the state of social media in credit unions: opportunities ... · the state of social media in...

The State of Social Media

in Credit Unions:

Opportunities and Challenges

Beth AustinPrincipal

Crescendo Consulting Group, LLC

Scott GoodSenior Consultant


ideas grow here

PO Box 2998

Madison, WI 53701-2998

Phone (608) 231-8550

PUBLICATION #234 (3/11)

www.filene.org ISBN 978-1-936468-13-3


in Credit Unions:






Deeply embedded in the credit union tradition is an ongoing

search for better ways to understand and serve credit union

members. Open inquiry, the free flow of ideas, and debate are

essential parts of the true democratic process.

The Filene Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit

research organization dedicated to scientific and thoughtful

analysis about issues affecting the future of consumer finance.

Through independent research and innovation programs the

Institute examines issues vital to the future of credit unions.

Ideas grow through thoughtful and scientific analysis of top-

priority consumer, public policy, and credit union competitive

issues. Researchers are given considerable latitude in their

exploration and studies of these high-priority issues.

The Institute is governed by an Administrative Board made

up of the credit union industry’s top leaders. Research topics

and priorities are set by the Research Council, a select group

of credit union CEOs, and the Filene Research Fellows, a blue

ribbon panel of academic experts. Innovation programs are

developed in part by Filene i3, an assembly of credit union

executives screened for entrepreneurial competencies.

The name of the Institute honors Edward A. Filene, the “father

of the U.S. credit union movement.” Filene was an innova-

tive leader who relied on insightful research and analysis when

encouraging credit union development.

Since its founding in 1989, the Institute has worked with over

one hundred academic institutions and published hundreds of

research studies. The entire research library is available online

at www.filene.org.

Progress is the constant replacing of the best there

is with something still better!

— Edward A. Filene

iii

Filene Research Institute

iv

We would like to acknowledge Jim Kupel and Heidi Wurpel of

Crescendo Consulting Group, LLC, in recognition of the input and

expertise they contributed in the development of this report. We

would also like to thank all the credit unions participating in this

study.

Acknowledgments

v

List of Figures vi

Executive Summary and Commentary ix

About the Authors xi

Chapter 1 Introduction 2

Chapter 2 Measuring Success 8

Chapter 3 From the Front Lines: The Promises and Pitfalls

of Social Media 15

Chapter 4 Panel Members and Survey Participants 19

Chapter 5 Social Media Users—Demographics and Habits 29

Chapter 6 Characteristics of Users and Nonusers

of Social Media 47

Chapter 7 Measurement of Social Media and

Marketing Efforts 52

Chapter 8 Conclusion 57

Endnotes 60

Table of Contents

vi

1. Success by Geography

2. Success by Frequency of Member Surveys

3. Success by Number of Marketing Staff

4. Success by Marketing Activity

5. Success by Hours Spent per Week Managing the Social Media

Program

6. Success by Length of Time Using Social Media

7. Success by How Closely Social Media Goals Are Linked to

Overall Strategic Plan

8. Success by How Actively Staff Is Involved in Promotion

9. Success by Perception of Social Media Constituent

Engagement

10. Distribution of Panel Members by Geography

11. Panel Members by Field of Membership (FOM)

12. Panel Members by Job Title

13. Panel Members by Asset Size

14. Panel Members by Number of Branch Locations

15. Panel Members by Number of Employees

16. Scatterplot Diagram of Loan and Deposit Volume 3Q 2010

17. Loan Volume 3Q 2010

18. Deposit Volume 3Q 2010

19. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Members

20. Number of Members

21. Scatterplot Diagram of Average Membership Age

22. Average Membership Age

23. Scatterplot Diagram of Average Number of Services per

Member

24. Average Number of Services per Member

25. Frequency of Member Surveys

26. Frequency of Employee Surveys

27. Size of Marketing Budget

28. Number of FTEs on Marketing Staff

29. Use of Outside Marketing Consultants or Resources

30. Brand Update within Last 12 Months

31. New Products Launched (or Repackaged) within Last

12 Months

32. Use of Technology

List of Figures

vii

33. Credit Unions Using Social Media

34. Multiple Channel Usage

35. Messaging Disseminated through Social Media Channels

36. Media Formats of Messaging

37. Usage of Social Media by Channel

38. Length of Time Using Social Media

39. Likelihood of Adding New Social Media Channels in the Next

Three Months

40. Snapshot of Facebook Usage Habits

41. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Facebook Fans/Likers

42. Number of Facebook Fans/Likers

43. Number of Facebook Posts per Day

44. Number of Posts by Members

45. Use of Multimedia

46. Scatterplot Diagram of Wall Posts

47. Scatterplot Diagram of Facebook Messages Received

48. Facebook Messages Received

49. Snapshot of Twitter Usage Habits

50. Number of Twitter Posts per Day

51. Scatterplot Diagram of Twitter Followers

52. Twitter Followers

53. Scatterplot Diagram of Twitter Mentions

54. Twitter Mentions

55. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Retweets

56. Number of Retweets

57. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Direct Messages

58. Number of Direct Messages

59. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Click-Thrus

60. Number of Click-Thrus

61. Snapshot of Blog Usage Habits

62. Number of Weekly Blog Posts (Frequency; n = 39)

63. Scatterplot Diagram of Reader Comments on Blogs

64. Reader Comments on Blogs

65. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Blog Visitors

66. Number of Blog Visitors

67. Snapshot of LinkedIn Usage Habits

68. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of LinkedIn Followers

(Frequency)

69. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of LinkedIn Updates

viii

70. Snapshot of Smartphone App Usage Habits

71. Snapshot of YouTube Usage Habits

72. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of YouTube Video Views

(Frequency)

73. Snapshot of Gowalla/Foursquare Usage Habits

74. Snapshot of Podcast Usage Habits

75. Snapshot of Mobile Messaging Habits

76. Person or People Responsible for Managing the Social Media

Program

77. Time per Week Spent Managing the Social Media Program

78. Strategic Components of the Social Media Program

79. Link between Social Media and Overall Marketing Messages

80. Consistency of Messages across Social Media Channels

81. Target Audience—Gender

82. Target Audience—Age

83. Channels through Which Social Media Are Promoted

84. Use of Staff to Promote Social Media

85. Usage of Social Media by Geography

86. Usage of Social Media by Average Age

87. Usage of Social Media by Number

of Members

88. Usage of Social Media by Number of Employees

89. Usage of Social Media by Marketing Budget

90. Marketing Budget Spent on Social Media

91. Barriers to Using Social Media

92. Likelihood to Begin Using Social Media

93. Perceived Success of Social Media Program—Overall

94. Perceived Success of Social Media Program—by Channel

95. Perceived Offline Impact of Social Media Program

96. Quality of Interaction with Followers/Participants

97. Engagement Level of Followers/Participants

98. Success Drivers (Frequency; n = 94)

99. Barriers to Success (n = 103)

100. Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Website Hits

101. Media Coverage

ix

by Ben Rogers,

Research DirectorCredit unions today face an evolving array of challenges, including

the volatility of the corporate credit union system, adapting to the

Reg Z changes, political uncertainty, and the dawning realization

that historical expense ratios have been unsustainably high. The

changes and uncertainty in today’s environment leave many credit

unions with the challenge of doing more with less in marketing and

member services.

The increased popularity of online social networks and a widespread

desire by credit unions to attract and retain a younger membership

make social media sound like a panacea. And credit unions’ social

media presence is clearly expanding, but useful studies on credit

union social media use have been few. A recent article in The Credit

Union Times states that credit union usage of Facebook and Twitter,

in particular, is expanding rapidly, but that credit unions are “still

barely scratching the surface of what can be done with social media.”1

What Is the Research About?The State of Social Media in Credit Unions: Opportunities and Chal-

lenges is the front end of a yearlong longitudinal study. The research,

conducted for Filene by Crescendo Consulting Group, LLC, exam-

ines the extent of social media usage among credit unions, high-

lights characteristics of credit unions currently using social media,

and examines practices that drive social media success. This report

provides information from the baseline survey, conducted in the fall

of 2010, including a summary of the findings and, more important,

their management implications. The study includes 187 credit unions

of varying size and composition across the United States and Canada.

