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1. Tony Mannor on February 8th, 2008 said:

   It would be an interesting poll. Especially if the results were compared with other credit union results.

   But a poll like this should be left up for at least 45 days with some email references and newsletter mention. Just to really give it a shot at giving some accurate results.

   Plus you might go as far as to specify that posting to myspace and facebook counts as blogging. I bet that would significantly affect the results.

2. Ermar on February 8th, 2008 said:

   That’s an interesting poll. I think it be useful in terms of monitoring on how many members are blogging.

3. Ronald on February 8th, 2008 said:

   My union has not. I am definitely one of the bloggers. I know a lot of people are actually, it’s an easy way of communication.

4. Ginny Brady on February 8th, 2008 said:

   I’ve been making a collection of local blogs but haven’t thought about conducting a poll like this. Thanks for the idea.

5. Brent Dixon on February 8th, 2008 said:

   Tony -

   You’re right, in order to really hit the mark and get an accurate measurement, a CU would have to commit to getting the poll in front of as many members as possible.

   Ermar -

   Right on. I think it could even go beyond how many members are blogging, and extend into keeping up with the experiences and jonses of the membership. Which leads to a question for Ronald…

   Ronald -

   Do you think many members like you would let their credit union know the URL of their blog?

   Would it feel like a good thing, or would it feel like giving out your phone number to a potential telemarketer?

6. Brent Dixon on February 8th, 2008 said:

   Ginny -

   That’s awesome that you’ve been doing that! It seems like an awesome way to engage some of the more expressive people in the community.

7. Ron Shevlin on February 8th, 2008 said:

   Why do you ask this?

   I’m wondering if you’re thinking that if a CU found that 50% of its members were “blogging” then that might be a reason for the CU to create a blog.

   When a technology development is at the beginning of its evolution, you can’t ask people if they want it or not. They just don’t understand it.

   The winners make bets and put resources behind making it successful. If a CU thinks that communicating with its members through a blog is the right thing to do, than it needs to establish the blog, and then market the hell out of it, and be committed to its success. All the market research in the world isn’t going to help them.

8. Brent Dixon on February 8th, 2008 said:

   Ron -

   Nope, that’s not why I asked.

   I’m asking because I think, rather than blogging, that in many cases in makes more sense for credit unions to do exactly what Ginny is doing – find ways to engage members and the community through local bloggers.

   “Listening to the pulse” can only go so far with tools like Google alerts. The next step is getting into relevant forums, review sites, and blogs where the conversation could impact your credit union or membership.

9. Mike Templeton on February 8th, 2008 said:

   Maybe the real question is how many of your members know what a blog is? However, like Tony says, I think that using social sites like Myspace and Facebook can also be considering blogging. It’s really about the self-publishing aspect more than anything.

10. Jeffry Pilcher on February 8th, 2008 said:

    @Brent – Bingo. Why start a blog when you can go find a healthy, vibrant one and weave your way into it?

    The recommendation that “credit unions should be blogging” often skirts around the question, “What should they blog about?” Or, more specifically, what are they going to blog about that someone else isn’t already covering – better and with more readers?

    The credit union difference? No one will read it.

    Engaging members in the direction and governance of their credit union? That’s great…for the 100 (or 10) people who really care.

    Financial education? That subject is covered. Besides, if every credit union blogged about the same stuff, how would that help their brand? One Fundamental Theorem of Branding states that you should look for opportunities to differentiate yourself in everything you do. This includes blogging.

    So the better solution, as Brent suggests, is to find a topic that interests people and “sponsor it.” Like the Indianapolis Colts “Fan Forum,” which is appropriately sponsored by FORUM Credit Union.

    One could argue that Young & Free essentially falls into the sponsorship genre. It’s a site covering issues relevant to young people in Alberta – things that are free or almost free – “brought to you by…Commonwealth Credit Union.”

11. Tony Mannor on February 8th, 2008 said:

    Ok, this might be cold blooded and shameless marketing, however…

    What if you find out that your credit union has 150 blogging members. Most private bloggers are interested in monetizing their blog in some way.

    The credit union could offer a small banner to the member bloggers and give the blogger $25 per signup resulting from that banner (or text link or “Review”).

    I know it is a little shady on its face, but is it any different than any other member referral program? It is easy to track and could show the marketing benefits (or lack thereof) of blogging and social media. Of course not all blog readers live in the covered area, but some might.

    The credit union could have 150 “Evangelists” spreading “Word of Mouth” to people that trust the blogger’s opinion.

    Is this a bad thing?

12. Tony Mannor on February 8th, 2008 said:

    @Jeffry

    I agree with you in that if a credit union is going to blog, they need a focus. The focus is up for debate.

    I like the idea of credit unions blogging on ways to save money. “Frugal Tips” or “How to feed a family of 4 for $50 a week” could get you quite a bit of traffic. Maybe, how to renovate your kitchen and save 30% on parts an labor (selling equity loans and such). Unfortunately that traffic could come from around the whole country (or world).

    I think a nice compromise would be a credit union that is community focused to blog about current events, social programs and chartable events that the credit union is taking part in. Also working online with local bloggers and organizations that the credit union works with in a “Banner Exchange” program to cross promote the credit union blog and the credit union.

    I think the blog really just needs to speak to the brand of the credit union. If the credit union doesnt have a strog brand or is not comitted to the brand, then they shouldnt bother with a blog. It will just be more white noice in your overall marketing efforts.

    However, making your credit union blog a hub for community activity will be the best way to entrench your credit union into the minds of potential members.

13. Jeffry Pilcher on February 9th, 2008 said:

    If you’re blogging about the community, then you basically need to hire a full-time employee (or at least part-time, like Larissa).

    Instead of hiring someone, why not recruit a half-dozen members? Create a killer platform, give them tools and support (maybe even a small budget) and have them blog about the community.

    If the site is promoted well, the positions could involve some degree of prestige.

14. Tim McAlpine on February 10th, 2008 said:

    Jeffry is right about it being a full-time commitment if you are going to do it right. We originally thought the Young & Free Spokesperson could be a 20 hour per week position that a student could do on the side. After 5 weeks, it is proving to be a full-time job for Larissa.

    Credit union blogs that get 2 or 3 posts per month will not build a substantial following. Period.

    To really build momentum, there needs to be compelling new content appearing on your blog (or whatever you want to call it) at least twice a week, if not more.

    I like Jeffry’s concept about building a platform where multiple authors from your credit union’s membership can become the voice. This is a variation of Vancity’s Change Everything and could really produce some great content and discussion.

15. Gabriel Garcia on February 10th, 2008 said:

    I recently sat in a social media strategies seminar in S.F. and the instructor made an excellent reply to a question posed by a representative of a very large well-known firm.

    The gentlemen asked why his corporate blogging efforts were not bearing any “fruit” in regards to overall visits and click throughs.

    It turned out that this well-know firm (you would be shocked if you knew the N.Y. firm) had hired college students to blog and social network about them.

    The instructor said, “well that is like hiring someone who knows the absolute least about your industry and hiring them as a press representative.”

16. Brent Dixon on February 13th, 2008 said:

    Hey, look. Someone voted “yes.”

    Dear Person Who Voted “Yes”,

    I’d love to hear what you asked, what you learned, and how you plan on reacting to the results.

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