So much has changed in social media in the last few years. TikTok is even bigger. Twitter is now “X.” LinkedIn feels like the new Facebook, and Facebook is a ghost town of ads and conspiracy theorists.
If this sounds daunting, don’t worry! You’re not alone. Everyone—even the “experts”—look for a little refresher on social best practices.
So, you want to improve your credit union’s social media? We’ve compiled some of the best social media tips to level up your marketing and engagement strategy. If some of these tips look familiar…
Well… The more things change, the more they stay the same. Sometimes.
Social Media Marketing Tips for Credit Unions
Before we go too far, big thanks to Best Practice Media for consulting on these tips. Scroll down below to learn more about them and their work with credit unions.
Depending on your social media strategy, some of these tips may be more relevant than others.
For example, if you want brand awareness and community engagement, don’t worry about conversion rates and paying to boost posts.
However, if your main goal is to sell, ignore any tips that tell you not to sell.
After all, these are tips, not rules. And even then, rules are made to be broken. Even the social platforms themselves change their rules and algorithms frequently—which often requires all-new approaches on your part.
1. Measure
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. So, find the KPIs that correlate to your social media goals and track them.
For example, you might measure views, reactions, and comments for awareness goals. Conversely, you would track click throughs, conversions, and ROI for sales goals.
Don’t worry about what to do with those measurements—that will come in time. For now, just measure.
2. Pay to play
Over the last several years, Facebook and Instagram have steadily decreased the organic reach of business pages. Your posts are now seen by only a fraction of a percent of your followers.
If you want to make sure your message gets out, you’ll have to pay to promote your posts. Even as little as a dollar per day can drastically improve your visibility.
If your goal is to increase product adoption or sales, you might want to carve out a budget…
3. Don’t chase new platforms
Remember, there are a few social media platforms that have been reliable for years. Those are:
- Yelp
- X (formerly Twitter)
- TikTok
Each has its own niche use. Facebook is good for reaching Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. Instagram is for more artistic and visually motivated folks. Yelp expands your visibility to prospective members. LinkedIn attracts potential employees. X still has many users, which gives it potential. And TikTok is big and getting bigger.
Don’t try to be a first adopter of new apps and platforms. Remember when Threads was a thing for a few days? And Snapchat used to be big. And Vine was great, too. And there was Fade… for a while.
Choose already-established social media platforms. Don’t invest resources into things that might disappear next year.
4. Focus!
As an extension of the point above, consider focusing your efforts. Your credit union probably doesn’t need a presence on every single platform out there.
Pick a few platforms that fit your strategic goals and stick with them. Sometimes, less is more.
5. Plan ahead
Don’t wrack your brain every day to think up new content. At the very least, you should have a plan for each week.
Better yet, keep a rough quarterly or yearly plan. Know when your content should align with major car sales, holidays, and going back to school.
Know your posting cadence. Know what kinds of posts you make on any given day/week/month. Know what kind of content you share. And, if you actually want to get anything accomplished, know your goals with social media.
6. Use a social media management app
Manually posting for each platform takes a lot of time—especially if you’re posting daily. With social media management software, you can schedule all your posts ahead of time across multiple platforms.
For example, you might consider Hootsuite, Buffer, or even your marketing automation platform. All will provide an easier experience.
7. Hire a social media manager
If you’re going to succeed with social media, you need to find someone who likes it and knows how to use it. Not everyone fits that bill.
Don’t just ask your younger employees to handle social media for you. That’s a silly idea and you know it. (Or at least, you should…)
The right person might be on your marketing team. Maybe a social-savvy teller should be on your marketing team.
Social media management can be a full-time job. At minimum, it’s several hours per week. If you’re serious about using social media to grow, you might consider hiring real experts.
8. Don’t sell
It’s called social media, not social advertising. If you’re using social media primarily to advertise, people will learn to tune you out quickly. Ads are nobody’s favorite part of scrolling through an app.
Social media is your opportunity to connect with people. Don’t ruin the connection with a sales pitch.
However, if you must sell, be social about it. Use your members’ successes to highlight your products.
- Good mortgage rates? Share a pic of a member’s new home.
- New CD rates? Tell a story about how a member used their dividend.
- Got a balance transfer credit card? Share a testimonial from someone who paid off debt.
Your members appreciate that you have their interests at heart. Social proof—evidence that you’re helping other members—makes them more likely to convert.
9. Be social
Social media engagement is an unreliable indicator of marketing efficacy. Nevertheless, engagement builds relationships. Some of the best performing content is personal. Try stories about members, employees, and community opportunities or outreach.
If someone sends you a message, send one back. Remind people that they’re banking with humans, not a faceless brand.
10. Make a social media playbook
If you already have brand guidelines, this will be easy. Essentially, you need to know your brand voice, which topics you don’t discuss, how to handle negative comments and reviews, and a handful of other things.
What you include in your playbook will be unique to your credit union. But, if it’s robust, you may find that it’s faster and easier to post and respond.
Taking Your Credit Union Social Media to the Next Level
Tip #7 suggests hiring a social media manager. For credit unions just dipping their toes into social—or for those with large marketing departments—an existing employee might be ready for the extra responsibility.
However, your mileage may vary with that approach. If you’re a smaller credit union, if your employees are already stretched thin, or if you haven’t seen the results you wanted yet, hire it out.
Remember, some people like social media. Some people are better at it than others are. There are people—entire businesses, even—who make social media success their life’s work.
Maybe you can compete with that…
Introducing Best Practice Media
Get this: Best Practice Media has repeatedly been able to turn Facebook posts into credit union deposits.
Social media is about being social. It connects humans, communities, brands and the people behind them, grandmas, kids, everyone. It’s about forming relationships.
Social media success comes from the human element. Yes, it also comes from experience, dedication, and following the rules du jour, but at the core it’s people.
If you go to Best Practice Media’s website, you won’t see stock photos. You’ll see real pictures of real people.
Why is this important?
Because working with people means having a relationship with them, and you can’t build a real relationship with stock photos and generic graphics. Credit unions in particular cultivate a personal, community-focused environment.
And they’re no stranger to credit unions. Learn more about them here:
If you’re looking for a social media marketing partner for your credit union, Best Practice Media is a good place to start.
And hey, if you want to get serious about social, it couldn’t hurt to connect and pick their brains—no friend request required!