In this first round of reporting, we allow respondents to self-assess

their levels of success with social media. A second report, due out

in early 2012, will use observable changes (asset growth, increased

share of wallet, increased membership, etc.) to measure social media

success. Nevertheless, this baseline report offers some useful initial

findings:

• Marketing departments of credit unions are primarily in charge of

social media, but the majority (61.4%) spend less than two hours

a week managing the program, indicating that the use of social

media is still a hobby for many credit unions.

• Size doesn’t seem to matter for having a program, but size does

matter for perceived program success. Credit unions with more

than 80,000 members and more than 70 employees are slightly

more likely to use social media, but credit union respondents of

all sizes employ some type of social media program.

Executive Summary and Commentary

x

• Good content and attracting followers are the biggest concerns.

These challenges go hand in hand, and they also contribute to the

widespread belief that attracting followers, friends, and connec-

tions should be the end goal of social media.

What Are the Credit Union Implications?The credit unions that report feeling the most success with their

social media campaigns have, without exception, put in the most

work. There is a clear correlation between feeling a social media pro-

gram is successful and dedicating time, resources, and attention to it:

• There’s no substitute for time. Credit unions with more than 10

employees in the marketing department are by far the most likely

to report successful programs. Credit unions that dedicate eight

or more hours per week to social media report the highest success

rates.

• Social media have a symbiotic relationship with otherwise active

credit unions. For example, updating a logo or brand image corre-

sponds with more successful social media campaigns, and launch-

ing five or more new products also corresponds with reported

social media success.

• Social media offer a steep learning curve. As with any business

endeavor, it takes time to get up to speed. Credit unions with

more than two years of experience are the most likely to report

success (57%), while those that have three months or less are least

likely (17%).

• Successful campaigns are purposeful campaigns. Credit unions

that say their social media goals align with the credit union’s stra-

tegic goals report the highest levels of success.

Credit unions either considering or currently using social media

will find in this report an extensive summary of the current state,

a bellwether for their own efforts, and a source of direction for

improvement.

xi

Beth AustinBeth Austin, prin cipal and cofounder of Crescendo Consulting

Group, LLC, has an extensive background in strategy, communica-

tion, and research for credit unions and health-care organizations.

She is a frequent speaker on social media and how they can be

utilized within the health-care and financial industries to accom-

plish organizational goals, improve communication, and foster a

consumer’s ability to make more informed decisions. In 2009–2010,

she led a national social media pilot project that successfully engaged

consumers through a range of electronic channels and promoted

healthy behaviors.

Austin has successfully developed broad-scale communication

campaigns including websites, social media, and traditional media

channels that have led to organizational improvement. She gradu-

ated summa cum laude from the University of Maine with a BA in

English/creative writing and an MA in communication.

Scott GoodScott Good, senior consultant for Crescendo Consulting Group,

LLC, has over 20 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative

marketing research, strategic planning, and business development.

His background includes expertise in various aspects of research,

including primary data collection and analysis, Delphi Techniques,

relational database development, secondary research, meta-analysis,

and qualitative studies. He frequently works with financial ser-

vices, health care, postsecondary education, and not-for-profit

organizations.

Good earned his BA degree in economics from New College and his

MS degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon Uni-

versity. He previously served as an adjunct professor in the University

of Maryland system. He is a frequent public speaker on a variety of

topics, including drivers of customer satisfaction, international busi-

ness development, and consumer product marketing.

About the Authors

The application of social media programs con-tinues to evolve at credit unions. To examine the use of social media, the authors surveyed 187 credit unions on the use and success of social media endeavors.

CHAPTER 1Introduction

3

Purpose and Description of the StudyConsumer usage of social media continues to evolve, and credit

unions are increasingly expanding their online presence to include

social media elements. When implementing social media programs,

credit unions must understand how to develop strategies that will

help them communicate effectively with members and potential

members, foster credit union growth, and build social equity and

awareness. Filene Research Institute retained Crescendo Consulting

Group, LLC, to conduct a yearlong longitudinal social media study

to determine the following:

• How credit unions are currently utilizing social media.

• How credit unions characterize their social media usage and per-

ceive program success.

• The correlative factors associated with program success (integra-

tion with current marketing objectives, dedicated resources, etc.).

• The impact of social media on credit union performance (prod-

ucts per member, membership growth, etc.).

This baseline report provides information on the quantity and

characteristics of the research panel participants, the penetration and

nature of social media usage, and the characteristics of both users and

nonusers of social media.

MethodologyTo conduct this study, Filene and Crescendo did—and, in certain

aspects, will continue to do—the following:

• Recruited a social media panel from the Filene database of

credit unions. The goal was to recruit between 100 and 300

credit unions to participate in the research. Participation entails

completion of a baseline survey (which took about 30 minutes)

and three shorter quarterly surveys.

• Determined metrics and developed survey instruments. Cre-

scendo worked with Filene to develop a focused list of metrics

4

and research hypotheses. From this list, Crescendo developed and

will continue to develop insightful survey instruments to identify

longitudinal trends.

• Administered surveys. Panel participants will take part in

quarterly surveys about their marketing initiatives (social media

and otherwise) and select financial metrics that may be affected

by impactful marketing programs. The first survey established a

benchmark, and subsequent quarterly surveys will provide a more

focused understanding of trends and the impact of social media.

• Quantitatively analyzed results/drafted reports. Crescendo pro-

duced this substantive report at the conclusion of the first survey

(benchmark report) and will produce another at the conclusion of

the fourth survey (final report). Shorter reports will be provided

following the quarterly surveys to highlight key trends.

Crescendo worked with Filene to develop a set of baseline metrics

and research assumptions. From these discussions, Crescendo devel-

oped an online survey tool designed to capture the desired informa-

tion. Participants for the social media panel were recruited primarily

through an e-mail request sent by Filene to all members and sub-

sidized by the dissemination of press releases (by both Filene and

Crescendo) and direct outreach. Through these methods, 327 credit

unions signed up to be part of the research panel.

Crescendo sent an e-mail invitation in September 2010 to all credit

unions on the research panel announcing the baseline survey. Partici-

pants were asked to complete the survey within three weeks. At the

end of three weeks, telephone and e-mail outreach was conducted

to reach out to all nonresponders, and the deadline for participation

was extended. Ultimately, 187 credit unions completed the base-

line survey. This number of respondents yields a margin of error of

+/– 7.3% at the 95% confidence interval.

Participant CharacteristicsThe majority (75.7%) of credit unions in this study use social

media, with a large percentage of the majority (72%) utilizing

more than one channel. These credit unions most commonly use

Facebook (66.3%), Twitter (43.9%), and blogs (20.9%), which is

consistent with national consumer trends.

The research panel was not randomized and therefore was more

likely to have attracted those who use or are interested in social

media. However, the responses suggest that there is a growing seg-

ment of “power users” that have a robust multichannel social media

program in place. With respect to specific channel usage, a recent

study suggests that consumers do engage in conversations about

5

financial institutions through social media channels and that Twit-

ter is the most common channel through which to do so.2 Observ-

ing how these trends develop and how channel usage by the panel

changes over the course of the study will be of interest.

Panel participants communicate a wide variety of messages

through social media channels, including credit union events

(66.3%), information to help members make better financial

choices (57.8%), and alerts/information (52.9%).

Two important keys to success in any social media program include

providing content that is of value and “listening” more than “talk-

ing,” which, if done effectively, could be accomplished in each credit

union’s three most common message areas. This will be a particularly

interesting measure to track over the course of the study to determine

whether credit unions continue the positive trend of not using these

channels exclusively for self-promotion.

The individual credit unions have a range of experience with

social media, with just 10.5% of respondents using social media

for more than two years and 13.5% having begun their social

media program in the last three months. More than one-third

(39.1%) say that they are “very likely” to add additional social

media channels in the next three months.

These findings suggest that there is a core group of early adopters

and that credit unions are actively joining the social media ranks.

The results of the baseline survey clearly demonstrate that credit

unions are using social media in diverse ways, as reflected by

an extremely broad spectrum of posting activity, followers, and

interaction.

Credit unions are using social media to varying degrees and have

widely divergent levels of activity in the social media space. Continu-

ing to discover underlying trends and correlative characteristics (e.g.,

size, length of time using social media) with regard to usage patterns

will be important as the study evolves.

