Facebook celebrated its 11th birthday last February, andlike the nephew you rarely see, it's probably not the sameyoungster you remember. If your credit union is not on Facebook –or if you haven't revisited your Facebook strategy in a few years – here are ten new reasons topump up your game.

1. Facebook is fast becoming a business channel. More than 30million businesses now have a Facebook fan page, and the recentaddition of a 'buy' button will accelerate its goal of becoming aglobal super-mall. Last year, sales exceeded $1 billion. Itstreasure trove of personal data makes marketers salivate and is onereason why Target and Shutterfly recently opened sites.

2. Teenagers are jumping off, but the older crowd is jumping in.Between 2011 and 2014, Facebook saw a 25% drop in teens ages 13-17,while usage from the 35-54 crowd rose by 41%. Those over 55 jumpedeven higher to 80%. For the first time, more than half of all online adults ages 65 and older (56%) useFacebook. This is not your kid's Facebook.

3. Despite what you may have heard, Facebook continues to grow.Since its inception in December 2004, growth has only continued.Approximately 1.4 billion people click on the site daily.Competitors may snipe at the social media king, but nothing comesclose to its global reach, and the fact daily users spend anaverage of four hours per day on the site.

4. For credit unions with small budgets, nothing matchesFacebook's cost-efficiency. Target an audience by education, zipcode, age, gender – even propensity to buy a house – and you reachyour ideal market. Plus, by paying only for prospects that click onyour ad, there's virtually no waste. That's why 1.5 millionbusinesses spend money on Facebook ads.

5. The demise of newspapers, a popular media option forfinancial institutions, has been replaced by Facebook for communitynews and opinions. If you could hear the daily posts from arearesidents commenting on community events, garage sales, restaurantsand personal stories, your marketplace would be alive with chatterand your voice would be missing.

6. Facebook is the place where young people – and older people –go for news. About six in 10 millennials get their political newsfrom Facebook in a given week – more than from any other source,according to the Pew Research Center – while 37% get theirpolitical news from TV. A surprising 39% of baby boomers receivetheir news from Facebook and 60% from TV. Facebook is the emergingnews destination.

7. More than 60% of customers say mobile banking is an importantor extremely important reason for switching institutions. Apreference for mobile makes Facebook a great way to reachon-the-move members. More than half their ad revenue comes frommobile advertising. Half a billion users access the social networkuse only a mobile device, which means 38% of Facebook usersnever log in via desktop.

8. Owning your own Facebook page offers a measure of security.Without owning your Facebook page, hackers can put up a phony pageas part of a larger scam to deceive your customers.

9. Looking for audiences just like your current members?Facebook launched Lookalike Audiences in 2013 to help you identify prospects.Upload a member list – or a list of web visitors if your compliancedepartment objects – to Facebook, and they will match the profiledata and send your ad to Facebook users with similar interests anddemographics. You can also compile lists of members byproduct usage, and Facebook will find matching prospects.

10. Keep an eye on your new competitor. Last year, Facebookapplied for an e-license from Ireland's central bank to allow it tocreate, send and store digital currency throughout the ITS Europeannetwork. After obtaining money services business licenses from 48U.S. states, Facebook now allows U.S. customers to transfer moneythrough its Messenger service. The lucrative internationalremittances market is next, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg sayshe won't think about charging a fee until the service reaches onebillion users.

Banks and credit unions lag behind retailers when it comes tomaking Facebook a part of their marketing strategies. Regulatoryissues and an inability to control the message has kept many away.But as it becomes clear that the social media giant is interestedin revenue far more than in conversation, it's time for financialinstitutions to become a part of the action.

Kevin B. Tynan is senior vice president of marketing forLiberty Bank for Savings. He can be reached at 773-489-3739or [email protected].