4 powerful ways your credit union should be using LinkedIn to grow your business
- Help all Credit Union Employees Improve Their LinkedIn Profiles
Lots of professionals still think LinkedIn is still just being used for finding a job, so obviously they don’t want to encourage their employees to be there, because they worry they will leave and find work somewhere else. In my opinion this should NOT be a huge worry for Credit Unions.
First off, most CUs are GREAT places to work. So encouraging your employees to put their best foot forward online is only an advantage to you. And here’s why… Many people in sales and marketing are quickly becoming very adept at prospecting with LinkedIn. The platform is a great way to reach out to small businesses and other local professionals. If your employees have strong profiles this helps your brand look even better!
Here are a few easy fixes to your profile that your employees can do RIGHT NOW:
- Have a nice photo and make sure all the information is up to date
- Make sure their current position links to your Credit Union as the employer (And if you don’t have a company page, get to work on that immediately!!)
- Include Key words in your Headline/Header
- Write a nice summary of your skills in the first person
- Post something at least once per week
- Join a few relevant groups that connect to your role at the Credit Union
- Ask Satisfied Members for Recommendations on LinkedIn
This one sometimes makes people uncomfortable, but it’s essential. Recommendations add immediate credibility to any LinkedIn profile. Employees who work directly with members on business services such as loans, visas, or new accounts are already building great relationships with these people. It’s not a huge inconvenience to ask someone you’ve helped to spread the word.
Sending a simple email with a link to your profile to 10 members you know well takes only 15 minutes tops, and the impact can be huge! These recommendations could be the way their personal LinkedIn connections make the decision to contact you about joining the Credit Union or taking out a loan themselves. This is just another great way to AMPLIFY positive word of mouth online.
- Use Advanced LinkedIn Searches to Prospect & Connect with Local Business Professionals
With Advanced searches on LinkedIn, Commercial Lending Officers or others interested in networking with local business professionals can easily narrow their targets with an amazing array of identifying factors. You can search with zip codes and then narrow by business size, type of business and even job title. We recommend dividing up these results and then connecting with these local people in an attempt to spread the word about you and your Credit Union and all the great services that you offer. And don’t just connect with the generic message from LinkedIn. Dig a little deeper into their profile or even search for them on Facebook and put in something that will help you more authentically connect. You can also ask a mutual connection for an introduction!
- Use LinkedIn Ads to Promote Your Own Original Content or Relevant Webpages
These ads can be highly targeted based on lots of great factors as well, similar to the advanced search options. We like to narrow by zip codes, and then tailor content based on job title and/or company size. You can also target specific industries in the same manner.
Make sure the content you are writing or sharing is relevant to your target audience and provides some benefit or solution to a challenge the person might be facing. You should also link to content on your website that they might find interesting and include a call-to-action for the reader to do something that will potentially move them closer to doing business with your Credit Union in the future.
We work with clients regularly on all of these strategies and we also implement for them. Email us today at info@socialstairway.com for more information on how we can help your credit union achieve amazing results with online marketing! And visit our website today for more great tips: www.socialstairway.com