Integration with Marketing and StrategyMarketing departments create and manage the social media

programs at most credit unions (82.8%), typically with one indi-

vidual holding the primary responsibility. The majority (61.4%)

spend less than two hours a week managing the program.

6

The resources and time required for successfully managing a social

media program vary among industries and organizations; however,

the responses provided here are consistent with work and research in

similar industries.

Many credit unions participating in the survey do not engage in

core strategic elements that are associated with successful tradi-

tional marketing programs: Just over one-third (38%) ensure that

social media goals are linked to credit union goals, only 30% had

a strategy prior to launch, and only 12.8% train the staff respon-

sible for managing and executing the program.

The general lack of participation in these key activities puts credit

unions at risk of disseminating inconsistent or contradictory mes-

sages, compromising brand management, and engaging in efforts

that are counterproductive to the organization’s overall strategic

efforts. Observing the evolution of these behaviors over time will

indicate whether the social media programs become more deliber-

ately aligned with overall strategic goals.

Respondents use a variety of methods to market their social

media programs, including their websites (65.2%), mentions in

print advertising (51.9%), and word of mouth (51.3%).

Interestingly, credit unions currently do not engage staff to boost

their word-of-mouth efforts; more than three-quarters of respon-

dents (78%) say that staff is “not very actively” or “not at all actively”

involved in promoting the social media sites. This may be an

untapped resource for driving followers to the credit unions’ social

media microsites.

Overa ll, size does not appear to be a barrier to entry for many

credit unions.

Credit unions with more than 80,000 members and more than

70 employees are slightly more likely to be currently engaged in

social media efforts, but credit unions of all sizes included in this

study currently employ some type of social media program.

Credit unions using social media are more likely to participate in

very specific types of marketing efforts (website ads and outdoor

advertising) and to have an average age of membership that is

younger than the overall mean.

The baseline study was not designed to uncover predictive elements,

and therefore, the exact relationship among these characteristics can-

not be determined. However, future studies should possibly be struc-

tured to more closely analyze the relationship between these relatively

7

unique marketing efforts and social media usage, and whether the

use of social media leads to a younger membership base or vice versa.

Credit unions not currently using social media most commonly

state that a “lack of resources” (19.8%) prevents them from doing

so. However, more than half (56.8%) intend to implement a

social media program within the next year.

The high likelihood to begin a program suggests that credit unions

recognize that a social media presence is increasingly becoming the

norm and expectation of consumers. Over one-quarter of nonusers

(27.3%) state that they plan to implement a program in the next

three months, so their efforts may well be reflected in the next quar-

terly survey.

The survey evaluated credit unions’ impact or influence on their community, level of par-ticipation, and engagement of website visi-tors. Additionally, the number of hours spent managing social media, geography, and staff involvement was cross evaluated to gauge success.

CHAPTER 2Measuring Success

9

The ParticipantsParticipants are reticent to characterize their overall social media

efforts as successful (61.5% describe them as “neither success-

ful nor unsuccessful”) but more strongly assert achievement

with specific channels, such as smartphone applications. While

relatively few participants use smartphone applications, 65% of

respondents consider them successful, along with blogs (42.5%).

Although not explicitly asked in this study, other data would sug-

gest that experience, knowledge levels, and higher overall use by the

general population are likely factors that contribute to the higher

perceived success with these channels. As credit unions gain more

experience with less familiar channels—and as usage demographics

continue to evolve—perceived success may also increase.

Survey participants are very likely to feel that their social media

programs have had offline success: 44.4% feel that they have had

an impact on their community, and 23% feel that they have influ-

enced social responsibility.

In addition to the impacts mentioned above, 19.3% state that their

social media programs have had a “downstream” impact; i.e., an

element of their program has gone viral or has been redistributed

in some other form. These results further suggest that many credit

unions have created successful program elements.

Respondents generally feel that visitors to their social media

sites are either “slightly engaged” (38.9%) or “somewhat pas-

sive” (23.7%), and about one-fourth (25.7%) say that they have

received no feedback from members regarding their social media

presence. However, the largest percentage (39.4%) of respondents

also state that the interaction they have with visitors on social

media sites is of “good” quality.

10

Responses regarding the engagement levels of followers and fans

suggest that interaction is relatively low but reflects overall online

behavior research, which estimates that 80% of social media users are

“passive.” The fact that the interaction that does take place is gener-

ally constructive suggests a positive trend.

Those using social media state that content development is a

primary challenge in their programs.

Uncertainty about “what to say” is a common barrier to social media

expansion and development across all industries. Concern in this

area is well justified, since providing content of value is imperative in

attracting and retaining followers.

Credit unions frequently state that contests or promotions are the

biggest generators of fans and followers.

In this open-ended question, the wide range of specific examples of

promotions that credit unions have utilized to generate interest in

their social media presence demonstrates a great deal of creativity and

commitment to making the programs successful.

Correlations with Perceived SuccessFurther analysis of the credit unions that feel the social media pro-

gram overall is “successful” or “very successful” suggests that there

are several correlations between specific characteristics/activities and

perceived success.3 Credit unions that feel their programs are “suc-

cessful” or “very successful” are somewhat more likely to:

• Conduct member surveys two, three, or four times a year.

• Have a larger marketing staff with more marketing activity (e.g.,

update their brand image and launch new products).

• Spend more time per week managing the social media program.

• Have been utilizing social media longer.

• Connect their social media program to their overall strategic plan.

• Engage staff in promoting the social media program.

• Feel that their social media constituents are engaged.

• Be located in Canada.

11

30

0

20

10

60

50

40

90

80

70

83.3%

Canada

46.2%

Midwest

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

fee

l soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

su

cces

sfu

l or

very

su

cces

sfu

l

33.3%

Mid-

AtlanticSoutheast

17.6%

Overall

32.9%28.0%

West

25.0%

New England

23.1%

Pacific

Northwest

Figure 1: Success by Geography

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

fee

l soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

su

cces

sfu

l or

very

su

cces

sfu

l

14.3%

<1 1–2

24.0%

3–5

32.6%

6–8

42.1%

9–10

54.5%

>10

80.0%

Overall

32.9%

0

30

20

10

40

50

80

70

60

90

Figure 3: Success by Number of Marketing Staff

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

feel

soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

succ

essf

ul o

r ve

ry s

ucc

essf

ul

0

30

20

10

60

50

40

Never

20.0%

Overall

32.9%

0.5%

More

often than

monthly

24.3%

Monthly

40.0%

Quarterly

53.8%

2–3 times

per year

33.3%

Annually

27.0%

Less than

annually

Figure 2: Success by Frequency of Member Surveys

12

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

feel

soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

succ

essf

ul o

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ry s

ucc

essf

ul

0

30

20

10

45.5%

Updated

logo or

brand

image

Launched

0 products

0.0%

Launched

1 product

12.5%

Launched

2–3

products

24.1%

Launched

4–5

products

40.0%50

40

Launched

>5

products

44.7%

Overall

32.9%

Figure 4: Success by Marketing Activity

0

30

20

10

40

50

80

70

60

90

7.4%

<1

hr/wk

1–2

hrs/wk

20.4%

3–5

hrs/wk

48.1%

6–8

hrs/wk

66.7%

>8

hrs/wk

88.9%

Overall

32.9%

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

fee

l soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

su

cces

sfu

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very

su

cces

sfu

l

Figure 5: Success by Hours Spent per Week Managing the Social Media Program

0

30

20

10

16.7%

Overall

21.1%

36.1%32.3%

54.5%60

50

40

57.1%

32.9%

Less than

3 months

3–6

months

7–12

months

13–18

months

19–24

months

More than

24 months

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

feel

soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

succ

essf

ul o

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ry s

ucc

essf

ul

Figure 6: Success by Length of Time Using Social Media

13

100.0%

Very

actively

Somewhat

actively

59.3%

Not very

actively

31.9%

Not at all

actively

9.7%

Overall

32.9%

0

30

20

10

40

50

80

70

60

90

100

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

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hat

fee

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edia

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very

su

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sfu

l

Figure 8: Success by How Actively Staff Is Involved in Promotion

0

30

20

10

40

50

60 54.8%

Very

closely

Somewhat

closely

30.6%

Not very

closely

17.2%

Not at all

0.0%

Overall

32.9%

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

feel

soc

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edia

pro

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ucc

essf

ul

Figure 7: Success by How Closely Social Media Goals Are Linked to Overall Strategic Plan

14

0

30

20

10

40

50

80

70

60

90 83.3%

Very

engaged

Fairly

engaged

70.8%

Slightly

engaged

29.4%

Somewhat

passive

12.9%

Very

passive

15.8%

Overall

32.9%P

erce

nta

ge

of r

esp

ond

ents

th

at f

eel s

ocia

l med

ia

pro

gra

m is

su

cces

sfu

l or

very

su

cces

sfu

l

Figure 9: Success by Perception of Social Media Constituent Engagement

In an open-ended question, respondents were asked to identify what they believe to be the biggest drivers of success with their social media programs; their comments are given here. Man-agement support, staff engagement, overall strategic goals, content, and promotions were all evaluated.

