The Credit Union SEG/HR Equation

by Amy Neale

Credit unions with SEG charters have higher membership growth than those that don’t. According to Callahan’s Peer-to-Peer software, it costs SEG credit unions $316 to add a new member, while community credit unions spend $371. And SEGs credit unions have a deeper average wallet share than non-SEG credit unions: $15,516 per member versus $13,722.

Your SEG development will go nowhere if you don’t have devoted and well-trained staff on either side of the equation. First, make sure your SEGs match your credit union’s values. This will help you build a long-lasting relationship and positively impact your credit union’s bottom line. You want your SEGs to look forward to hearing from you!

Next, train your branch managers and help them refine their networking skills so they can effectively spend more time in the communities they serve. And you should probably consider hiring a business development representative if you don’t currently have one. They’ll be able to focus exclusively on area businesses and SEG development. Make sure they have clearly defined goals, this will encourage ownership – and incentivize them accordingly. Compensation programs like HRN Performance’s Compease can simplify the process.

“We have a business development specialist that works with every one of our 51 SEGs,” states Barbara. “He works on site at the SEGs and educates them on the eligibility and benefits of membership. He also sends out monthly emails to the HR managers for them to send out to employees.”

The goal is to make your credit union fully accessible to your SEGs. This could include participating in their new employee orientation or onboarding process. Or, at the least, offer them a welcome kit, or brochure to hand out. Some credit unions even have introductory videos for the SEG HR department to use in orientation.

Adding Multimedia to Your Credit Union’s Website

by Amy Neale

Including dynamic content on your credit union’s website can improve traffic if done right – or repel visitors if done poorly. Like with many visual media it’s best to follow the “less is more” mantra. That being said, adding multimedia elements to your site can have a huge impact. While there are many aspects of website multimedia, we’re going to go with the basics: images, audio and video.

Images

While image quality is important, you need to be careful when using stock photography. Many images have been overused, so if you do use stock images make sure they’re fresh and original looking. Using quality images of real members and staff from your credit union is always preferable. They can add credibility and authenticity to your brand and are statistically known to keep visitors on your website longer. Images really do matter to your members. A survey by SEO agency BrightLocal showed that 60% of the respondents said that images associated with local businesses made them more likely to consider or contact that business.

Audio

When audio first became available as a website component, there were numerous sites out there that started incorporating music on their site – much to their visitors’ chagrin. But there is an audio component you can add to your site that visitors not only enjoy but find useful – podcasts. Educational podcasts to improve your members’ financial literacy are simple to add to your site and go a long way towards illustrating to your members how your credit union continues to put their needs first. Your credit union could create its own podcasts, but there are also pre-produced podcasts that you could include that would give your site a more professional image.

Video

According to comScore, 100 million Americans watch online videos daily – why not have it be a video on your credit union’s site? And visitors who view a Web video are 64% more likely to purchase than other site visitors. Video is definitely the “now” multimedia element to include on your credit union’s website. Just make sure the videos are of good quality, short and relevant to the viewer. Viewer generated content, such as member contests, etc. are a great affordable option as well. So is pre-produced/credit union branded videos from partners like Gas Station TV and Invest in America. And the use of educational or instructional videos has been known to grow brand loyalty. Whatever type of video you incorporate, just make sure it loads quickly or they’ll have the opposite effect.

The SEO Advantage

Including images and/or video on your credit union’s website not only improves traffic, but it can boost search engine optimization (SEO) as well. Effectively filling in the image and video descriptions can help move your site up in the search engine rankings. And depending on how your videos or images are added to your website, you should be able to track visitors, videos watched and click-through rates. Like with many things in life, adding multimedia to your credit union’s website is a trial and error endeavor – but it’s worth it.

 Related Services: New Media, Podcasts, SEO

What Makes a Better Credit Union Website?

by Cathy Scoda 

As cooperative as the credit union industry is, you’re still operating in a competitive landscape—and you need to use all the tools at your disposal to keep your current members happy and attract new members. Thankfully you already have one of the tools you need—a website.

Your website may be just one of the tools that you can use to gain a competitive advantage—but what an advanced tool it is! Simply by adding features, you can take your website from one that describes your products and services to a site that engages visitors and makes them interested in returning. 

Start with the Fundamentals

For website veterans, these tips are simple reminders, but they merit a brief mention. The following are some of the simplest features that can be adjusted to make each visit to your website a pleasant one. Be sure your site has:

• Clear navigation
• Strong balance of text and “white space”
• Easily understood naming conventions or labels so that visitors can quickly find what they need
• Descriptive information about your products and services
• Call to action (with contact information) on every product and service page

Incorporate Useful and Fun Features

People quickly tire of a static website, so add features and interactive options to keep visitors coming back. Depending on your site’s available “real estate” and your budget, you can add one or all of the following:

Secure Live Chat – A live chat service lets your member service representatives (MSRs) interact with your members and potential members in real time. Your MSRs can address concerns, answer questions, provide information—and even send members directly to a specific page of your website.

