Protecting your credit union’s reputation – A User’s Guide

So, after my ever-so-embarrassing foray into breaking up with a blog feed – I decided to figure out how a credit union could take measures to protect itself.

#1 Google Alerts – See I use Google as my source of all things internet. My homepage is a 5 tabbed page of probably over 150 feeds from everything from credit union blogs like OpenSourceCU.com to my Google Calendar widget or local newspaper feed. But one of the most watched tools are my Google Alerts. Here I can plug in search terms that when they show up in Google, I get an immediate email letting me know. Why is this important to you? I am glad you asked. You can monitor whenever your credit union shows up in the news, a personal blog or whatever. If it is about you, and on the internet – you will know. The best way to use this tool is by using quotation marks. If I do a search for Tony Mannor – I will get pages about guys named Tony who live in Oakridge Mannor. If I have my alert set for “Tony Mannor” then only pages about me will get alerts – this works unless your name is John Smith. Sorry John. But if you are a credit union, this is an incredibly powerful way to track the media on your website and another way to monitor your online marketing efforts. It is like having a spy on the internet working for you.

#2. Blogjacking – as you may know, I have coined the term blogjacking. It is when someone else sets up a blog in your name to “fluff up” their search engine rankings by linking to a site that they need to be more prominent in the search engine rankings. A way to protect yourself here is by first setting up your Google Alerts, but then backing that up with searching other blog indexing sites like:

• Technorati
• Google Blog Search
• Yahoo! Blog search
• MSN Live Spaces
• Bloogz
• Ask.com Blog Search

Check tese sites from time to time and search for your credit union. Dont forget to use quotation marks. Those are important!

#3. If you are going to run your own blog, watch it. Keep an eye on who is visiting your blog. Ifyou see traffic from outside of the state or outside of the country – be on alert! Your site may have been downloaded and your information may be posted on a site in Russia or Nigeria. You may just have a member overseas checking their accoun, but it pays to be cautious. Your web hosting provider may provide tracking software to monitor your site. If not then you may use Google Analytics for free and the information that Google provides is incredible.

#4. Crooks are lazy. Thats why they are crooks. If stealing was harder than working – we would have 0% unemployment and the cops could work 8 hour days. But the good thing is that they usually dont change file names. What this means is, on your website, name your logo graphic a funky file name like “culogo_12345_ha_ha_sucker.jpg”. What does this do for you? Add the file name culogo_12345_ha_ha_sucker.jpg to your google alerts. That way if any new website pops up with your logo, you will be alerted. Pretty sneaky eh?

#5. Keep the lines of communication open with your members! Make contacting a REAL person easy to do. I had an issue with what I thought was a credit unions blog. I went to their site to notify them and it turns out that they required me to enter my membership number into the contact form. But I am not a member. They have since removed that restriction. You and your members are supposed to be a team. They are not customers, they are partners. You never know who is on the other side of the teller window or the telephone. Today’s irritated member is tomorrow’s board member.

Well now, thats a lot to chew all at once. I hope this helps! I will continue on with some other tips and tricks.

“You have been Blogjacked” – “No Thank You” part 2

So, I just got off the phone with a very pleasant, yet confused gentleman. Our phone call began “Hi Tony, I need to talk to you about your CUHype.com blog. I am Mark from “The Credit Union”. My blood ran cold.

Had Mark called to unleash a torrent of verbal lashings? I flinched a bit and asked “What can I do for you?”

He politely said, “Well sir, its about your blog. You see, you say that you have canceled your subscription to our blog but, we don’t have a blog.” DUM! DUM! DUM!

I was stunned! Was it possible that I wrote my last entry in a fit of doughnut and rootbeer sugared frenzy at 11:00 last night? Was I hallucinating? No, not possible – I checked my feeds. DOH! I had deleted the feed last night (hence my article). “Mark, let me see if I can find the feed and call you back.” I began to search furiously for the credit unions blog feed from last night. I found links to it everywhere, butnot the actual blog. Then I tried Google’s blog search tool TaaDaa! I knew I wasn’t crazy! But what is this? Each link says it is from Mark’s credit union but the blog link goes to a shopping site, what? This link goes to another internet lending site? What the heck is going on? I called Mark back.