CHAPTER 3From the Front Lines:

The Promises and Pitfalls of Social Media

16

Management Support and Staff Engagement• Having a young, e-savvy person responsible for content and

graphics and connecting Facebook to other media efforts and

programs.

• Acceptance from the top down of social media as a relevant tool

to engage members.

• Empowered employees on our “Social Media Team.”

• Not letting compliance dictate the rules. Too often in the FI

space, compliance drives social media. Beyond this though, I’d

have to say the biggest driver has been executive support and

understanding of the value associated with us being involved in

social media.

• The support and enthusiasm from the executive staff has fueled

our social media success.

Link to Overall Strategic Goals• Aligning it to the overall strategies and plans with different

campaigns.

• I believe our biggest driver of success with our social media efforts

has been the personification of our brand. I have personally been

able to provide feedback, advice and assistance to members who

have been in need or frustrated. They have in turn become loyal

fans of ours spreading the word to their families and friends on

the public timeline of social media.

• We have developed social media campaigns which are highly

integrated into our overall marketing strategies. Our goal was for

these social media activities to be highly engaging, particularly

following the adage of quality of engagement before quantity.

17

Content• Casual and personal comments and status updates spoken in the

first person, adapting to the target audiences’ textuality. This cre-

ates an artificial but actual “character” with which the members

can associate, converse, and provide “real” feedback.

• Regular posts and posting information that is informative and

about the community. We don’t just post product information.

• We don’t push product or resort to carrot on a stick tactics to get

people engaged. We want to offer relevance and I think that is

appreciated by those who choose to follow.

Promotion• During a two-month period, we offered a drawing of $500 on

our Facebook page to all who were fans at the end of the period.

We gained over 700 new fans and received over 30 comments

from fans.

• Employee incentive when Facebook page was first launched

helped to grow fan base.

• Weekly give aways for friends only.

• Several small promotions that we have offered only to Facebook

followers.

• We are currently doing a Give Back campaign in our communi-

ties. We have been going out and doing random acts of kindness

such as paying for someone’s groceries, or gas, or just buying

them lunch. We post teasers of where the “Give Back Team” will

be, and then videos, and photos doing the Give Back. That’s

been our biggest success with getting people to interact with us

through social media.

• We ran a fan growth campaign where we gave away several gift

cards based on the # of new fans we received in a month. We

grew from roughly 300 fans to 1,000 during the campaign.

• We recently did a gift card offer to acquire more fans/followers.

Respondents were also asked to specify what they feel are the biggest

barriers to success. Many of the comments in this area are the con-

verse of those for “success” (e.g., they feel they haven’t done enough

promotion or the right kind of promotion). Below are a sample of

the comments received.

18

Lack of Management Support and Staff Engagement• Employees are blocked from social media sites on the company

server. I feel that this limits employees to promoting/learning

about our social media efforts.

• Lack of employee engagement and skepticism of senior

management.

• Dedicating the resources (man power).

• I think we would achieve much greater success if we put more

time and budget focused at [these channels]. With only 2 individ-

uals in the department, this is usually not a priority when faced

with other projects.

Lack of Strategy• We do not have a formal social media strategy, nor do we have the

staff time to devote to utilizing social media as we would like to.

• We have not dedicated our time to integrating our social media

strategy with our marketing strategy. We have a presence, but

not a plan. The barriers are internal. We did not take the time to

integrate the channel into our efforts and form a plan. We’ll do

that for 2011.

• Inability to get a good measurement of the success.

• Lack of a plan/strategy.

Difficulty Generating Content• Biggest barrier is creating discussion topics to get the fans

speaking.

• Insufficient material for unique, entertaining non-product related

posts.

Lack of Successful Promotion• Getting the message out.

• Our biggest barrier is just engaging our audience. Our mem-

bers don’t seem to want to respond to posts. Contests including

submitting pictures have been our most successful way to get

people involved. Simply posting financial information, or tips, etc

doesn’t get any response from our members.

• While we had gained tremendous momentum during the initial

launch of our campaign (e.g. 7,500 Facebook likes and 23,000

Facebook tags in the first 24 hours), maintaining this momentum

and maintaining consumers’ interest has been challenging.

Over the course of five weeks, 187 credit unions completed the baseline social media survey. A good cross section of credit unions was obtained. Geography, size, marketing efforts, and technol-ogy use of the participants in the baseline sur-vey were evaluated.

CHAPTER 4Panel Members and Survey Participants

20

The respondents represent 43 states4 and 4 Canadian provinces. The

panel also includes credit unions serving SEGs, the community, and

hybrids.

Mid-Atlantic

Southeast

Midwest

West

New England

Pacific Northwest

Canada

22%

22%

18%

15%

6%

8%

9%

States with the highest number of respondents include Texas (18), California (16),

Maine (10), Indiana (9), and Pennsylvania (9). Canadian provinces include British

Columbia (7), Manitoba (2), Ontario (2), and New Brunswick (1).

Note: New England = ME, MA, RI, CT, VT, NH; Mid-Atlantic = NY, PA, DE, NJ, MD, VA, IN; Southeast = WV, KY, TN, NC, SC,

GA, AL, MS, FL, LA, AR, TX; Midwest = OK, MO, IL, MI, WI, MN, ND, OH, SD, NE, KS, IA; West = WY, UT, CO, NM, NV, AZ, CA, HI;

Pacific Northwest = AK, WA, OR, ID, MT; Canada = any Canadian province.

Figure 10: Distribution of Panel Members by Geography

21

Community

Hybrid of SEG and community

Select employee or other group

Other

53.5%

28.1%

14.6%

3.8%

Figure 11: Panel Members by Field of Membership (FOM)

Chief marketing officer (director, vice

president, etc.)

Marketing coordinator/associate/assistant

Executive (CEO, president, or executive VP)

Executive assistant

Director of member services

Other

43.3%

27.8%

17.6%0.5%

9.1%

1.6%

While the largest percentage of respondents hold the position of chief marketing officer (43.3%),

the panel also includes other marketing professionals (27.8%) and executives (9.1%).

Figure 12: Panel Members by Job Title

22

1

2–3

4–5

More than 5

56.4%

19.9%

17.2%

6.5%

Figure 14: Panel Members by Number of Branch Locations

Fewer than 30

30–49

50–69

70–99

100–199

200–399

400 or more

23.5%

19.8%

13.4%

12.3%

9.6%

10.7%

10.7%

Figure 15: Panel Members by Number of Employees

$0–$2 million (M) (PEER group 1)

$2M–$10M (PEER group 2)




Greater than $500M (PEER group 6)

45.5%

37.4%

3.7% 0.5%

11.2%

1.6%

Consistent with Filene’s membership base, the majority of credit unions participating in

the panel are relatively large. The overwhelming majority (82.9%) of respondents are in

PEER group 5 (45.5%) or PEER group 6 (37.4%), more than half (56.4%) have more than

five branches, and more than one-third (33.1%) have 200 or more employees.

Figure 13: Panel Members by Asset Size

23

Due to the broad range in nature and size of the credit unions participating in the panel

survey, loan and share/deposit volumes cover a large spectrum.

Note: One outlier with loan volumes exceeding $28 billion (B) was intentionally omitted for ease of chart viewing.

Shares and deposits Loans

$0

$6 billion

$4 billion

$2 billionVo

lum

e of

loan

s/d

epos

its

$8 billion

$10 billion

$12 billion

Figure 16: Scatterplot Diagram of Loan and Deposit Volume 3Q 2010

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

40%

80%

70%

The median loan volume is $203,901,546; the mean is $412,817,265.

