Service, not sales: Build member loyalty with social media

As a credit union, it’s your mission to serve as a financial resource for your members. Every day you provide guidance and tools that help your members live better, more secure financial lives. Your social media efforts should be a natural extension of this mission.

The following tips will help you turn your social media accounts into a more valuable resource for your members…and keep them coming back.

Posting the Right Content

Social media users don’t want to be sold to. They use social media sites for entertainment, communication and interaction, not to read ads about mortgage loans. Think of your social media program as a PR tool, rather than a marketing channel. Instead of selling to your members, interact with them and provide useful information to help them make smart decisions.

Content Tip #1: Subtly promote your products/services by posting information that is helpful/informative, but also related to a product/service you offer.

Credit Union Goal: Promoting car loans

Recommended Post: A link to an article on “The Most Fuel Efficient Cars of 2016”
Purpose: Providing useful info while indirectly reminding them you offer car loans

Content Tip #2: Only post credit union information that is relevant to your members:

Relevant to Members:

• New branch openings
• Holiday hours/closings
• Events – Annual Meeting, charitable events, fundraisers
• New services being added – Inform, don’t advertise! Example: “For your convenience, Acme CU now has mobile deposit.”

Not relevant to members:

• Employee changes/promotions/anniversaries, etc. Fans/followers don’t care that you got a new Director of IT.
• Industry information – Making one post about International Credit Union Day is fine, but don’t start posting updates on credit union legislation. This topic is only relevant to people in the industry. 99.9% of members don’t care.

• Testimonials – Let users respond positively in a natural way. Don’t post testimonials yourself. That looks like you are tooting your own horn. Remember, it’s as if you are speaking to a member directly. You wouldn’t approach a member in a branch and say “John Smith loves his credit card at Acme CU!”

Content Tip #3: Contests and giveaways

What keeps followers most engaged is the prospect of winning prizes. Here are some items that members love to win:

• Tickets to local sports team games
• Tickets to concerts
• Tickets to local amusement parks or the State Fair
• Gift cards – to local retailers or even credit union gift cards
• Kid prize packs – candy and toys and fun learning items
• Free lunch at local restaurants

Content Tip #4: Thank/express appreciation to your members – At least once a quarter.

“Wishing all of our fantastic members a great Thanksgiving holiday!”
“A big thank you to our members! You make our credit union great!”

Content Tip #5: Community events

Credit unions are invested in the prosperity of the community and your members know/appreciate that. Consider posts promoting local events and people. (This will also garner appreciation from the event planners/publications who may be more inclined to return the favor in the future.)

• Local teams – Ex. “The Mavericks are playing tonight at 7. Go Mavs!”
• Local festivals – Ex. “Taste of Addison begins tonight. Yum!”
• Interesting/inspiring local news – Ex: “Local elementary school student raises $1 million for cancer research. Great job, Charlie!”

Content Tip #6: Let subject matter experts assist you in writing post/blog content.

As wise as you are, you can’t be an expert on every topic. Get some tips from the investment expert at the credit union or a mortgage officer who can give you information for first-time homebuyers, etc.

Turning a Complaint into a Compliment

While most of your interactions will be positive, every company participating in social media receives complaints. This comes with the territory. Don’t view this as a negative thing and, unless the post contains derogatory language, do not remove the complaint. Your followers will look to see how you respond. If you remove it, you’ll seem like you’re avoiding the problem and being dishonest. If you address it properly, not only can you satisfy the complainant, you can also send a great message to the public about how well you respond to member concerns.

First, assess the complaint:

Is it an issue that should be resolved by a member service representative?

For example, is it regarding the member’s account, a loan, poor service in a branch, etc? If yes, politely respond to the member’s comment with something like:

“We apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. Smith. We want to get this resolved as soon as possible. I have notified our VP of Member Service and she will be contacting you shortly.”

Take a screenshot of the member’s post and forward it to your appointed member service representative. Make sure that they contact the member ASAP.

Is the member making the complaint on a more anonymous social media site like Twitter?

Provide the member with the direct phone number of the member service representative and respond to their post with something like:

“We want to get this resolved for you ASAP. A member service representative has been notified and is waiting for your call at XXX.XXX.XXXX.”

Is it an issue that cannot be resolved by a member service representative and is just a comment?

For example: “Your branches are too far away. You should build one closer to my house.”

If so, you can respond with something like:

“We love to get feedback. Thank you! I will forward this on to our executive team.”

Keep a log of these statements to provide periodically to the executive team.

If the complaint uses inappropriate language, you are justified in removing the post; however, keep a screenshot of it and forward it to your member service representative to address.

If you wish, you can respond to the person privately, letting them know that you are addressing their concerns but asking them to refrain from harsh language.

By sticking to this social media plan, you’ll be building loyalty and trust. Members who trust and appreciate their financial institution are more likely to: 1) remain a customer for a longer period of time, 2) have more products and services, and 3) refer friends and family to your business. So, while you may not be directly selling your products and services on social media, you’ll be benefiting from your social media efforts in the long-term.

TAKE-AWAYS

• Approach social media from a PR perspective, not a Marketing perspective. Inform and engage your members. Don’t sell to them.
• Only post content that is relevant to your members, not what’s relevant to the CU internally.
• Don’t delete negative comments. Let the member know you want to help and try to resolve his/her issue.
• Providing value to your members builds loyalty. Loyalty is important to the CU’s bottom line.

Contributing author: Erin Ortiz