Building Effective Credit Union Advertising Strategies
The most effective credit union advertising strategies first ask: “What are the goals?”, “Who am I trying to reach?” and “What do I want to say?” Whether you are recruiting new members or letting current members know about specific products or services, you’ll be trying to reach different audiences with different messaging.
Once you identify an audience, credit union advertising campaigns target your potential members and customers where they are. Today, there are more opportunities and channels than ever before to reach just the right people. It may seem overwhelming, but the diverse and specialized niches make it simpler to pinpoint the people you want to reach at the right time. Each type of advertising offers advantages and reaches people at distinct stages of their consumer journey.
Top Advertising Channels
Social Media: Social media platforms can offer very specific targeting to maximize the impact of your messaging and improve your ROI. It can not only help increase brand awareness and convert members or loan applications, but it can also help with building engagement on your social accounts. These ads paired with search and display ads – or even more traditional forms of advertising – offer purposeful exposure for your credit union.
YouTube: YouTube has become one of the most popular sites on the web. With more than 1.9 billion monthly active users, your audience is likely already engaged with the video platform. You can create, monitor, and manage your YouTube ads through the Google Ads website or the mobile app. If you already run Google search or display ads, it will be easy for you to run YouTube ads.
Over-the-top (OTT) ads: OTT or “over-the-top” advertising refers to ads placed on streaming platforms. OTT services don’t need to accommodate a broadcast schedule or geographic limitations like traditional TV. These ads tap into the 74% of households in the US that own a connected TV and can effectively reach millennial and Gen X consumers (especially when paired with Facebook and Instagram ads). In 2021, total OTT ad spending reached $1.3 billion, with the biggest spenders being retail, finance, and media.
Podcast advertising: Podcast listeners tend to be loyal to the show they’re listening to and will often trust the host’s recommendations. A podcast listener study found that 86% of individuals recalled ads they heard on podcasts, compared to 79% who saw them on websites and 80% who saw them on social media. On top of that, 48% said they even pay more attention to podcast ads than any other form of advertising.
Email marketing: There are 4 billion daily email users, and 99% of them check their inboxes every day. Contacts who subscribe to your mailing list already have some interest in your services. You can categorize contacts and send them tailored content based on your goals.
Own content on your website: Members think of your organization as an expert in the field – it’s one of the reasons why they choose to work with you. Your website is, therefore, a trusted source and a great place to promote your credit union products to members. Blog posts, product pages, and online resources can boost your social content and improve your Google search ranking.
Want to target a younger audience with a specific campaign or product? Gen Z individuals favor short-form content through platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. Advertising through those channels and creating tailored content for those platforms can help your brand stand out to younger consumers.
Trying to reach Gen X and boomers? More traditional advertising routes, like billboards, newspapers, radio, print, and broadcast television, are still essential to your advertising strategy to help you reach these audiences more efficiently.
Related Article: How to Diversify Your Marketing to Reach New Members
Measuring your success
Technology and tried-and-true tactics work together to give you a clear picture of what advertising is working and what isn’t. All campaigns should be closely monitored to determine if adjustments need to be made. Advertisers can collect data and user insights on the performance of online advertising campaigns by including tracking URLs, tracking pixels, and cookies. Offline, using specific QR codes, email addresses, phone numbers and other identifiers in ads can help track where each lead originates.
At Transact, we want you to get the best return on your marketing dollar, and high ROI is one part of that strategy. Learn more about how the Transact team helps credit unions connect their brand with members and communities through impressive design, smart messaging, and targeted impactful marketing campaigns.