>$3B–

$3.5B

1.1%

>$3.5B

0.5%

70.5%

$0–$500M

18.0%

>$500M–

$1B

6.0%

>$1B–

$1.5B

2.2%

>$1.5B–

$2B

0.5%

>$2B–

$2.5B

1.1%

>$2.5B–

$3B

Figure 17: Loan Volume 3Q 2010

0%

30%

20%

10%

64.8%

$0–$500M >$500M–

$1B

20.9%

>$1B–

$1.5B

7.7%

>$1.5B–

$2B

2.2%

>$2B–

$2.5B

0.5%

0%

60%

50%

70%

40%

>$2.5B–

$3B

1.6%

>$3B–

$3.5B

0.5%

>$4B–

$4.5B

0.5%

>$4.5B

1.1%

Figure 18: Deposit Volume 3Q 2010

24

Membership Information

Total membership varies quite significantly by institution.

Nu

mb

er o

f m

emb

ers

0

150,000

100,000

50,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

Figure 19: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Members

0%

The number of members ranges from 1,783 to 350,637. The median number of members is 36,630, and the mean is 55,683.

30%

20%

10%

12.9%

0–9,

999

10,0

00–1

9,99

9

20,0

00–2

9,99

9

30,0

00–3

9,99

9

40,0

00–4

9,99

9

50,0

00–5

9,99

9

60,0

00–6

9,99

9

70,0

00–7

9,99

9

80,0

00–8

9,99

9

90,0

00–9

9,99

9

100,

000–

109,

999

110,

000–

119,

999

120,

000–

129,

999

130,

000–

139,

999

140,

000–

149,

999

150,

000–

159,

999

190,

000–

199,

999

200,

000–

209,

999

220,

000–

229,

999

250,

000–

259,

999

320,

000–

329,

999

350,

000+

20.4%

12.4%

2.7% 1.1% 0.5%3.8%

0.5% 0.5%

7.5%

2.2%6.5%

2.2%7.0%

1.6%

7.5%

1.6% 1.1%1.6% 1.6%4.3%0.5%

Figure 20: Number of Members

The average age of the credit union members is approximately

45 years. Members are likely to use between 2.7 and 3 services.

Ave

rag

e m

emb

ersh

ip a

ge

0

30

20

10

40

50

60

70

Figure 21: Scatterplot Diagram of Average Membership Age

25

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

50%

40%

The average age ranges from 21 to 59.7. The median age is 45.00, and the mean age is 44.93.

50–54

8.9%

55–59

4.7%0.6%

<25

0.6%

25–29

1.2%

30–34

7.7%

35–39

34.3%

40–44

42.0%

45–49

Figure 22: Average Membership Age

Note: Two responses of 21.00 and 450.00 were intentionally omitted from the diagram.

0

3

2

1

4

5

6

7

8

Ave

rag

e n

um

ber

of

serv

ices

per

mem

ber

Figure 23: Scatterplot Diagram of Average Number of Services per Member

0%

30%

20%

10%

The average number of services per member ranges from 1.5 to 8.0. The median number of services per member

is 2.71, and the mean is 2.96.

0%

50%

40%

9.2%

1–1.99 2–2.99

48.0%

3–3.99

24.9%

4–4.99

8.1%

5–5.99

2.9%

6–6.99

4.0%

7–7.99

0.6%

8–8.99

0.6%

9+

1.7%

Figure 24: Average Number of Services per Member

26

Use of Marketing and TechnologyNearly 40% of survey respondents have an annual marketing budget

in excess of $500,000, of which the largest percentage is likely to be

allocated to community events, print advertising, and/or direct mail.

• Respondents are most likely to have no budget allocated for TV

advertising (38.7%) and social media (50.9%).

• Generally speaking, respondents are unlikely to spend more than

20% of their marketing budget in any one category. Exceptions

include community events, in which 23.1% of respondents spend

21% or more of their marketing budget, print advertising (31%

of budget), outdoor advertising (37.4% of budget), and direct

mail (25.8% of budget).

0%

30%

20%

10%

About two-thirds of respondents conduct member satisfaction surveys at least annually

(67.2%), and about 59% conduct employee satisfaction surveys at least annually.

27.4%

Less than

annually

Monthly

24.7%

Annually

15.6%

More

often than

monthly

11.8%

2–3 times

per year

9.1%

Quarterly

5.9%

Never

5.4%

Figure 25: Frequency of Member Surveys

0%

20%

10%

39.0%

AnnuallyLess than

annually

27.8%

Never

13.4%

2–3 times

per year

8.0%

Quarterly

7.0%

30%

40%

More

often than

monthly

2.1%

Monthly

2.1%

Figure 26: Frequency of Employee Surveys

27

0%

30%

20%

10%

39.6%

>$500K$200K–

$349K

16.6%

$100K–

$199K

16.0%

$350K–

$500K

11.2%

$50K–

$99K

9.6%

0%

40%

No answer/

don’t know

4.3%

<$50K

2.7%

Figure 27: Size of Marketing Budget

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

6.0%

Less than 1 1–2

39.0%

3–5

32.4%

The credit unions participating in the survey are most likely to have a marketing

staff of 1–2 (39.0%) or 3–5 (32.4%) and are likely to use outside marketing

consultants or resources (83.3%).

6–8

12.1%

9–10

6.6%

More than 10

3.8%

Figure 28: Number of FTEs on Marketing Staff

Yes

83.3%

14.3%

No

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

80%

90%

70%

Figure 29: Use of Outside Marketing Consultants or Resources

Yes

42.8%

54.5%

No

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

The credit unions in the panel are active in terms of brand and

product development. Over 40% of credit unions participating in

the survey have updated their brand image in the last 12 months,

and more than one-quarter (25.7%) have launched more than five

new products in the same time frame.

Figure 30: Brand Update within Last 12 Months

28

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

2.1%

0 1

6.4%

2–3

40.6%

4–5

20.3%

More than 5

25.7%

Other

1.1%

Figure 31: New Products Launched (or Repackaged) within Last 12 Months

The credit unions vary in terms of their use of technology. Nearly all credit unions offer online

banking (96.3%) and online bill pay (94.1%), and more than half (55.6%) offer mobile banking.

More than half also report using some sort of marketing customer information file (MCIF) or

customer relationship management (CRM) software (56.7%).

96.3%

Online

banking

Online

bill pay

94.1%

MCIF/CRM

software

56.7%

Mobile

banking

55.6%

PFM

software

26.7%

Remote

capture

23.5%

Other

10.2%

0%

60%

40%

20%

100%

80%

50%

30%

10%

90%

70%

Figure 32: Use of Technology

To examine social media usage and behaviors among credit unions, the majority of the ques-tions in the baseline survey probed participants on the types of social media they use and how they use them.

CHAPTER 5Social Media Users—

Demographics and Habits

30

Social Media UsageApproximately three-quarters (75.7%) of the baseline respon-

dents currently use some form of social media, with almost three-

quarters (72%) of those users utilizing multiple channels.

Note: It was the intent of the survey to attract both users and nonusers of social media,

with the knowledge that credit unions currently using social media would likely be more

predisposed to participating in the study.

Yes

75.7%

24.3%

No

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

80%

70%

Figure 33: Credit Unions Using Social Media

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

40%

28%

1

33%

2

16%

3

11%

4

7%

5

5%

6

Figure 34: Multiple Channel Usage

31

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

70%

40%

Respondents utilize social media channels to communicate a wide variety of messages, including credit

union events (66.3%), information to help members make better financial choices (57.8%), and alerts/

information (52.9%). “Other” includes educational messages, quotes/fun facts, and credit union PR/news.

Other

8.6%

Employee

profiles

3.2%

66.3%

Credit union

events

57.8%

Financial

information

52.9%

Alerts/

information

44.9%

Product

information

39.0%

Community

events

23.0%

Job

postings

Figure 35: Messaging Disseminated through Social Media Channels

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Respondents post and distribute messages in a variety

of formats. Most respondents use text messages (61.5%),

but many use photos (51.9%) and video (27.3%).

61.5%

Text/

hyperlinks

Photos

51.9%

Video

27.3%

Audio

7.5%

Figure 36: Media Formats of Messaging

Just under half (44.5%) state that they held a “tweetup,” a Facebook

event, or other in-person event in the previous quarter.

