Credit Union Blogging - You Know What I’m Sayin’?

Posted by Tony

June 4, 2007

I didnt realize I had so much to say. This is our second blog entry and I have dozens of things that I want to talk about. I hope can keep this thing up to date and interesting.

So, what is blogging? You are looking at it. It is a regular Joe or Jane who happens to have something to say - saying it online. Why is this important to your credit union? Well, honestly, you can take it or leave it. I am sure that plenty of credit unions will never have a blog and do just fine. But the interesting questions is “How can a blog HELP your credit union?”

If you really get back to the principles that were the foundation of your credit union, it should be clear - community banking. What is community banking but a social network of folks collaborating and sharing resources. The foundation of credit unions is the concept that we will share information and resources with each other so that we may all prosper. A blog is a way for an expert to share pertinent information to the benefit of the reader. What we have here is “Two great things that taste great together.”

So by now you have decided that a blog is the single most important thing to add to your site - but who will write it? Well not everyone can write. I have worked with dozens of copywriters, and even they can be hit or miss. So, can your V.P. of lending really write and maintain a blog? Maybe. Should they? Probably not.

It’s not that they can’t its just that you can forget who is reading this blog. It is the lay-person. It is the typical member who doesn’t care about ratios or trends or all the things that accountants and loan officers love to talk about. The member wants simple, straightforward information in easy to chew pieces. They want “10 easy ways to save money on your new car” or “5 quick ways to repair your credit”. They want you to help them better their financial position without giving them a lesson in microeconomics.

So, who WILL write and maintain your blog? Well the VP of Lending can help, but its not them alone. Work with your marketing department to glean the good nuggets from the department head. You can add in links to parts of your site. If you are talking about auto loans and you talk about a saving plan. Link to your savings product pages or your online calculators. In the blog, tell your reader who to contact for more information. Make sure the article is sweet, short and succinct. A little humor doesn’t hurt either - remember, you are a person talking to a person. Familiarity breeds trust in this scenario. You can also work with your marketing agency. Your agency rep should have some good ideas on what is currently buzzing in the ether. The best thing about blogs is their relevance. If there is a security breach and 10,000 people had their credit card information exposed, it is a good time to blog about identity theft and what the credit union thinks and does to protect the membership. It is also a good time to write “10 things you can do to protect your identity”.

The best part of blogging is that when you put your newsletter together, you should have a wealth of content. Just pull from the blog and cite it in the newsletter that your members can subscribe and get regular updates as to what the CU is doing. Your CU is a club after all. You are a society, a group of friends looking out for each other. You are the leader - you should lead. When your friends are successful, so are you. You should act accordingly.