“Mark, I found the links, but I am afraid you have been blog-jacked.”

Some unscrupulous individuals have been creating blog entries under his CU’s name and forwarding the links to their websites in order to either drive traffic, increase their page rank or for some other nefarious purpose.

I subscribed to a blog in his credit unions name – but it was not his credit unions blog. The people managing the blog had linked it to his site, used copy from his site but the links embedded in the copy were going to the various shopping sites. This, my friends, is what we call “Black Hat” SEO tactics. Very nasty tricks

Sometimes site operators need to figure out a way to optimize (SEO = Search Engine Optimization) their sites to get the best search engine results. One way to do that is to add “weight” to their site by having other sites (like blogs) link back to the site that they want promoted. Sometimes using names of prominent credit unions add to the validity of those links giving the site a higher page rank. This means when you search for jewelry, their site is closer to the first page in a Google search.

I apologized to Mark, but let him know that I will help him do what I can to track these guys down or help him get these sites taken down. I edited my original post because it wasn’t fair – it wasn’t their blog burying me in blog posts.

And if anything, I always try to be fair.

So this is a red flag that I am raising to all credit unions. Check the blogoshpere to see if your name is showing up attached to other blogs – especially if you don’t have a blog. If anything, it will help you when a hapless blogger accidentally implicates you in filling his feed box with 600 blog postings.

Thanks Mark!

CU Blogging 2 – Rules for the road

I was reading Church of the Customer Blog, I hope they dont mind. They have a post that seemed seemed to support what we were saying here. Here is a reprint with some edits to make it more credit union related.

Blogs may provide credit union some benefits because they easily bridge the feedback loop between members and department and marketing leaders. That bridge is often missing or difficult to create using existing tools. Like focus groups. Or telephone surveys.

For any credit union, a blog is part of a long-term customer evangelism strategy. Since blogs are easy to set up and pay for (some are free), launching a blog should be at the top of your to-do list.

Why?

Among dozens of reasons, here are seven:

1. Blogs fan the flames of member evangelism. Their personal nature helps humanize you and your credit union. By creating and maintaining a blog have re-established a relationship with your members based on a personal dialog.
2. They function as an instant-feedback mechanism. Most blogs allow readers to respond to your posts or link to them on their own blogs or at least bookmark a specific article (like auto loan services) that they can go back to later, wen they are ready to buy. These features provide almost real-time feedback on ideas and issues that strike a chord, or highlight new or existing problems. A blog can help reveal a little problem before it becomes a big one.
3. They compel you to Napsterize more of your knowledge more often. A blog is about sharing what you know, think and believe; search engines index your ongoing knowledge-sharing, making it easier for members and prospective members to find you. Attraction is always easier than hunting.
4. They facilitate the spread of buzz. Honest, informative or thought-provoking posts about issues important to members and prospective members tend to be spread more often.
5. They allow you to have more simultaneous conversations. It’s more than you could ever do in person.
6. Though it is preferable to incorporate your blog into your existing website so the content is branded to your credit union, most blog service providers offer good-looking templates to use if your existing website design is embarrassing or non-existent.
7. Blogs help position you as a knowledgeable expert in your industry, a trusted friend and financial partner.

Once you start blogging, here are five blogging don’t:

1. Do not have someone else write your blog. Write it yourself if possible. This means, have someone from the mortgage department talk about all the benefits to financing through the credit union (no fees, generous jumbo loan caps etc.). It would be wise to run the copy through the marketing department and/or your agency to make sure that if there is a sale to be made – it can be made. This also gives the marketing department the opportunity to link the copy to sections inside your CU website.
2. Blogs should not be managed by the PR department or ad agency only. Blogs are best when they’re authentic, which may include run-on sentences, detailed analysis or critical opinions. Typically, those qualities run counter to the sensibilities of traditional public relations agencies (or sometimes the legal department). You should talk to your agency about hot topics. If they are doing their job, they should have some direction for you as to what buzz you should be addressing.
3. Do not have a thin skin. Comments to your posts may bite or sting, especially while other people watch. But a strong benefit of blogs: unwarranted criticism often causes other members often to spring to your defense. Trust-based relationships emanate from taking the bad with the good – within reason.
4. Do not let your blog go unattended for weeks at a time. Focus on several posts per week, even if they’re just a few paragraphs. No less than 1 entry per month per department. This should be easy as your department heads should be passionate and knowledge
5. Do not make your blog only a branding exercise. If you endlessly promote yourself and your services, no one will care. Make sure you keep the focus your members. Ask yourself – “does the information benefit the member, even if we dont close a sale?”

So, the trick is – if you are going to start and maintain a blog for your FOM – make sure that you have something to say and that it is in the benefit of your members. It can’t be only in the best interest of the credit union. I hope this helps – it’s not all my genius, it’s a collaborative effort. But then again, what is a credit union but a collaborative effort?

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

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.

Credit Union Podcasting – The Great Site Hype

I am going to get into so much trouble for this post. It flies in the face of so many “experts”. Here is my story…

We went to MAC this year. It was a lot of fun and we got to see all of our clients again, which is always the highlight of our time at MAC – that and the awards.

But there was something strange in the air. We set up our booth as we do every year (except we forgot our surge protector this year so I had to run around downtown Seattle until I found an office supply store). Out of nowhere a client came to me and asked “can you put podcasting on our site?”. I had to pause and consider this.

“Well sure we can, we can do anything to your website that you like. But, why do you want a podcast on your site and what do you want it to say?”. The client was surprised that I asked. I guess in all the hyping of this new podcasting revolution, no one has paused to ask why.

Over the past 6 months, almost every one of my clients has asked me about this new podcasting phenomenon that is sweeping the CU world. I think that it is likely agencies trying to dazzle their CU clients with their new Web 2.0 jargon. Frankly, think it’s a lot of hype about nothing.

You ask the typical CU marketing professional and they have fantasies of young or hip members downloading mp3’s to their iPods and listening to a lecture on home loan rates or equity loan possibilities. “Wow, my members could be downloading my commercials and listening to them at their leisure!”

Has TiVo taught us nothing? People don’t really volunteer to listen to commercials unless they get something for free in return. Maybe if there were a special code at the end of the podcast where the listener could get half a point off their equity loan, they may listen – or they may just fast-forward through the commercial. Which do you think is most likely?

The other thing that perplexed me is the logistical issues. Imagine that you go to your favorite credit union website. On the home page is a link to the latest podcast – “Fantastic! What will I learn today?”. The podcast is a 3 minute explanation on why dealer 0% financing sucks and your 4.99% new auto loan rate (on approved credit) is far superior. The website does the smart thing and give a brief synopsis of what is contained in the podcast including 5 bullet points on why CU funding is better.

I have to ask myself, why download the podcast when I just got the crib notes and now understand the benefits. I have figured out that I want my CU to preapprove my auto loan before the podcast has even downloaded. My caveat is – if you are going to podcast, dont make it an afterthought or a gimmick. Do it properly. Have something to say. Here is a freebie – do a podcast on “10 things your credit union will do to raise your credit score”. I would listen to that. That is information that is it’s own reward. Your members aren’t mindless automatons of the credit union. They are smart enough to dump their bank and switch over to your credit union – give them the benefit of the doubt.

So, I am ready to receive my ration of abuse from podcasting advocates. Bring it on – I can take it. But before you rise up with your pitchforks and axe handles, I have one question.

What ever happened to financial portals? 5 years ago they were going to revolutionize the dissemination of financial information. Every credit union had to have one. Every web service provider for credit unions were selling them. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon, then the wheels fell off.

I don’t have a single client who still pushes financial portals. I am happy though, to clean off a space next to portals on the shelf of bad ideas to make room for cu podcasts.