3 minutes
Andrew Caravella, VP/marketing at the social media software company, answers questions
What tools do credit unions use to manage social media?
It is important that any tool you choose enables you to find and engage with the customers and conversations that matter most to your business. Obviously, I think Sprout Social is a great choice. But as you evaluate tools, you’ll want to look for the core features your team needs. These can include publishing, engagement and analytics, and a user-friendly platform that allows your team to quickly get up to speed. A tool with fantastic mobile apps is also imperative as so much of social management happens on the go.
How can credit unions keep up with mentions or member complaints?
Delivering the best possible member service should be a priority for credit unions. To extend that experience from in-person to online, it is best to start with powerful and effective social listening. Social listening includes tracking brand mentions across social platforms (for example, keywords, branded hashtags, and mentions of your CU’s name that don’t include your handle). It also enables your team to engage with customers, respond to complaints, and address both positive and negative messages.
How do credit unions measure success?
Like any business, each credit union should have its own strategic goals and key performance indicators on social media. For teams that primarily use social media to provide customer support, these KPIs might include their response rate and speed of issue resolution. Another common objective is raising brand awareness, in which case the metrics that matter might include impressions, follower growth, website referrals and brand mentions.
What is a smart social media strategy?
A smart social media strategy is part of your overall marketing strategy, not a separate program, but simply another type of communication that can help you reach your goals. It begins with identifying your target audience and what social networks the audience uses most frequently. Your strategy should also include a combination of publishing, monitoring, and engaging and program measurement. The content credit unions can share on social should be relevant and include a mix of news, helpful resources and promotions. Regularly reviewing your content performance will help you to determine what kinds of content resonate best with your audience.
What should credit unions avoid doing on social media?
All businesses, credit unions included, should avoid treating social as a broadcasting channel. According to The Sprout Social Index, brands in the banking/finance industry only responded to 14.1 percent of incoming messages in Q2 of 2015. While sharing your brand’s content is an important part of your social presence, so is interacting with members of your community. Set team goals for response rate and time, and use a social media management tool to ensure that none of your incoming messages slip through the cracks.
We advocate responding publicly to public messages (like Tweets and wall posts on your company Facebook page) as a way of showing transparency; however, there are some circumstances where sensitive information means that you need to take the conversation private or even offline. Develop a policy that allows you to publicly acknowledge issues while routing customer service messages to the appropriate channel for handling sensitive information.
How do marketers find the time?
Social media is no longer an up-and-coming part of the digital marketing landscape. It’s an established channel for two-way conversation between customers and brands, and a CU should prioritize it accordingly. If you’re a marketer who wears many hats, streamlining your social media management is critical, as is identifying the resources needed—human, financial and technological—to create and sustain an ongoing program. Also, constantly testing and adjusting based on real-time performance and intended goals are important, and easy to do, given the fluid nature of the social channel.
With 25 years of marketing and communications experience, Stephanie Schwenn Sebring established and managed the marketing departments for three credit unions. As owner of Fab Prose & Professional Writing, her focus is assisting credit unions and industry suppliers with their communications needs.
