In the spirit of open source and cooperation, I thought it would be good to share a few tools and resources with readers that I have used or found recently on the web. All are free and easy to use with tremendous ROI.

Brand Monitoring and Research

“It’s about conversations, and the best communicators start as the best listeners.”
- Brian Solis, Social Media Manifesto

If you are going to embark on a social media campaign in the near future or even if you are not, you need to know what people are publicly saying about your credit union on the internet. Whether it’s news stories, blog postings (good and bad), tweets from Twitter, etc. – you need to listen…and take action if needed.

Why? Aside from being aware of press coverage, if a customer calls your call center and has a bad experience, they can blog about it for the whole world to see. And Google loves blogs. If someone Googles your credit union and related keywords, that information can very likely go to the top of the search results. Not good.

So how do you respond in cases like that? How do you even know when you need to respond? “With honesty. And if they put thought and effort into their post, it deserves a response,” says Vancity’s William Azaroff in a great blog post on the subject.

Google Alerts

Now you can Google (& Google Blog Search) your credit union name every day, but that takes time and a good memory. What you need are internet spies – meet Google Alerts. Google Alerts takes keywords that you give it and emails you any mentions of those as frequently as you want it to, searching the web, news, blogs, and even videos somehow. Many of you more savvy readers probably know about this tool already, but I was surprised recently at a recent social media presentation I was giving when only half the credit union marketers in the room raised their hands when I asked if they’ve heard of Google Alerts. And those of you that use the tool know that it’s worth repeating.

Some ideas for keywords:

• Your credit union name (in quotes so it doesn’t pick up every mention of every credit union in the world)
• Local competitors names
• Your credit union name + “sucks,” “awesome,” “customer service,” “complaints,” etc.

TweetBeep

What if someone talks about you on Twitter? You don’t have time to spend all your time typing your credit union name in Twitter Search. No worries – meet TweetBeep, which proclaims itself “like Google Alerts” for Twitter. It’s pretty neat – you can get email updates every hour and have a lot of control over what you want it to search for.

In addition to the keyword ideas above, you might also want to get a alert on TweetBeep for “credit union” + your city or surrounding area. Many people like to tweet, “Anyone know of a good credit union or bank in so and so?” What a great opportunity for you to tweet back “Check us out – we are a non-profit financial cooperative that is safe, sound & secure. Let me know if you need more info” or something similar in your own voice.

Yelp

How is your credit union being reviewed by others at yelp.com? I recommend checking the site out periodically or setting up an RSS feed to see what and how reviewers are rating your credit union. Use the feedback to amplify or retool your services.

Additional Tools

Local Business Center at Google Maps

Ever do a Google Maps search for a business and see that little pin pop up with more information? Did you know you can edit and add to that? Do it here for your credit union and any branches. Upload relevant photos and videos, web address, specify search categories, business hours, and much more. That way if someone searches Google Maps with “bank or credit union + your city,” you are ensuring accurate and relevant information is displayed.

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (SEO)

Here is another Google tool because, well, Google knows a little something about the internet, people use Google a lot, and almost everything they release is free. Do you want people to find your credit union and your web content in search results? Help members and non-members find you by optimizing your website and content for search engines – search engine optimization. There is a wealth of information on the subject on the web, but recently Google put together a nice little introductory .pdf with the essentials for you to download here. Once you understand the basics of SEO, you are on the road to better visibility.

Others? Tips? Tricks?

I hope you find these useful. If you have any other good free tools or have tips or tricks on the ones here, please add your thoughts. Together we are better

---

Christopher Morris is the Web Manager for the CUNA Councils, a national organization for credit union professionals. Previously, Christopher was Manager of Communications & Information for the National Credit Union Foundation. As part of his marketing and public relations duties at the Foundation, Christopher built cuaid.coop, the first national online disaster relief fundraising system for credit unions. Christopher is also a blogger at the YES CU Blog: Serving 18-to-30s and a member of Filene Research Institute’s 30 under 30 group.