32

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

70%

40%

Credit unions in this study use a range of social media channels—most commonly Facebook (66.3%), Twitter (43.9%), and

blogs (20.9%). They are least likely to use mobile messaging (3.0%) or podcasting (8.1%).

66.3%

Facebook

2.1%

Mobile

messaging

5.9%

Podcasts

7.0%

Foursquare

7.5%

YouTube

17.1%

Landing

page

13.9%

Phone apps

20.9%

Blogs

16.0%

LinkedIn

43.9%

Twitter

Figure 37: Usage of Social Media by Channel

0%

30%

20%

10%

There is a distinct contingency of early adopters (10.5%) that has been using social media for

more than two years, as well as a subset (13.5%) that has begun using social media in the last

three months. More than one-third (39.1%) of credit unions in the panel are very likely to add

additional social media channels in the next three months.

3.0%

Not using Less than

3 months

13.5%

3–6

months

14.3%

7–12

months

27.1%

13–18

months

23.3%

19–24

months

8.3%

More than

24 months

10.5%

Figure 38: Length of Time Using Social Media

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

39.1%

Very

likely

Somewhat

likely

Not very

likely

Not at all

likely

33.1%

24.1%

3.8%

Figure 39: Likelihood of Adding New Social Media Channels in the Next Three Months

33

FacebookOverall, 66.3% of respondents report that they use Facebook, with

a diverse range of participation within that group. The vast majority

(91.2%) of credit unions that use social media use Facebook.

0%

30%

20%

10%

25.2%

1–99

1.7%

900–999

1.7%

800–899

3.4%

700–799

3.4%

600–699

10.9%

500–599

5.0%

400–499

8.4%

300–399

14.3%

200–299

18.5%

100–199

7.6%

1,000+

The median number of Facebook fans is 237; the mean is 404.

Figure 42: Number of Facebook Fans/Likers

Figure 40: Snapshot of Facebook Usage Habits

Members or fans/likers As few as 6 to as many as 4,279

Number of posts per day Less than 1 to more than 5

Use of multimedia 24.0%–84.6% use something other than

text—most commonly photos

Wall posts by fans in most recent quarter As few as 1 to as many as 1,500

Messages in most recent quarter As few as 1 to as many as 800

0

1,500

1,000

500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Nu

mb

er o

f Fa

ceb

ook

fan

s

Figure 41: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Facebook Fans/Likers

34

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50% 46.3%

<1 1

26.0%

2–3

11.4%

4–5

3.3%

5+

0.8%

Varies/

inconsistent

12.2%

Figure 43: Number of Facebook Posts per Day

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

12.7%

51.7%

13.6%

5.1%0.8% 0.8% 3.4% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 0.8% 2.5% 0.8% 0.8% 1.7%

01–

25

26–5

0

51–7

5

76–1

00

101–

125

151–

175

201–

225

251–

275

351–

375

401+

126–

150

176–

200

226–

250

276–

300

Figure 44: Number of Posts by Members

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

70%

60%

90% 84.6%

Photos Events

82.6%

Videos

41.3%

Discussions

37.5%

Custom

tabs

25.2%

Landing

page

24.0%

Figure 45: Use of Multimedia

35

0

600

400

200

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

The median number of posts by fans is 16; the mean is 61.

Nu

mb

er o

f w

all p

osts

Figure 46: Scatterplot Diagram of Wall Posts

0

150

100

50

200

250

The median number of messages received is 0; the mean is 13.

Nu

mb

er o

f m

essa

ges

rec

eive

d

Figure 47: Scatterplot Diagram of Facebook Messages Received

0

1–25

26–50

51+61%

34%

3% 2%

Figure 48: Facebook Messages Received

36

TwitterOverall, 43.9% of respondents report that they use Twitter, with a

diverse range of participation within that group. Over half (59.4%)

of credit unions that use social media have a Twitter account.

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%61.9%

<1 1

15.2%

2–3

14.3%

4–5

3.8%

5+

4.8%

Figure 50: Number of Twitter Posts per Day

Figure 49: Snapshot of Twitter Usage Habits

Followers 0–1,200

Number of posts per day <1–>5

Mentions in previous quarter 0–91

Retweets in previous quarter 0–75

Direct messages (DMs) in previous quarter 0–100

0

600

400

200

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

The median number of followers is 192; the average is 295.

Nu

mb

er o

f fo

llow

ers

Figure 51: Scatterplot Diagram of Twitter Followers

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

40%

51.3%

1–199

1.3%

1,100–1,199

1.3%

900–999

2.6%

800–899

1.3%

700–799

3.9%

600–699

6.6%

500–599

5.3%

400–499

7.9%

300–399

17.1%

200–299

1.3%

1,200+

Figure 52: Twitter Followers

37

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

40%

70%

81–90

4.5%

91+

1.5%

68.7%

1–10

9.0%

11–20

9.0%

21–30

3.0%

31–40

1.5%

41–50

3.0%

71–80

Figure 54: Twitter Mentions

0

30

20

10

40

50

60

70

80

Nu

mb

er o

f re

twee

ts

Figure 55: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Retweets

0

150

100

50

200

250

300

The median number of mentions is 5; the average is 23.6.

Nu

mb

er o

f m

enti

ons

Figure 53: Scatterplot Diagram of Twitter Mentions

38

0

60

40

20

80

100

120

Nu

mb

er o

f d

irec

t m

essa

ges

Figure 57: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Direct Messages

0

1–10

11–20

21–30

81–90

46%

36%

11%

1%

6%

The median number of direct messages is 2; the average is 6.2.

Figure 58: Number of Direct Messages

0

1–10

11–20

21–30

31–40

71–80

40%

39%

13%

1%

6%

1%

The median number of retweets is 2; the average is 6.9.

Figure 56: Number of Retweets

39

0%

30%

20%

10%

The median number of click-thrus is 10; the average is 53.8.

0%

40% 35.3%

0 1–49

35.3%

50–99

11.8%

100–149

8.8%

150–199

2.9%

200–249 250–299

2.9% 2.9%

Figure 60: Number of Click-Thrus

Nu

mb

er o

f cl

ick-

thru

s

0

150

100

50

200

250

300

350

400

450

Figure 59: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Click-Thrus

40

BlogsOverall, 20.9% of respondents report that they use blogs, with a

diverse range of participation within that group.5

0

60

40

20

80

100

120

Nu

mb

er o

f co

mm

ents

Figure 63: Scatterplot Diagram of Reader Comments on Blogs

0

6

4

2

8

10

12

14

11

<1 1

12

2–3

4

4–5

4

Varies/

inconsistent

8

Figure 62: Number of Weekly Blog Posts (Frequency; n = 39)

Figure 61: Snapshot of Blog Usage Habits

Number of posts per week <1–5

Inclusion in blog rolls 7 “yes” responses

Reader comments in previous quarter 0–22

Visitors in previous quarter 49–34,385

0

1–10

11–20

21–30

31+

53%

31%

10%

3%3%

Figure 64: Reader Comments on Blogs

41

Customized Landing PagesOverall, 17.1% of respondents report that they use customized

landing pages outside of Facebook. No follow-up or measurement

questions were included in the baseline survey.

LinkedInOverall, 16% of respondents (n = 30) report that they have a

LinkedIn company page.6

15,000

10,000

5,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

0

Nu

mb

er o

f vi

sito

rsFigure 65: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Blog Visitors

1–1,000

1,001–2,000

2,001–3,000

3,001–4,000

4,001+

41%

36%

9%

9%

5%

Figure 66: Number of Blog Visitors

Figure 67: Snapshot of LinkedIn Usage Habits

Number of updates in most recent quarter 0–75

Number of followers 0–135

The median number of LinkedIn followers is 45; the mean is 55.9.

