5 minutes
It’s no secret that credit unions have been receiving some mighty fine press the past couple of years – due in part to consumers’ growing distaste for banks. But aside from that, it didn’t just happen by itself. Credit unions have performed well, getting their names in the news consistently–even on bigger networks like CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc.
How can credit union marketers keep this momentum going in 2015 – and then some? Consistent pitches delivering educational and compelling messages that solve a persistent problem are key. Certain tools can help marketers maintain or even exceed 2014’s performance.
Check out these six, which can greatly assist any credit union marketer’s ventures to garner increased media coverage in 2015.
1. Canva — Canva is a relatively new design tool that has received rave reviews from marketers in many industries. It gives you everything you need to easily turn ideas into cool designs. You can create designs for Web or print – including blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and a bunch more. It’s a tool that makes design simple for everyone. And, best of all, Canva is free to use.
2. Feedly — Simply put, Feedly rocks. It’s an online space that stores all the content you care about – totally customizable for your needs. This is where you can house all your stories and blog posts related to anything financial – or not. Whatever makes your job easier and quicker in consolidating content, Feedly is the spot. No more bouncing around the Web like a wayward super ball.
In addition to storing stories, you can discover and follow the journalists and bloggers who are vital to your credit union. When one of the editors you follow – and pitch to – publishes something new, you’ll see it on your Feedly page. You can then read their content and share from there. It’s an extremely effective tool for tracking what they’re covering, so you’ll know what story idea to pitch. Doing your homework with your targeted editors is huge in the relationship-building department – which equals more stories placed for your credit union to increase exposure.
It’s also free to use.
3. Hootsuite — If you’re an avid Twitter user – especially with multiple accounts, Hootsuite is your ticket. You can set up your multiple accounts and streams to follow all that you need to follow without ever leaving the page. Need to know who’s retweeted your tweets? Hootsuite does it. Need to follow specific folks on Twitter and view their streams only? Hootsuite lets you do that. Need to see how many mentions your credit union received? Hootsuite. Need to schedule tweets on multiple accounts, Hootsuite? And this is just scratching the surface. Check it out yesterday.
It’s free, as well.
4. HARO — HARO – or Help a Reporter Out – is a matchmaker for reporters and sources. HARO allows your credit union to connect with journalists who are looking for, in this case, financial experts to help them write their stories.
For instance, you can search HARO for journalists who are looking to talk to financial experts on anything from Apple Pay to RDC to TILA-RESPA. You then send that reporter/editor an email, “pitching” your expertise, and for them to follow up. It’s an ideal way to build your credit union’s media relations, while garnering some local or national visibility to boot.
Oh yeah, it’s free, too.
5. SlideBatch — If you have content residing on a plethora of pages, networks or websites and would like to consolidate and share it easily, you may want to check out SlideBatch. This site lets you gather all your content from all your online properties and house them in your credit union’s own SlideBatch page – basically an extension of your website. SlideBatch takes it one step further, allowing you to share this content with anybody, as well.
Now you can control what people see and how they see it. Drag files from your desktop, from Dropbox, SlideShare or Flickr. Or you can add items from Google, YouTube, Vimeo, news, blogs, and even the social networks. You create the content batch, design a customized player, select a template, choose a color theme, and you’re ready to roll. You now have a visual slideshow for your newsroom or other page on your website.
And guess what? It’s free.
6. Talkwalker — Ever since Google Alerts fell by the wayside, Talkwalker has been a top replacement. It’s pretty darn good at tracking all your mentions on the Web. All you have to do is set up alerts for your credit union’s name or even the unique names of your products or services, and once a day you’ll receive an email with links to articles that mention the terms you designated. For example, if the alert is for a new debit card campaign like Heritage Grove Credit Union’s “boom debit” product and someone mentions boom debit online, you’ll receive an email with the link so you can read what was said.
It’s a handy way not only to monitor what is being said about your company online, it allows you to discover the journalists writing about your industry or category so you can create new relationships with them.
Oh, and it’s free, as well.
These are just a few of the hundreds of tools out there to help you with your credit union’s media relations. These tools make it a bit easier in a more and more crowded and complicated marketing world to get your message heard and remembered for even more media coverage in 2015. Get out there!
Let us know what you’re doing to enhance and track your media coverage in the comments.
Mike Lawson, principal and founder of the PR/marketing firm DML Communications and the online CUbroadcast show, has two decades of journalism, public relations and marketing experience. His unique and robust knowledge allows him to meet the varied needs of editors, end-users and clients. Lawson's expertise enables him to enhance his clients' market exposure through media relations, social media tools, advertising efforts, target marketing strategies and more. He also speaks on PR, marketing and media issues to audiences nationwide.
