Why Don't Credit Unions Blog?

By Trey Reeme

“The idea of creating a blog is one that interests me. We are seriously considering including a blog with our new site,” began the e-mail from the CEO of a 5,000-member credit union. It was six months ago, and I was thrilled to hear it.

I don’t know which part of my response talked him out of it, but the blog never launched. I’d chosen my words carefully, emphasizing blogs aren’t for everybody, but if his culture was open enough, blogging with his members could create an online sense of community rivaled only by a branch lobby.

Undaunted, I still believed the en masse movement of credit unions to blogs was a short time away. The blogroll of companies in other industries was growing exponentially. Surely, credit unions would be well-suited for hosting these online conversations.

It’s six months later, and four credit unions communicate with their members through blogs.  Verity Credit Union, First Tech Credit Union, Forum Credit Union (with their teens), and Service One Credit Union.  Hardly the widespread adoption I’d anticipated.

Call me stubborn and/or delusional, but credit unions are largely ignoring a communication medium that would revolutionize how you connect with your members. This leads me to My Bold CU Blogging Claim (what I hope to back up with the rest of this post):

Internal culture permitting, your credit union should make blogging an integral part of your Web site today.

Here’s why:

1.  Blogs are free (or at least dirt cheap).

This fits most credit unions’, um, “conservative” online marketing budgets. According to a 2005 UW E-Business Consortium Study (PDF), the average amount that credit unions with Web sites spend annually on online marketing is less than $50 for every $1 million in assets. So, a blog won't break the bank, pun intended.

2.  Blogs attract, influence, and connect with a younger audience.

I’m not referring to the “Myspace generation” either; I’m talking about Gens X & Y-- those of us who skip through commercials with TiVo, use Google on our cell phones, and won’t do business with a company if we can’t find them on line. If a graying membership is a looming long-term threat to credit unions, why not reach out to a younger demographic in a way that builds credibility with them?

3. Blogs tell your story.

If another long-term threat to credit unions is a public who’s unaware of what a credit union is (read Henry Wirz’s Skybox post from a few weeks ago), shouldn’t credit unions be eager to tell their own story?

Think about every time you’ve been interviewed by a local news reporter. Were the published pieces ever what you thought they’d be? You probably cringed when they called you a “credit union bank,” misquoted a staffer, misspelled your name, or combined bits and pieces of what you said and put it out of context. With a blog, it’s your story in your words every time. And if you doubt the importance of having a story, read some Seth Godin (he's got a very popular blog himself).

4. Search engines love blogs.

If you’re having trouble showing up in searches, a blog can get you exposure that no amount of cash can buy.

You may have never heard the term Web 2.0, so here's a quick definition via its most famous example, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. "Web 2.0 generally refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online. In contrast to the first generation, Web 2.0 gives users an experience closer to desktop applications than the traditional static Web pages."

As I'm typing this, Wikipedia has over a million entries built by average Janes and Joes. In fact, you could find "credit union" right now and edit the content directly. (Of course if you type "Credit unions are unquestionably better than banks" a reviewer will question your objectivity and your change won't stick.)

Blogs are very “Web 2.0” due to the conversation afforded by comments and the delivery of content changes via RSS feeds (the whole “Web as a desktop” thing). And because of the nature of the conversation that takes place in the blogosphere encouraging lots of links between posts, blogs are loved by search engines.

5. Spammers have irreparably harmed e-mail lists.

Blogs using RSS provide a much more efficient way of reaching an audience than an e-mail blast. In the next few years, RSS will make its way further into the mainstream as Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista will include RSS readers in their launches.

6. Fear of negative comments isn't a reason to avoid blogging.

You can always choose to screen your comments before they go live and outline a blogging policy that explains what’s allowed in comments and what’s not.

Wells Fargo’s blog, for example, screens comments first and allows commenters to be identified only on a first-name basis. They don’t allow embedded links, and a commenter must agree to a waiver before posting. It’s a little tight by my standards, but they do make the process easy enough to encourage conversation. Wells Fargo's reasons for editing their comments are there because of compliance, and not necessarily because they want to regulate discussion.

