Many credit union marketing departments struggle to show positive ROI and get results with digital marketing.

 

 

Many credit union marketing departments struggle to show positive ROI and get results with digital marketing. I have worked with many credit unions and wanted to share the best digital marketing strategies and tactics that have proven most successful for our clients.

One caveat: tracking is essential to prove ROI. You should have Google Analytics installed on the website and be tracking conversions.

Once you have your tracking system in place, start your credit union's digital market. You can analyze the results and make adjustments as needed.

Digital Marketing Idea 

#1: Search Ads

Google Search Ads are the text ads that show up at the top search results. They offer some of the most valuable real estate on the web. You have a high chance of reaching potential members with high purchase intentions if you bid on the correct keywords (more about this later).

You need to ensure that your keywords, ad copy and landing page align with searchers' intent in order to run successful search ads campaigns.

Below is a picture of these live ads. You'll want to split your search campaigns into targeted ad group groups to get the best results. These ad groups can be based on specific keywords groups or products within a product section.

You could, for example, have a mortgage campaign. However, within that campaign you might also have several ad groups with related keywords such as mortgage rates and mortgage calculators, mortgage fees, [city] mortgage, etc.

Pro-tip Don't rely on the traditional marketing calendar to run your targeted searches year-round. This allows the platform to self-optimize, and improve its performance over time. It is less effective to run campaigns monthly or quarterly than long-term campaigns.

#2 Digital Marketing: Remarketing Ads

Display ads or remarketing ads that are served to specific audiences following a visit to your website can make a lasting impression.

You can segment your remarketing ads in most cases to show targeted ads to specific audiences. You could, for example, show mortgage ads if a visitor has previously visited your mortgage page.

This banner ad is an example of how that might look.

You can create "lookalike audiences" for these ad platforms if you have a Facebook Pixel or a Google Ads remarketing pixel installed on your site.

This is especially useful when promoting products. A remarketing campaign could be part of your promotion plan to reach people who have visited the product page on your website in the past 30 or 60 days.

Credit unions can also use these ads to market their products and increase their share of the wallet. To create a new audience for your advertising campaigns, you can set up custom triggers that will notify people when they log in to view their checking accounts or submit a loan payment.

For more information on advertising, see The Best Digital Strategies for Credit Union Advertising

Digital Marketing Idea

 

 #3: Optimize Local Results

Is your bank listed in search results when a potential customer searches online to find banks or credit unions in their area?

How does your online presence compare with others in the region? Are you able to see the map results for your bank or credit union? Are there any positive reviews?

Although this isn't a new idea in digital marketing, local SEO continues to be a powerful way to attract new members.

You should at least have:

• Each location will have a Google My Business (GMB), listing that is claimed and optimized.
• Added photos to your GMB list
• Review the GMB listing for each area (Don't lie about this one.) Ask for reviews from other members.
• Each location will have its own page on your site

Also, ensure that each listing with your number on it matches your site.

Your ultimate goal in digital strategy

These concepts are some of our most successful credit union marketing strategies. They have helped us attract new customers, and increase share of wallet online. These tactics change over time, so your marketing strategy should also.

Whatever digital strategies you use, your ultimate goal should always be to meet the financial needs members and potential members.

Search ads can reach users at the time they need them. Search engines are used by people to find answers and information. Your ads reach the right people at the right moment.

Remarketing advertisements are a great way to deliver high-frequency, efficient ads to the right target audience.

Local SEOefforts will ensure that your credit union is visible in search results when potential members are searching in your area.