3 unexpected sources of inspiration for brilliant member engagement

We all know that member enthusiasm is one of the most crucial areas of focus within a credit union. Satisfied members help build up community engagement and strengthen trust, which leads to higher member retention. If your credit union’s engagement levels have become stagnant, it might be time to rethink your approach. Whether it’s for marketing campaigns, advertisements, or website presence, you must always actively seek new ways to interact with your audience that will get the truly excited about your brand. And that means doing things differently; breaking out of the routine of the same old usual marketing. Below, we explore three areas you might never think to look for inspiration when planning your member engagement efforts. Start with these and watch the happy crowd of members come streaming through your doors! 

Your Competitors

If you’re itching to win members from the banks – or even other credit unions – take a good look at how they’re holding onto their customers and members. There’s no need to shy away from checking in on your competition – in fact, viewing their techniques from a holistic approach can provide you a greater wealth of knowledge and insight that in turn will help your brand to better differentiate from the rest. Look at their websites, their past promotions and marketing campaigns, their credit rate offerings. What are they doing well? What’s missing from their strategies that you should be striving toward? More importantly, what factors must be implemented to make your own brand stand out amongst the masses?

If your biggest competitor appeals to your target market because they’re perceived as a modern brand with great products, perhaps it’s time for a campaign highlighting the key benefits of your services – and how they’re better than your competitors. Or maybe it’s time for a brand refresh that’s better aligned with your current business. Evaluate the noticeably repetitive elements showing up within other bank and credit union campaigns and seek inventive ways to change up the status quo. There’s value in learning from competitors’ differing strategies, as it gives you the benchmark needed to surpass their level of creative thinking and bring your brand to the top.

Other Industries

It’s no secret credit unions do things differently than most other industries, so there’s a tendency to solely seek answers from within. But seeing customer engagement methods from varying types of brands can help you figure out how your own brand can more deeply engage. Take global skate shoes and apparel brand, Vans, for example. They recently launched a playable ad on Facebook tied to a holiday video game on their website, where players collect Vans-related merchandise while snowboarding down a mountain. The game successfully resulted in a 4.4-point ad recall lift and a 2.4-point lift in favorability. While fashion and footwear are far from related to credit unions, the idea behind the playable ad is still applicable. A great idea for credit union engagement could be a miniature game that allows members to collect gold coins or ‘savings,’ which ultimately drives to the credit union’s savings account products. This type of interactive ad is simple and fun, while making members feel included and more involved within their own credit union community.

Social Media Comments

For a completely unfiltered conversation regarding what members think of your credit union, look no further than social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, as well as review sites like Yelp. Social media comments offer a wealth of information – what members really think about your brand, which areas of your brand need improvement, and general understanding of how your audiences think and feel. We know all too well the incredible value social media comments can provide, having launched a recent campaign for Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union based off a trend identified within the comments on their social pages. After noticing several members had commented that the service they received in-branch was “#wow!”, we created the ‘Banking with #WOW service’ campaign, attracting new members in a way that personally resonated with them. We also transformed the campaign into an opportunity to survey members on what #wow service meant to them, allowing us to gain even more insight into how to best engage members in the future extending across all brand touchpoints. What’s more, the brand has steadily built equity in the member experience through continued use of #wow on all social media platforms.

It’s important to always be active and attentive within your credit union’s social media accounts. When a brand’s own engagement is high, member engagement will follow suit. The Liberty Savings campaign helped encourage members to express themselves, proving that their voices are not only heard but are valued. They have a tangible impact within their credit union community.

Inspiration is Everywhere

No matter the method you choose, there’s plenty of exciting ways to break out of the credit union bubble and find fresh inspiration in unexpected places. Try to avoid repeat or recycled campaigns and give something different a chance. Not only are you likely to discover new and unique perspectives, you might also find great ideas that can effectively boost member engagement more than you ever thought possible.