60

40

20

80

100

120

140

0

Nu

mb

er o

f fo

llow

ers

Figure 68: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of LinkedIn Followers (Frequency)

0

30

20

10

40

50

60

70

80

Nu

mb

er o

f u

pd

ates

Figure 69: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of LinkedIn Updates

42

Smartphone AppsOverall, 13.9% of respondents report that they have developed at

least one smartphone app in the last quarter (n = 26).7

Figure 70: Snapshot of Smartphone App Usage Habits

Number of apps created in last five years 1–5

Number of apps created in most recent quarter 0–2

Number of downloads No data available

Cost to purchase app All free

YouTube, Vimeo, or Blip Ch annelsOverall, 7.5% of respondents report that they have a YouTube,

Vimeo, or Blip channel (n = 14).8

Foursquare or GowallaOverall, 7% (or 13) respondents report that they use Foursquare,

Gowalla, or a similar application.9

Nu

mb

er o

f vi

ews

15,000

10,000

5,000

20,000

25,000

The median number of views is 301; the mean is 1,029.

0

Figure 72: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of YouTube Video Views (Frequency)

Figure 71: Snapshot of YouTube Usage Habits

Number of videos posted 1–6

Number of uploads 0–22,468

Note: Respondents were given the opportunity to provide information on how many videos

were posted, since one does not need to create a dedicated channel to post videos.

Figure 73: Snapshot of Gowalla/Foursquare Usage Habits

Number of check-ins 5–450

43

PodcastsOverall, 5.9% of respondents report that they have created podcasts

(n = 11).10

Figure 74: Snapshot of Podcast Usage Habits

Number of podcasts available in most recent period 0–67

Number of downloads 0–13,548

Mobile MessagingOverall, 2.1%—or 4 respondents—report that they use mobile mes-

saging for marketing purposes.11

Management of Social Media ProgramThe majority of credit unions supervise their social media efforts

through one or more individuals in the marketing department

(82.8%), and the majority (61.4%) report spending less than two

hours per week managing the program.

Figure 75: Snapshot of Mobile Messaging Habits

Number of messages sent in most recent quarter 0–26,567

Number of subscribers 500–9,000

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

40%

The majority of respondents (71.6%) state either that they are the person responsible for managing the

social media program (40.6%) or that they manage that person (31.6%). Only two respondents state that

they have “no direct involvement” with the person or team who manages the social media program.

No one

1.5%

Membership

department

0.7%

55.2%

One

person in

marketing

27.6%

Multiple

people in

marketing

5.2%

Other

4.5%

Combination

of

departments

3.0%

Executive

team

2.2%

Outside

consultant

Figure 76: Person or People Responsible for Managing the Social Media Program

44

Planning and Execution of Social Media Program

With regard to planning and

strategic alignment, 38% of

respondents ensure that the

social media goals are linked

to the credit union’s overall

strategic goals, only 30% had

a launch strategy, and about

one-eighth (12.8%) train the

staff responsible for executing

the program.

Most (81%) credit unions report that the messages dis-

seminated on social media “very closely” or “somewhat

closely” match overall marketing messages and that the

messages are “always” or “often” consistent across social

media channels (61.7%).

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

20.5%

Less than

1 hour

per week

1–2 hours

per week

40.9%

3–5 hours

per week

20.5%

6–8 hours

per week

11.4%

More than

8 hours

per week

6.8%

Figure 77: Time per Week Spent Managing the Social Media Program

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

Nearly one-quarter (21.4%) state that they do not

engage in any of the strategic components.

38.0%

Link social

media goals

to credit

union goals

Develop a

strategy

Train staff Work with

consultants

29.9%

12.8%10.7%

Figure 78: Strategic Components of the Social Media Program

Most (81%) credit unions report that the messages dissemi-

nated on social media “very closely” or “somewhat closely”

match overall marketing messages and that the messages are

“always” or “often” consistent across social media channels

(61.7%).

45

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%

25.7%

Under 20 20–44 45–64

Note: Percentages total more than 100% because respondents could

choose multiple targets.

63.6%

15.5%

Over 64

3.7%

Figure 82: Target Audience—Age

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

18.8%

Always Often

42.9%

Sometimes

18.8%

Rarely

4.5%

Never

5.3%

Not

applicable

9.8%

Figure 80: Consistency of Messages across Social Media Channels

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%51.3%

Female Male

36.4%

12.3%

Neither/both

Credit unions state that they more frequently target

females than males (51.3% compared to 36.4%) and

those aged 20–44 over other age groups (63.6%).

Figure 81: Target Audience—Gender

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

38.6%

Very

closely

Somewhat

closely

Not very

closely

Not

at all

42.4%

14.4%

4.5%

Figure 79: Link between Social Media and Overall Marketing Messages

46

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

70%

40%

Respondents use a variety of methods to market their social media programs, including their website (65.2%),

print advertising (51.9%), and word of mouth (51.3%). However, credit unions typically do not utilize staff as

part of their word-of-mouth efforts, with more than three-quarters of respondents (78.0%) saying that staff is

“not very actively” or “not at all actively” involved in promoting the social media sites.

“Other” includes print or e-newsletters, e-mail signatures, and targeted e-mail campaigns to members.

Radio/TV

11.8%

Other

8.0%

65.2%

Credit union

website

51.9%

Print

ads

51.3%

Word of

mouth

19.8%

Facebook

ads

19.8%

Point of

service

13.4%

Other

online ads

Figure 83: Channels through Which Social Media Are Promoted

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

1.5%

Very

actively

Somewhat

actively

Not very

actively

Not at all

actively

20.5%

54.5%

23.5%

Figure 84: Use of Staff to Promote Social Media

The results of the survey suggest that a broad range of credit unions are currently engaged in a social media program. Credit unions that are not currently using social media cite several barriers to doing so, most commonly a lack of resources, a perception that other initiatives better accomplish the organization’s goals, and a concern about how to handle disgruntled members in that forum.

CHAPTER 6Characteristics of Users and

Nonusers of Social Media

48

Demographic Comparisons of Users versus NonusersThe results of the survey suggest that a broad range of credit

unions are currently engaged in a social media program. Credit

unions that do utilize social media are somewhat more likely to:

• Be located in the southeastern, western, or Pacific northwestern

areas of the United States or in Canada.

• Have an average age of membership that is lower than the mean.

• Have more than 80,000 members.

• Have more than 70 employees.

• Have a hybrid FOM.

• Have an annual marketing budget of $200,000–$350,000 (but

note that there is not a consistent correlation with increased

budget size).

• Utilize certain marketing channels, including website ads and

outdoor advertising.

There is also a slight correlation between frequency of disseminating

member surveys and social media usage, with those administering

surveys at least twice annually being slightly more likely to use social

media.

49

45 or

higher

74.2%

91.67%

44 or

lower

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

90%

100%

60%

70%

Figure 86: Usage of Social Media by Average Age

MidwestNew England

Mid-Atlantic West

Pacific Northwest

Southeast

Canada

0%

60%

40%

20%

0%

120%

100%

80%

Twitter FoursquareMobile

messaging

YouTubePhone appsPodcastsLinkedInBlogsFacebook

Figure 85: Usage of Social Media by Geography

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

70%

60%

90%

100%

87.5%

More than

200K*

90.0%

100K–

200K*

83.3%

80K–99K*

75.0%

50K–79K

77.8%

31K–49K*

69.5%

Less than

30K

* “Yes” responses are statistically higher than in the overall population (75.7%).

Figure 87: Usage of Social Media by Number of Members

50

68.4%

Fewer than

30

30–49

68.2%

50–69

66.7%

70–99*

85.0%

100–199

61.1%

200–399*

90.5%

400

or more*

88.9%

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

70%

60%

90%

100%


Figure 88: Usage of Social Media by Number of Employees

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

70%

60%

90%

50.0%

66.7% 66.7%

87.1%

66.7%

79.7%

<$50K $50K–

$100K

$101K–

$200K

$201K–

$350K*

$351K–

$500K

>$500K*


Figure 89: Usage of Social Media by Marketing Budget

Approximately two-thirds (62.8%) of credit unions that use social media allocate at least some

percentage of their marketing budget to developing and maintaining the channels.

51

Approximately two-thirds (62.8%) of credit unions that

use social media allocate at least some percentage of their

marketing budget to developing and maintaining the

channels.

Nonusers: Likelihood to Begin Using Social MediaCredit unions that are not currently using social media

cite several barriers to doing so—most commonly a lack

of resources to set up and/or maintain the sites (19.8%),

a perception that other initiatives better accomplish the

organization’s goals (11.2%), and a concern about how

to handle disgruntled members in that forum (10.2%).

However, more than half (56.8%) intend to implement a social

media program within the next year.

