
• Any use of the organization’s name, trademarks, logos or other intellectual property must be approved.
• If employees make personal comments about any aspect of the organization’s business, their profiles must carry a disclaimer that the views expressed are their own, and not the organization’s.
• Tweets may not disclose confidential or proprietary information.
• Employees should use common sense about what they post.

Regardless of the length, it’s important to not just post your new guidelines on the intranet and be done with them. Revisit them from time to time with staff, have a workshop to talk about social media (and your policies), and always ensure they are mostly positive (instead of “don’t do this, don’t do that…”).

Now if only devising your credit union’s social media marketing strategy was this easy!

More resources:

• Legal Reasons Why Your Company Should Have a Social Networking Policy
• Social Media Policies of 113 Organizations

>
It’s been a while huh? It’s been a long, busy year and didn’t want to think I forgot about you loyal YES readers (hi mom!).

Anyway, I’m posting today with an exciting announcement – the launch of a neat new site: www.cuwatercooler.com. It’s the brainchild of Matt Davis (aka Credit Union Warrior) and the premise is simple – assemble a team of editors to “bubble up” the most interesting articles around social media and credit unions. What are people talking about? What is worth talking about? Visit the CU Water Cooler.

I’m honored to be one of the inaugural editors and already I’ve been impressed with the breadth and depth of links posted on the site by others.

So check it out – Read. Add your thoughts. Connect. And keep on moving forward.

> CU Water Cooler
> CU Warrior’s blog post for more background on the site

>The actual audio here on-site is much better than this short clip lets on… but wanted to share what the experience is like, and how well the technology is working.

We’re currently in a round of Q&A… attendees asking lots of great questions about CRA, corporate stabilization, the future of courtesy pay programs, among other topics.

>Where would we be without social media?

>If you keep up with any marketing blogs or have read many of 2007’s trendily-jacketed-business-books, then you’ve heard again and again: This is a time of extreme change for marketers. “People are changing! Markets are changing! Media is changing!”

Marketers’ opinions of social media – blogging, consumer generated media, podcasting, social review sites, Twitter, Second Life, and on and on – are also changing. Over the past year, the pendulum seems to have swung from anxiety and fear all the way over to excitement and enthusiasm.

I love and share that enthusiasm (I get nerdy and overly excitable about social media). But I also worry that we might be focusing too much on the emerging technologies themselves when we should really focus on the people we want to use them.

Just like nobody talks to their phone, people do not interact with social media. They interact with other people.

So rather than asking if your credit union should be blogging, a better starting point is “What are our goals, who are we trying to reach, and how can we add value to them?”

At this year’s ad:tech, NY, one of the speakers (I wish I could remember which one) said this:

“Don’t start marketing-strategy conversations with technologies. Start with business problems and let social media and technology follow.”

Bottomline: Social media should solve business problems for you and add value for your users.

Here are two examples:

Online product reviews, like Bank of America’s, are a great way to utilize comment-like functionality in your main site content. This allows your members to voice their opinions and learn more about your products from people like themselves. And it helps you develop your products with realtime consumer insight.

Facebook is probably a better social network to engage than MySpace. There are numerous reasons for this, one of which is that Facebook is actionable. You can build tools for users to do things. For example, Chase’s +1 Card lets users manage their account and rewards points directly through Facebook. Users can even pass rewards on to friends. It’s more fun and convenient for cardholders, and gives Chase a viral promotion channel.

On Monday, I’ll talk about how to use blogs in ways that go outside of typical corporate blogging. If you have any examples you’d like to see discussed, by all means post a comment right here.

And if you’re in Austin next week, come say hi.

Brent Dixon is the Creative Director of Trabian and a co-author of the Open Source CU credit union blog.