Back To The Basics With Social Media

 

 

 

 

 

April 19, 2021

This past year has seen many people spending more time at home and online. Many companies have now been pushed into seeing the importance of digital marketing more than ever. Facebook is the most popular of all the social networks worldwide as of January 2021, according to Statista. With over 2.6 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a must for credit unions to utilize to help get spread their messages to existing and potential members.

Here are the fundamentals for credit unions to start following to be more active as a Facebook Business page.

Post Consistently

• Business profiles on Facebook should be posting several times a week to stay relevant to their audience with useful information. With the continuous change to the Facebook algorithm, there isn’t a “one size fits all” answer for recommended frequency of posts. According to Hubspot, “Pages with at least 100 followers, the first two posts on Facebook earn a median of a single click on them, and after the 10^th post each additional post nets just half a click, and then continue to fall.” We recommend posting around 3 times a week to stay consistent, but look to avoid over-posting, overwhelming and having users unfollow or blocking your business profile because they see you way too much. The one thing you want to remember is the quality of content. Ask yourself,” What are our members wanting to know from their credit union?” and then answer the question within a variety of product, as well as financial and local-driven content.

Post Relevant Content

• Focus on what your audience follows your page for and what other info could benefit them. With many of our credit union partners we find a mix of the following works well for any given month:
  • Marketing Campaigns Focusing on relevant campaigns while also keeping organic posts to let members know what is currently going on with such things as rates, sponsorships, and events (Auto Loans, Home Loans, Home Equity Loans, Savings, Annual Meetings, etc.)
  • Community Engagement Social media followers love seeing photos of what happens at the branches – holiday dress ups, employee highlights, community engagement. These posts always see a great rate of engagement.
  • Financial Seasonal Topics Currently we are seeing these topics having the highest engagement rate with our partners’ followers as the topics are very relevant in life right now and the information is useful to many: coronavirus stimulus packages, tax season, student and mortgage loan updates, unemployment updates, etc. 

Stay Engaged

• When a follower (member or non-member) comments, shares something on your page, or sends a private message – respond as soon as you can! Social Media followers feel seen when you take the time to write out responses, and it reflects great personal service. According to Agorapulse, “Most people want at least a same-day response to their social media comment or question.” Try to respond in a timely manner so we recommend checking your messages at the start and end of the business day. You can set up automatic responses in Facebook with when you will respond an automatic response for business hours, and a separate response for nights and weekends. Find out more about automatic responses here.

Try Facebook/Instagram Ads

• The great thing about ads on Facebook and Instagram is you don’t need a large marketing budget to get started! Facebook has helpful articles to get you started, like this one: Buy Facebook ads on any budget. This page clearly states, “You can run ads on Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network on any budget.” And it’s true! While the results will depend on what type of campaign you run, your target audience and locations, etc., you can set your budget and adjust after a few test ads. Keep an eye on our site for future blogs explaining Facebook and Instagram ads specifically for credit unions, how to get started, setting up campaigns, budgets and troubleshooting issues. One issue we run into is the limited or unavailable audience targeting options for target audiences for “Credit, Employment or Housing.”  It doesn’t prevent you from running ads, but it does affect how specific you can make your target audience.

Stay Positive

• While we always understand there are two sides to every story, when it comes to communicating with your social media followers, you want to approach it with positivity. Even if a follower/member has a different opinion about what happened, you have to remember the world is watching how you interact on social media. Always be respectful and positive to help find a solution to an issue. I always recommend thanking them for their comment and move it to a private message rather than public. From there stay respectful and try to come up with the best solution possible.

Facebook continues to help credit unions get messages to their members and attract new members. It is relatively simple to get started and a great way to connect with the field of membership you serve. Social media is an everchanging medium, so it’s important to stay up to date on the latest changes to algorithms, ads, and new features. Don’t get overwhelmed – we’re here to help! We will continue to educate credit unions on the best practices of Facebook via our blog, and if you are interested in learning how we can help you manage your social media platforms – contact us to start the conversation!

Need Social media help for your cu?
Contact our digital marketing team today!