Social Media

I find myself talking to businesses, politicians and other groups about social media, and it’s still somewhat like a shiny new gadget that everyone wants to play with.

It’s made up of different tools that can be used in a variety of ways… and everyone wants in on the action.

The problem is, not all aspects of social media are a good fit for every organization.

You have to decide what works for you, and make sure you don’t jump headfirst in the wrong direction simply because it’s the “cool” thing to do.

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Credit Union Times recently published an op-ed titled, “Embracing Social Media May Be Dangerous for Your Members.” The article came across as a scare tactic and I felt it could potentially misguide folks that are new to social media. That being said, I submitted a response op-ed and it has been published in this week’s edition of Credit Union Times. Here’s what I had to say (read the Embracing article first as background),

“This is a response to the Oct. 21 John Jaser’s op-ed on social media.

First and foremost, there are three points that need to be addressed:

It is imperative that credit union marketers understand that social media is the fastest growing communication medium that exists and that members are part of that growth. Companies that embrace and learn to utilize social media will reap the benefits for years to come. Those that don’t will be playing catch up.

Social media is not simply about growing market share. It is about taking part in the conversation and growing relationships.

Social media can easily be used as an awareness or customer service tool–that decision is up to you.

The article tried to imply that if your credit union uses social media you are endangering your members. That simply is not the case.

The Internet in general has certain pitfalls that users have to watch out for and that is why companies take precautions when necessary. You’d never ask a member to communicate personal information via e-mail, and the same goes for social media.

If, for example, you are approached by a member on Twitter with a question that requires you to look up their account, it is a best practice that you ask the member to send you a direct message. From that point, you can request their phone number and handle the conversation that way. There will be many other times where a member has a generic question that could be answered in an open forum or via direct message–this is a proven fact.

The article also hits on the fact that social media allows employees to reveal confidential information at ease. If this is a concern your credit union should adopt a social media policy and handle violations accordingly.

The final point to address is security concerns. If social media presents a danger to your members, it is something they will be susceptible to no matter if you are involved or not.

As with everything you do, it is important to take precautions and protect your member’s best interest at all times.”

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I took part in a “social media round table” Monday night and the attendees were employees of a mixture of different credit unions. And no, we didn’t actually sit at a round table, or any other table for that matter.

The co-presenter was @cuwarrior, someone that I consider to be an “outside the box” type of thinker. Not to mention he is a fellow 2009 40 Leaders Under Forty recipient.

One of the first things I did was ask the audience, by show of hands, if they read inserts that are included with bills they receive in the mail. [Note: standard practice for many businesses is to send inserts to those receiving paper statements.] Of the 45 or so folks in attendance only one raised their hand. The purpose of this question was to point out that it isn’t a very effective medium.

I then talked about the challenges that come with the typical marketing methods and explained that we need to quit acting as if social media is the redheaded step child. Instead, it should be embraced as part of the communication mix. Let me say that one more time. Instead, it should be embraced as part of the communication mix.

Millions of people (as you already know) use outlets such as Facebook and the numbers continue to climb. Ignoring social media is almost the same as saying, “I want to purposefully ignore current customers as well as potential customers.” That’s bad.

In no way am I suggesting that you just hop on the bandwagon and start creating various social media accounts in hopes that things will suddenly take off. They wont – I can almost guarantee it.

Step back and go to your roots – create a strategic plan and give yourself a road map. In my opinion it’s a crucial step because social media has lots of moving parts and you can easily get off track.

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