Why Social Media?
Today, traditional advertising strategies simply aren’t enough to keep up with the fast pace of incoming news and information. With 74% of Montana’s population being active internet users, social media not only provides monumental outreach and networking opportunities, it allows for engagement that can be greatly beneficial for credit unions reaching and connecting with current and potential members. Social media helps businesses to get exposure, launches an uptick in online traffic, and provides informative market insights from your followers.
Comparing Social Platforms
40% of Montana’s population is active on Facebook weekly.
Sprout Social reports the following usage of Facebook by age:
- 51%: 13-17
- 81%: 18-29
- 78%: 30-49
- 65%: 50-64
- 41%: 65+
Best practices:
Facebook is the largest social media network across the globe. Facebook is the ideal platform for any business to reach their target market. It is unique amongst other platforms in that it allows businesses to create pages and groups for their members, customers, and target audiences to communicate and interact with your business directly. Implement the following tactics to take your Facebook page to the next level:
- Make your content Visual
- Facebook posts with an image or video have an 87% interaction rate over plain-text posts. Post regularly and during optimal times
- Keep your message short and sweet
- You will find the most success reaching and keeping your audience’s attention if you are to the point with your messaging
- 40-character Facebook posts receive 86% more engagement over others
- 80-character Facebook posts receive 66% more engagement over others
- You will find the most success reaching and keeping your audience’s attention if you are to the point with your messaging
- Ask questions to activate your audience
- Facebook posts that ask questions drive more engagement
- Utilize hashtags
- Using hashtags on Facebook helps to increase your search metrics and ties your content together
- Facebook handles billions of searches per day, categorizing your content through hashtags increases your page’s impressions
- Suggested hashtags are industry specific and topical for example: #CUDifference #MoneyTip #PersonalFinance #TaxDay
- Create a brand specific hashtag that you can use on all your social platforms. Here is a template to help get you started:
- #(name of your credit union)cares
- #(name of your credit union)team
- Using hashtags on Facebook helps to increase your search metrics and ties your content together
- Be consistent
- There is no right or wrong number of times you should be posting a day or a week. With the constant algorithm changes the best thing you can do is be consistent.
- Start out by posting 3 days per week and grow it from there
- Posting on the same days engages your audience and establishes a reliable brand identity
- Ideal posting times are from 1-4pm as most people view Facebook in the late afternoon during a break in the day or after work.
- There is no right or wrong number of times you should be posting a day or a week. With the constant algorithm changes the best thing you can do is be consistent.
- Share events
- If there are company or community events coming up, create an event and invite your followers to attend
- This helps promote your community involvement and generates attention and excitement around what is to come
- For more information on how to create an event on your page click here
- Create Facebook groups
- Facebook groups bring together individuals who share a common interest
- To start out you should create two main groups – one titled “(Credit Union Name) Members” and another titled “(Credit Union Name) Employees”
- This allows people within each group to communicate more openly, ask questions, and get a more personalized approach to solutions, options, tips, etc.
- For more information on how to set up a Facebook group click here
- Join industry Facebook groups
- There are communities out there sharing valuable industry insights and you should be a part of the conversation
- Groups such as “Credit Union 2.0 Strategists” provide credit union professionals a place to interact, gain insights, and share on a daily basis
- Utilize the Jobs tab
- This feature lives on your Facebook page and allows you to advertise job openings, track applicants, and communicate directly through messenger
- Facebook allows you to reach a larger audience with each posting and helps you to find the best fit for your company
- For more information on how to create job postings click here
For more helpful tips or to get started on setting up your business page click here
Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily active users.
According to Sprout Social:
- 72%: 13-17
- 64%: 18-29
- 40%: 30-49
- 21%: 50-64
- 10%:65+
Best Practices:
When creating content for Instagram, think captivating and to the point. Instagram acts as a billboard for your credit union. It depicts your culture, shares your personality, and highlights the credit union difference.
