Members are flocking to participate!

Credit unions often find themselves grappling with the challenge of sharing their captivating narratives. Whether it's the pesky budget constraints, their niche markets and community-focus or fickle consumer preferences, the struggle is real.

Verity Credit Union has rolled up its sleeves and unleashed a marketing campaign aligned with its brand, mission and vision that is the heart of member centric. Cooke Consulting Solutions Principal Sarah Snell Cooke sat down with the mastermind behind Verity's upcoming marketing campaign, Vice President of Marketing Maria Alonso. She's got a plan, and it's all about placing their members in the limelight. We're talking real members with real stories.

Watch the video where Maria spills the beans on Verity’s campaign, wielding authenticity and transparency as its secret weapon. Find out what happens when credit unions give their members the chance to steal the spotlight.

Q&A (abbreviated for length and so you’ll watch the dang video!)

Sarah Snell Cooke: Before we really dive into what Verity is doing, I want to ask you, credit unions have had a difficult time sharing a compelling story at scale to build member awareness and consumer awareness. Why do you think that might be?

Maria Alonso: I think there could be several reasons why credit unions have faced challenges in sharing a compelling story at scale. Some factors could be limited marketing budgets; credit unions often have smaller budgets, than larger financial institutions. I think another one could be local focus. Many credit unions have a local or community-oriented approach, which is an advantage in building relationships, but can limit the ability to scale and reach a wider audience beyond the immediate area. And lastly, I think it's changing consumer behavior. Consumers preferences and behaviors have shifted many of them value convenience and digital accessibility and credit unions might face challenges that happen to those changing preferences.

SSC: I think those are great points that you made there. Tell us about Verity Credit Union’s new marketing campaign, because I'm loving it.

MA: We decided to create a photoshoot that showcases our members. Our members are really the heartbeat of our organization, so we wanted to make sure we created a campaign that puts them in the center. That's when I came up with the idea of creating a photo shoot and asking our members if they wanted to participate.

SSC: That's great. And you have how many who have agreed to it now?

MA: Right now, we have 75. It's actually kind of funny, because usually when we send an email out, we get responses for like a week later, but it just kind of fades away. But with this one, we've been getting responses, like three weeks later, which is great.

SSC: It's great to connect members with the credit union and make that emotional connection with them. And then those members, it's like word of mouth, but at scale.

So, when you were pitching this idea, how did it go over internally? Did you have hurdles to overcome? How did you prepare to sell it?

MA: I was really lucky. The team welcomed the idea, because it really fosters our commitment to our members. I really didn't have any hurdles, but again, I think I was really lucky.

SSC: That's great when leadership recognizes the value of something like this, right?

MA: Exactly. I think we're all aligned in our mission and vision, and that is putting our members at the core of the organization – front and center. That's what makes a lot of things easier, especially this campaign, because it's all about the members.

SSC: Obviously, you're doing this storytelling through your members. As far as KPIs and things like that, are you looking for brand awareness, engagement, lead generation? What kind of KPIs are y'all going to be tracking?

MA: This campaign has three different purposes. The first one is brand awareness. We want to make sure that we increase our credit union's visibility and recognition among a wider audience. Some of our KPIs would be the increase in social media followers, our engagement rates, the growth in website traffic, the impressions of the photos from the photo shoot, and the measurements across online platforms.

Also, I think it’s a great source for lead generation. To make sure we generate new leads of potential members that are interested in joining the credit union, some of our KPIs could be the number of members captured during the photo shoot, the increase of member inquiries after the photo shoot.

Lastly, and I think most importantly, is it drives community engagement and loyalty. It really strengths relationships with current members, and fosters a sense of community. And our KPIs would be increase in member referrals and recommendations that come from others. Member testimonials, and then the attendance and engagement of any upcoming events.

SSC: That's awesome. Because it's often difficult, or difficult to figure out, how to measure the ROI for marketing campaigns. Of course, that’s what the C suite is all about, and showing that marketing is a growth generator, not just an expense, which drives me nuts.

MA: Exactly. That's why I think it's so important to make sure that you have your KPIs at the beginning, because that way, it's really easy to track them.  

SSC: And each objective had its own KPIs; that's very important. So, why is it so important to feature your real members in your marketing? 

MA: Featuring real members in our marketing can have a lot of different benefits: authenticity and trust, relatability, human connection, community building, and transparency. Featuring our members really shows that we're transparent about who we're trying to reach and who the credit union is supporting.

SSC: It's important to be that pillar of the community, demonstrate it and not just talk about it.

So, you have 75 members participating so far. Have you heard their stories yet? Can you give us any insight or a peek behind the curtain?

MA: We haven't heard their stories quite yet, but the campaign will start end of September, early October. Whenever we do have them ready to share, you will be the first one to know.

SSC: That'd be awesome. I'll be looking for it.