May 11, 2010

Credit Union Management magazine’s Web-only “Teaching Smart Money Management” column runs the second Tuesday of each month.

If social media isn’t the hottest topic out there today, I don’t know what is. Everyone seems to think this is the next great thing. And maybe it is. If you’ve never had a Twitter account and still think Facebook is nothing more than a nice site for teens, the whole idea of marketing your credit union through social media might seem overwhelming. But give it an hour or two of your time. Play around with social media sites and you’ll soon find that social media is no more complicated than sending an e-mail.

So, assuming you’ve taken the leap (or are about to) and have jumped right into the social media scene, acquiring followers, fans, and friends, you now have more than a new marketing tool. You’re also sitting on the perfect platform for teaching smart money management.

Here’s why.

I’ve long been a proponent of educating and promoting financial savvy through bite-sized pieces. While members who sit through a two-hour class may remember parts of it weeks later (or maybe they won’t), members who are getting ongoing reminders from their credit union - learning things the organic way (slowly and a little at a time) will be more likely to retain what they learned and, if you’re lucky, change their behavior.

Smart money management is, after all, primarily about habits. The habit of saving a little every month. The habit of using a debit card instead of a credit card when possible, and the habits of budgeting, balancing a checkbook, and not spending more than one earns. Habits, we all know, are hard to change. The ongoing, concise communication characteristics of social media give you the ability to continuously hammer home the basic messages of financial literacy, over and over again.

There’s more to it, of course. Members following you on Twitter, for example, expect to get information about the credit union, such as promotions, special events and offers. They’d also love your advice on how to better handle their finances. In fact, they probably prefer that over everything else! Reach out to them in their world to understand their challenges and struggles. Then, present them with ideas and tips on how to better manage their money. They’ll love you for it. By using social media as an ongoing communications tool, you can increase member loyalty by giving your members ideas they can easily incorporate into their lives. Make it interesting (not just informative) and very real by discussing real-life scenarios, and how to come out ahead.

Of course, you can’t post whole articles on Twitter. In fact, you might ask, how much financial education can you pack into 140 characters or less? Quite a bit if you capitalize on the beauty of social media. Rather than sending a whole article, you include a quick, concise tip. Sometimes you do that, and sometimes you use your 140 characters to encourage members to click on the link you include, where there’s a more in-depth article (but don’t make it too long, please) on your Web site.

Check out these quick ideas for tweets I came up with:

• A small leak can sink a big ship. What small leaks are stopping you from reaching your financial goals?

• Balance your checkbook tonight!

• Do you have a budget for the coming week? Use our online budgeting tool!

• Are you still on budget for the year?

• What status symbols have you paid for?

• How much have you saved for retirement? It’s not too late—start today!

So here’s where social media can be an important part of your financial education program:

1. Send links—and teaser info—to articles that are already posted on your Web site.

2. Tweet about events and financial literacy classes or programs.

3. Invite members to re-tweet your quick financial tips to their followers.

Lots of credit unions are getting involved in social media. And why not? It’s inexpensive, and if your members are willing to follow you, you should be willing to put a little effort into marketing this way. But don’t stop with marketing. Use social media for all it’s worth to help your members better understand smart money management, make better use of the credit union’s money management tools, and make better financial choices, one tweet at a time.

Laura Enock is CEO of CUVA and publisher of www.CUcontent.com, a newsletter and Web site content service for credit unions. Her free, weekly e-mail, MarQueting Moments, provides credit unions with tweet ideas like this every Wednesday.