Are Credit Unions Missing the Social Media Point at Conferences?

by: Michael Ogden & Jess Noelck, CUNA Mutual Group

We’re changing things up a bit this month because we want to talk about how the industry is using social media at all of these credit union conferences – more specifically, how it was used at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) last month and how we can use it more effectively at future events.

I’ve asked Jess Noelck, public relations specialist and my social media co-pilot, to help me out. Jess was CUNA Mutual Group’s social media eyes and ears at GAC this year – posting to @CUDiscovery and +CUNA Mutual Group about 12 to 14 hours each day. We’ve had a chance to debrief from the conference and I’ve invited her in for this Q&A session to talk about what went right or wrong and how we can help credit unions increase their social media presence at the next conference or event.

Official Interview Transcript:

• Michael: Hey Jess! First of all, could you please say and spell your name?
• Jess: Jess Noelck. J-E-S-S N-O-E-L-C-K.
• M: That’s “Noelck” as in “N-Elk?” One syllable?
• J: Yes.
• M: Got it, thank you.
• J: You’re welcome.
• M: Let’s get to it…this was your first trip to GAC. From your viewpoint, what platform and “tools” were the GACers using to post their social media updates?
• J: I’d say mainly Twitter. This was a heavy Blackberry crowd, and I saw a lot of people holding up their smartphones to take pictures of Condoleezza Rice from 30 rows back.
• M: We had a social media strategy all planned out for GAC using Google+ and Twitter, videos, photos and interviews. But all of that flew out the window once you arrived. Why?
• J: Because technology and I don’t always get along. The Internet connection at the convention center was basically non-existent. If you didn’t bring your own WiFi card, you were out of luck. I had to borrow one.
• M: So, the technology limitations hampered our efforts. How?
• J: I quickly abandoned my laptop and focused on only using my smartphone. I used the built-in camera and the Hootsuite app to post to Twitter. And due to technical problems logging into the company’s account from my phone, I had to email all of the photos to you so you could post them to Google+. It was way more of a hassle than we anticipated.
• M: I was monitoring everything involving #CUNAGAC12 from HQ and I saw definite spikes in social media activity. What were your observations? Any surprises?
• J: I was surprised that people weren’t sharing as much as I thought they would. I agree there were spikes in #CUNAGAC12 traffic during some bigger-named speakers and especially during the social media session. But the majority of the conversations going on were directed to the people who were already at GAC.
• M: We’ve talked before how the credit union industry has some of the friendliest and chatty people you’ll ever meet. But we tend to only talk inside the credit union circle instead of turning the conversation around to the general public or even to the local media.
• J: That’s what I was witnessing at GAC. There are times to engage each other within the industry. But there are times to share with the audience outside the conference walls. For instance, why not share with your co-workers back home or your local media about the CU lawmaking efforts you’re working on in D.C.? We want to engage our audiences and make them feel like they are part of this great CU movement – not just talk to ourselves. Believe me Michael; even you get boring after awhile…just kidding.
• M: (spitting coffee) Moving on. From our analysis of GAC we saw lots of great engagement between one another within the industry, but for the credit unions attending there was very little measureable engagement with their audience back home – your advice Jess?
• J: There’s so much information coming out of these conferences, so I’d suggest those from local credit unions treat the event like they are reporters. Find the key nuggets of information or trends and share those things on their Facebook, Google+ and Twitter pages with their external audience. It’ll show your members how engaged and knowledgeable you are in the industry and how you’re trying to evolve your credit union to become the best it can be for your members.
• M: Anything else you’d like to add?
• J: Yep. Think about holding a live chat or even video chat session with those not attending the conference. It’ll give it an “exclusive” quality to your audience interaction. People love feeling “in the loop” before the rest of the world. If I had to do GAC over again, I’d bring a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot card, pack extra cell phone batteries, host a hangout on Google+ and wear more comfortable shoes.
• M: Thank you for your time today.
• J: And thank you for taking up most of my afternoon. Learn to type faster, will you?

Things to think about before packing for your next conference:

• Have a social media game plan.
• Be a reporter for your credit union co-workers and members.
• Don’t be afraid to share while you’re there.

Michael Ogden is the media relations manager for new media at CUNA Mutual Group. He’s shorter than you think and is a Libra. Jess Noelck is a public relations specialist for CUNA Mutual Group. She likes chocolate milk, humidity and is a Pisces. You can connect with them on Twitter at @CUDiscovery or on Google+ at CUNA Mutual Group.

CUNA Mutual Group, based in Madison, Wis., is a leading provider of financial services to credit unions, their members and customers worldwide. www.cunamutual.com