It’s my experience that if you’re open with your readers, you won’t get “negative” comments. You’ll get debate. You may get comments that disagree with what you’re saying, but that’s a chance for you (and often other commenters behind you) to rebut. If you’re afraid of healthy debate, you probably shouldn’t blog.

On our blog, Open Source CU, a commenter recently explained, “The discussions around blogging in our CU center around: 'Are we ready--culturally--to be open about all operations within our organization'--are we really ready to walk the walk. The great thing about blogging is the ability to have an open and honest conversation with the consumer in a public & semi-permanent forum. We believe that at least some groups of consumers would welcome the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal--but are we organizationally ready to be that open, even when our consumers identify a flaw or fault?”

Back to the CEO who e-mailed me six months ago: Maybe his time demands were too great, his board members were too uncomfortable, or my answers were too touchy-feely to provide a compelling reason to proceed with a blog. Or maybe, like our commenter pointed out, the transparency a blog requires didn’t fit his credit union’s culture. I can’t blame him for being hesitant--only a handful of ships had sailed those waters before.

“Are we ready?” is a tough question. My answer is, “Internal culture permitting, you are.” Blogging's not for every credit union. But I do think more than four CUs should have a culture open enough to qualify.

Trey Reeme is a writer for the Open Source CU blog and EVP of Trabian in Plano, Texas.

Comments

[Doug True]

It does seem like a natural marriage - credit unions and blogs. We are member owned so why not give the member/owners a channel where we can converse? Could it be fear of the unknown? I hope not, as credit unions can not continue to be followers. Is it that we don't have creative talent on staff to carry on the conversation with our members? I don't think that is the case. When will we reach the tipping point and see credit unions begin to adopt blogging? I hope it is not too late in the game. Credit union executives should read Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. It seems to prove the case for a blog quite effectively.

[Morriss Partee]

Hey, Trey,

Excellent article. But the question is not "is the credit union ready for a blog?" Public commentary is happening whether or not credit unions are ready for it. Just because a CU decides not to create a blog or other discussion vehicle does not mean that people are not going to post public messages about the credit union. People are going to communicate via blogging, email, cell phone, carrier pigeon and smoke signals no matter what. The only choice for credit unions becomes between getting in front of it and leading it, or ignoring it and having it happen anyway, but not on their own terms. This gets back to the original tenants of the Cluetrain Manifesto (1999): "1. Markets are conversations" and "20. Companies need to realize that their markets are often laughing. At them."

Also very relevant: "18. Companies that don't realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity."

Remember, this was originally set out in 1999! Before the term blogging had even been coined! Before MySpace and Craigslist existed!

This very blog points out the paranoia that exists in CU land.... html comments are not allowed, so I can't give you an automatic link to the Cluetrain Manifesto. But I CAN tell you that you can find it at www.cluetrain.org. I just can't give you the convenience of clicking a link to go their instantly. You'll have to get there on your own if you so choose.

[Skybox]

Morriss,

Thank you for visiting CUES Skybox from http://everythingcu.wordpress.com/and sharing the Cluetrain Manifesto. Trey has been a tireless proponent of blogging in the CU world. We even turned to him to clear up the issue we were having with Web links in our Comments. While the software was set to recognize Web addresses and turn them into links, turns out that that pesky http:// is required. Here, then, is a quick link to the Cluetrain Manifesto: at http://www.cluetrain.org .

[Anthony Demangone]

I couldn't agree more! The response to NAFCU's blog has been very positive. It does not take that much time to manage, and it allows us to be available to our members 24/7. In addition, it is very flexible. NCUA can announce something, and we'll have it on our blog in minutes. While our audience is a bit different from a credit union's, I don't know what anyone has to lose. Most credit unions already write articles for newsletters and provide consumer-related information to their membership. Simply allow the material to do double-duty and reach out to a new audience.

[Mary Arnold]

Anthony, thanks for your comment. I think the sheer fact that NAFCU is using a blog to communicate about compliance will help some CUs feel "safer" about having a blog. I think some are wary of blog-related compliance issues.

Plus you have made compliance almost fun--a major accomplishment in my estimation.

Skybox visitors, click on Anthony's name and check it out!