Financial education and budgeting tools – Your site can be a trusted resource for financial education and budgeting resources. Add relevant financial articles and tips to help your members make sound financial decisions, and your members will rely on your site for more than just rates and a link to their home banking login. When you add financial calculators to your site, you’re helping members budget and plan so they can reach their financial goals.

Video – Place videos on your site on a regular basis to keep members interested, so they’ll return to your site to see what’s new. Some types of videos you can post include:

• Instructional – Financial literacy is always important, so post videos that cover different topics (such as controlling your credit or planning for retirement) and appeal to members of all ages.     
• Community-oriented – Share a brief video of your CU staff members participating in community events, such as a fundraising event for a charity.
• Promotional – Post a video of your CEO’s appearance on the local TV news to discuss the importance of Member Business Lending or simply promote a product or service.

Mobile site – Let members find your site and access it wherever they are—with a mobile site. Whether members are on the road and need to find a branch or shopping for a car and want to talk financing, a mobile site provides a quick way to reach you and your services. 

Look Ahead

These are just a few of the features that you can use to enhance your site, serve your members, and keep visitors to your site engaged. But stay tuned; the way technology is changing, chances are you’ll soon have a few more tools to select from the technology toolbox!

Related Products: Content Management System, BoldChat, Video Management System, Mobile Site

Getting it Right: Catholic Federal Credit Union

Name: Catholic Federal Credit Union
Assets: $309,275,805
Members:  26,631
Website: www.cathfcu.com
Facebook   

With Google and a new microsite on their side, Catholic Federal Credit Union’s latest inspiring campaign is helping them grow wallet share. CU Love Thy Neighbor is using a microsite to ask people how they’d help their neighbors with $5 from Catholic Federal. Everyone who participated was entered into a $1,000 drawing. In the first three weeks more than one hundred participants submitted stories, videos or photographs in response.

Successfully working in tandem with this campaign is a Google AdWords program that CU Solutions Group is heading. It targets people searching for checking accounts and directs them to the campaign’s microsite. The leads generated from this campaign are growing daily and the AdWords cost per conversion rate is lowering each day as well.

Catholic Federal factored in current member and potential member behavior when creating their campaign – the fact that more and more people hit the Web first to check rates and apply for membership or loans. They have also worked with CU Solutions Group to review their website’s SEO and usability. The credit union is using all of these online tools and information to tweak their marketing and website as they go. As far as future plans, they’re going to continue monitoring and adjusting their efforts to garner the best results.

Energize Your Credit Union Members' Online Experience

Just about every company and product has its own website. And by now, you know the basics—make your site easy to navigate and user-friendly, include a call to action on every page where a product or service is described, and use online applications and contact forms.

Now What?
Now it’s time to add that “little extra something” to your website—something that gets your members coming back time and again. Use one or all of these website enhancements to energize your site:

Video
Sure, you can put videos on YouTube at no cost. But do you really want members navigating away from your website? The best alternative is to place the videos on your site. The videos can be:

• Instructional – Financial literacy is a must at any age. Place videos that cover different topics and appeal to members of all ages.
• Community-oriented – Share a brief video of your credit union staff participating in community events.
• Promotional – Promote a product or service—or simply post the video of your CEO’s appearance on the local TV news to discuss Bank Transfer Day.
• Informative – Keep members informed about the issues facing credit unions—such as proposed legislation that has challenged credit unions’ tax-exempt status in the past.
• Motivational – Want to do more than keep members informed? Use a video to encourage them to write to their legislators or take other actions.

Blog
A blog invites interaction, which in turn invites people to return to your site. Keep the topics relevant and helpful—and ask visitors to comment. Consider, too, a guest blog. If your credit union has a relationship with a financial planner, invite that person to post a blog. Also, look to your membership. Perhaps a member can share his or her experience with solving a budgeting problem.

(Tip: Use one of your website pages for the blog. If you’re using a “page commenting” feature, visitors can use that to post comments.)

Podcast
Podcasts aren’t yesterday’s news. They’re an efficient way to provide snippets of information to members who are on the go—and find it easier to listen to a message rather than watch one. Use podcasts to provide financial tips and messages from your CEO.

Keep it Going
Once you’ve added one or more of these features, don’t stop there. Talk to your members or survey them—and learn what other features would make your site more valuable. Because when it comes down to it, members are the reason you have a website.

 
Related products: CUBE TV, Podcasts, Web Development