Seven Reasons to Play In Social Media
If your Credit Union decides to have a social media presence, get used to a lack of control.
One of our executives bought Facebook stock right after its initial public offering.
He stops by my office periodically to complain about how his stock has dropped faster than a bad facelift. He recently stopped by with a question: If a company with nearly one billion users can’t make it, how can we?
He has a point. Social media marketing has been the bane of many organizations. Every day, more credit unions become disillusioned with what promised to be the new way of reaching members and nonmembers.
But there must be significant attraction to social media if 69% of U.S. adults use it on a regular basis, ac-cording to the Pew Research Center. It’s this big number that keeps marketing folks engaged.
One of the biggest challenges of social media is to prove its worth to those in the C-suite. My marketing department provided me with these seven reasons for using social media:1. “Look at the huge number of Facebook ‘likes’ or Twitter ‘followers.’ ” Who cares if the majority of them aren’t only nonmembers, but are from a distant foreign country—like “Montana”? (And if you find yourself coming up short, just spring some cash loose and buy them through sites like get-likes.com).
2. “It’s YOUR voice.” When competing with the likes of CNN or TMZ, you need great, engaging con-tent—just not on your budget. In fact, many CEOs will insist that social media responsibilities be delegated to the youngest new-hire because, in their words, young people are the ones who can do it “economically,” and perhaps incoherently. Even worse: Some CEOs decide to do it themselves, which results in an experience as exciting as watching a tree grow its annual ring.
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