Instagram gives you the unique opportunity to share your stories solely through visual content. Using images and videos, you are able to show off the many sides of your business. Authenticity is valued above all with Instagram – being responsive, open, honest and depicting things the way they are through strategic content selection helps to gain a strong following. Instagram has high engagement ratings and your profile will perform best if you make your content interactive by implementing some of the following tactics:
- Hold contests
- Ask questions within your captions
- Tag specific locations and people
- Include call-to-action phrases
- Share member highlights to your story
- Utilize hashtags
- Hashtags allow you to reach new audiences and connect content
- Suggested hashtags are industry specific and topical for example: #CUDifference #MoneyTip #PersonalFinance #TaxDay
- Create a brand specific hashtag that you can use on all your social platforms. Here is a template to help get you started:
- #(name of your credit union)cares
- #(name of your credit union)team
- It is recommended to use between 5-11 hashtags
- Focus on quality rather than quantity
- To build a reputation and increase engagement with your audience it is best to focus on the quality of your content rather than the amount of posts you share each week
- It is recommended to start at 3 posts per week and grow from there
- Ideal posting times for Instagram are weekday mornings between 5-9am or late afternoons between 3-5 pm.
- To build a reputation and increase engagement with your audience it is best to focus on the quality of your content rather than the amount of posts you share each week
- Choose one day a week to post a reoccurring topic. It makes it easier when planning out content – you will always have one post a week taken care of
- “CU Difference Friday”
- “Member Highlight of the Week”
- “Employee Spotlight of the Week”
For more helpful tips or to set up your profile click here.
Twitter has 326 million monthly active users and 100 million daily users.
According to Sprout Social:
- 32%:13-17
- 40%: 18-29
- 27%: 30-49
- 19%: 50-64
- 8%: 65+
Best Practices:
Twitter is incredibly popular amongst users and has become an ideal platform that companies can utilize for quick response member service. People love to talk to businesses directly on Twitter, so be responsive to any questions, comments, and criticisms that come your way.
When drafting a tweet think short and shareable. Stick to one main message and keep your tweet less than 100 characters in length as that can increase engagement by 17%.
Retweeting relevant content and replying to Tweets are great ways to cultivate an active Twitter presence. Positive member feedback, helpful articles, and messages that align with your credit union’s authentic voice are all impactful content to retweet and share.
Tactics for success:
- Use links within your tweets to redirect people to your website or blog
- There is an 86% retweet rate for tweets that include links
- Utilize Hashtags
- Tweets with hashtags receive 2 times as much engagement
- Hashtags allow you to reach new audiences and connect content
- Suggested hashtags are industry specific and topical for example: #CUDifference #MoneyTip #PersonalFinance #TaxDay
- Create a brand specific hashtag that you can use on all your social platforms. Here is a template to help get you started:
- #(name of your credit union)cares
- #(name of your credit union)team
- It is recommended to use 2 hashtags at most in order to not be overkill and maintain relevancy
- Twitter has a search feature that allows you to see what topics and hashtags are currently trending – when utilizing this feature see if there are ways you can add to the conversation by incorporating the hashtag within your tweets
- Ask questions and use polls
- This will increase engagement and interaction
- Connects you with your audience and gives you insights into the way members are thinking/feeling
- Incorporate images/videos
- People are 3 times more likely to engage with your tweet if there is a visual element/link
- Be consistent
- There is no right or wrong number of times you should be tweeting a day or a week. Twitter recommends creating a regular cadence and being consistent with the days and times you do end up posting – this will help your audience connect and resonate with your message.
For more helpful tips or to set up your profile visit this link.
LinkedIn has 590 million users and 260 million monthly active users. A recent study by Sprout Social shows that LinkedIn performs 277% better than Facebook and Twitter when it comes to visitor lead conversions.
Best Practices:
LinkedIn is unlike any other social platform. Rather than speaking to an audience of consumers, you are interacting and addressing your industry peers at large. LinkedIn is the largest professional network and is ideal for building communities, establishing thought leadership, and gaining industry insights. This is the best place for you to establish your professional community.
The most important thing to consider when creating LinkedIn content is your audience. You must be audience specific, meaning that you need to create and share content that people in your industry want to read. Give followers insights into your business, how your team works and what it’s like to work for your credit union.
LinkedIn is one of the highest performing social media platforms for driving website traffic. LinkedIn users are actively reading through the articles shared and are more likely to click links within posts. This means it is at your best interest to create and share clickable content – link back to company articles, blogs, and events.
This platform not only helps you reach your peers but also helps you attract top talent. When crafting your LinkedIn posts be mindful to ask questions, give insights, and highlight your credit unions success and culture. This adds value to your company and piques your audiences’ interest.
For more helpful tips or to get started on setting up your business page click here.