How credit unions get public relations wrong

Public relations is one of the most powerful weapons in the marketing arsenal, yet there is an abundance of credit union marketers and CEOs who believe that advertising, not PR, is the number one choice for building brand and driving positive outcomes.

After all, advertising is splashy. It’s immediate. If you have the money, you can place your ad in as many publications as you wish. If you’re like most credit unions, however, you won’t be able to run the ad as widely or with enough frequency to capture anyone’s attention, unless you’re running a smoking CD rate, and we all know the audience most likely to respond to that ad. But that’s a whole different article.

In their book, provocatively entitled, “The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR,” Al and Laura Ries make a persuasive case that advertising as a brand builder is dead. Food for thought: According to author Tom Himpe, 20 years ago you cold reach 80 percent of the American public with three TV commercials. Today, it takes 150. The market is that saturated.

My intention is not to slam advertising across the board. As part of a campaign to strengthen the brand that PR has already built, advertising has its merits. The reason I bring it up, though, is that invariably, when I sit around the table with non-marketing credit unions officers and product managers to discuss their sales goals, one or two people usually say, “We need to do more advertising!”

I believe that public relations is under-used by credit unions because of a lack of understanding of what public relations actually is. Most credit union employees with whom I’ve worked as a marketing vice president use public relations only when they’re making an annual donation to the United Way. Included with the press release is the inevitable photo of smiling executives holding an oversized check. Yes—showing the community that you’re a good corporate citizen is one way to establish a positive brand. However, this tactic in itself does not define what public relations is.

Among other things, public relations builds and maintains positive relationships. Because people believe what they read, public relations carries more credibility, and thus more power, than your marketing materials or advertising. A strong public relations program will bring new members to your door, and build loyalty with your existing members because, well, they trust you. More importantly, they like you.

Here are some ways you can use public relations tactics like social media and media outreach to your best advantage.

All of your customer facing and business development personnel need to have professional and optimized LinkedIn profiles.  Business relationships today are developed and cultured through LinkedIn. It’s the new paradigm. It reflects badly on your organization when your team has an unprofessional-looking, incomplete, misspelled or poorly written LinkedIn profile. I saw a profile recently that a credit unions senior commercial loans expert had written. His headline said: “The Best Loan Officer in the Business for 30 Yeras.”

Promote your subject matter experts. Under the collected roofs of your institution are people with expertise on a range of interesting topics. Media outlets are always seeking out people to interview for articles, especially in light of late-breaking current events. Advice from your experts can be translated into blogs, social media posts and articles. Content is in high demand these days, and you are sitting on a gold mine.

Nominate your institution for awards. It takes a bit of research, but opportunities to win recognition are common in the regions in which you do business. Winning a “Best Place to Work” award may seem trifling, but there are numerous ways to use the title to your advantage. Again, people believe what they read, and if you’ve won any kind of “Best of” award, then it must be true!

Be patient. Don’t quit. Public relations is a long-term, committed effort. Don’t expect results overnight. Have the faith to know that your dogged and consistent pursuit to build relationships and a positive perception of your institution will pay off in the form of new deposits, new loans and increased share of wallet.