Once upon a time, credit unions relied solely on traditional methods to market their brand. Today, channels such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest and others have been touted as the natural evolution, yet the supporting research has been scarce, leaving many to wonder if it was nothing more than just another marketing fairytale.

The one constant, among experts and detractors alike, has been the need for strategy and the idea that rather than usurping traditional marketing, social media most effectively plays a supporting role in the larger overall strategy.

"If you are getting in it, there's got to be a social media strategy, that is not an option," said Mark Weber, president/CEO of brand strategy firm Weber Marketing Group based in Seattle. "Be clear about the why behind it and what you're going to do and not going to do. Understand the resources, time that goes into it. I'm a proponent of strategy and how it's going to be used so it's done well."