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

37.2%

0% 1%–10% 11%–20% 21%–30%

53.5%

5.4% 3.9%

Figure 90: Marketing Budget Spent on Social Media

0%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Other

reason

3.2%

No interest/

bad fit

0.5%

19.8%

Lack of

resources

11.2%

Other

initiatives

better

10.2%

Disgruntled

members

9.1%

Lack of

expertise

8.6%

Compliance

issues

3.2%

No support

from

management

Figure 91: Barriers to Using Social Media

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

27.3%

We hope to

develop a

social media

presence in

the next 3–6

months

We hope

to develop

a social

media

presence

in the next

7–12 months

29.5%

We have

considered

it, but have

no definitive

plans to

start

anything

31.8%

We

haven’t

considered

it, but

may in the

future

2.3%

We have

no interest

in utilizing

social

media

2.3%

Other

6.8%

Figure 92: Likelihood to Begin Using Social Media

Just over 60% of respondents say that their social media program has little impact, neither successful nor unsuccessful. Additionally, 39.4% of respondents feel that they have a “good qual-ity” interaction with followers/participants.

CHAPTER 7Measurement of Social Media

and Marketing Efforts

53

Program SuccessThe majority (61.5%) of respondents were most likely to state

that their overall social media program is “neither successful nor

unsuccessful,” but that they have been successful with iPhone

applications (65%) and blogs (42.5%).

Podcasting (12), mobile messaging (6), and Foursquare/Gowalla (10)

have too few respondents to be meaningful, so they are excluded

from Figure 94. However, the small sample of respondents using

podcasts and mobile messaging think the program is “successful” or

“very successful”; those using Foursquare/Gowalla feel it is neither

successful nor unsuccessful.

The overwhelming majority (85%) feel that their social media

program has had some sort of offline impact, many in multiple

areas.

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0.7%

Very

successful

Successful

32.6%

Little

impact

(neither successful

nor unsuccessful)

61.5%

Unsuccessful

2.2%

Very

unsuccessful

3.0%

Figure 93: Perceived Success of Social Media Program—Overall

54

Very successful

Successful

Neither

Unsuccessful

Very unsuccessful

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

80%

70%

60%

Overall Apps

(n = 20)

LinkedIn

(n = 27)

Blog

(n = 40)

YouTube

(n = 53)

Twitter

(n = 81)

Facebook

(n = 117)

Figure 94: Perceived Success of Social Media Program—by Channel

0%

30%

20%

10%

44.4%

Community Social

responsibility

23.0%

Downstream

19.3%

None

15.0%

Employee

morale

11.2%

0%

50%

40%

Recruiting

8.6%

Environmental

1.6%

Figure 95: Perceived Offline Impact of Social Media Program

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

3.0%

Very high

quality

High

quality

14.4%

Good

quality

39.4%

Fair

quality

28.0%

Poor

quality

9.1%

Other

6.1%

Figure 96: Quality of Interaction with Followers/Participants

55

Creating quality content is most commonly identified as both an important driver of success

and a barrier to success. Many respondents also feel that tying social media efforts into

community events or other credit union promotions is critical.

0%

20%

10%

20%

Good

content

Tie into

community

events

17%

Cross

promotion

14%

Contests to

generate

interest

10%

Expertise

6%

Using staff

to spread

the word

5%

Figure 98: Success Drivers (Frequency; n = 94)

0%

30%

20%

10%

40% 38%

Lack of

time/

resources

Content

generation/

lack of

expertise

38%

Not

enough

promotion

21%

Internal

policies

17%

Lack of

support

from senior

staff/IT

10%

Figure 99: Barriers to Success (n = 103)

Respondents generally feel that visitors to their social media sites are either “slightly

engaged” (38.9%) or “somewhat passive” (23.7%), and about two-thirds (66.3%) say

that they have received no feedback from members regarding their social media

presence. However, the largest percentage (39.4%) of respondents also state that the

interaction they have with visitors on social media sites is of “good” quality.

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

4.6%

Very

engaged

Fairly

engaged

18.3%

Slightly

engaged

38.9%

Somewhat

passive

23.7%

Very

passive

14.5%

Figure 97: Engagement Level of Followers/Participants

56

Respondents were asked to answer two quantitative measures that

will be used in future surveys as success measures: website hits and

media coverage. The results are shown in Figures 100 and 101.

Consistent with other responses, a diverse range of website hits

was reported during the previous quarter.

0

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

The median number of web hits is 258,563; the average is 518,631.

Note: The seven largest web hit responses were intentionally omitted for ease of chart viewing.

Nu

mb

er o

f h

its

Figure 100: Scatterplot Diagram of Number of Website Hits

Per

cen

tag

e of

res

pon

den

ts t

hat

feel

soc

ial m

edia

pro

gra

m is

succ

essf

ul o

r ve

ry s

ucc

essf

ul

Increased

38.8%

61.2%

Stayed the

same

0%

30%

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Nearly two out of five respondents (38.8%) state

that they have seen increased media coverage

compared with the previous quarter.

Figure 101: Media Coverage

Social media is a tool with enormous potential. Some possible insights into social media success include the following: conduct member surveys, invest time and staff into social media, keep at it, be creative, and engage your staff in promot-ing the program.

CHAPTER 8Conclusion

58

To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Social media is a tool

with enormous potential. But it is a to ol, nonetheless. Wielded well,

it can foster interaction between credit unions and their members.

Wielded poorly, it helps nobody and might even detract from a

credit union’s image. The trick is to find the right nails and not just

bang away with the closest tool at hand.

This first social media report supports two important hypotheses:

• North American credit unions find the use of social media

increasingly attractive and are expanding their use of social media.

• Credit unions are finding ways to use social media to address stra-

tegic goals, but doing so clearly requires a lot of planning, time,

and resources.

This report is both a useful first stop for credit unions considering a

social media program and a helpful source of information for those

already engaged in a social media program. Social media interac-

tion should, almost by definition, be unique to each institution and

its brand proposition, making a checklist approach problematic.

Nevertheless, we want to reemphasize some of the strong correlations

we found between social media activities and social media success.

Consider weaving these activities into your own programs:

• Connect a social media program to the overall strategic plan. This

may seem basic, but only about half of the respondents indicate

that their social media efforts are closely tied to the strategic plan.

• Conduct member surveys two to four times per year. These serve

as check-ins to make sure you’re addressing real, and not just

assumed, membership needs.

• Invest in or support a larger marketing staff with more market-

ing activity (e.g., updating brand image and launching new

products).

• Dedicate time to manage the program. The appropriate amount

of time will vary depending on the goals and structure of your

program, so be sure to consider this when developing or expand-

ing your social media presence.

59

• Keep at it. Credit unions reporting the most success have been

utilizing social media for more than two years.

• Engage staff in promoting the social media program. “Social” is

the name of the game, so more social media champions means

more success.

• Be located in Canada. Not much to manage here, but it seems

that American credit unions can learn from our friends north of

the border.

Throughout 2011, Filene and Crescendo Consulting will continue

to gather social media data. The final report, following three consec-

utive quarters of polling, will help shed light on not only the per-

ceived success of social media programs but the actual influence they

have on cross selling, relationship building, and ultimately financial

performance. Until then, use your hammers with care.

60

1. M. DiGiovanni, “The Marketing Challenges of 2010 May

Help Foster Innovative Solutions in 2011,” November 2010,

Credit Union Times, www.cutimes.com/2010/11/10/the-

marketing-challenges-of-2010-may-help-foster-innovative-

solutions-in-2011.

2. Serendio BankInsight for USA, Q3 2010 report.

3. Since this analysis was performed only for those credit unions

that use social media and that answered the perceived success

question (n = 135), some of the subgroups compared do not

have statistically meaningful representation. However, the data

presented here are helpful for directional purposes.

4. There were no respondents from Arkansas, Iowa, North

Dakota, South Dakota, Connecticut, Oklahoma, or West

Virginia.

5. Number of respondents was too low to be considered statisti-

cally significant. Therefore, the chart for this channel shows

data as number of respondents rather than as a percentage of

respondents.




respondents.




respondents.




respondents.




respondents.




respondents.




respondents.

Endnotes


in Credit Unions:






ideas grow here

PO Box 2998

Madison, WI 53701-2998

Phone (608) 231-8550

PUBLICATION #234 (3/11)

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