With all of the financial options people have to choose from,including digital banking providers such as GoBank andVenmo, credit unions need to step up their game to marketthemselves.

Carol Kipfer, a Los Angeles digital marketing strategist, saidthat if credit unions don't create buzz online, they could losevaluable members.

“If you're not implementing up-to-date marketing strategies onsocial media, you're way behind your competitors,” Kipfer said.“Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook areproven ways to not only get the message out about what your creditunion has to offer, but more importantly, to engage with customersby getting them excited and interested.”

Even if you don't personally use Facebook or the otherplatforms, your credit union should have a presence on all thesesites. Here are three hacks that can easily be implemented in yourday-to-day marketing plan.

Facebook can give you valuable information aboutyour members: Facebook “likes” and “shares” canprovide you with information about your members and what they want.A study published by the NationalAcademy of Sciences in 2014 found that by analyzing the likesof 86,000 volunteers, they could gauge the characteristics of theperson with incredible accuracy. They could predict whether someonewas white or African-American with 95% accuracy, male or femalewith 93% accuracy, and a gay male with 88% accuracy. They foundthey could also predict whether a person was a Democrat orRepublican with 85% accuracy. Taking the time to look at the peoplewho are checking out your Facebook posts will help you learn aboutyour base. It's important to know who is engaging with you onFacebook so you can tailor your marketing toward a specificdemographic.

Amazingly enough, some credit unions don't have any social mediapresence. But others, such as $73 billion Navy Federal Credit Unionin Virginia, take Facebook very seriously. Navy FCU's sophisticatedblend of promotions, contests, offers, advertising and fanappreciation/engagement campaigns have helped it gain significanttraction with a massive return on investment. In 2013, the creditunion generated nearly $96 million in new loan business and $90million in CDs in six week, almost entirely on Facebook.

Don't put off engaging withcustomers on Twitter: According to marketing advisorsConvince & Convert, “In addition to following brands, Twitterusers research and engage with companies. 42% learn about productsand services via Twitter. 41% provide opinions aboutproducts/services. 19% seek customer support.” Members now expectto be able to use platforms like Twitter to voice complaints, learnabout products and talk about their experiences directly withcredit unions. You have the chance to help shape the image of yourcompany, earn new business and retain customers at the same time.Don't spend too much time away from Twitter if you want to keep upwith your members.

Use Instagram hashtags to promote customerengagement: Create a unique hashtag for your creditunion or the product you're promoting. Like your followers' posts,encourage them to take pictures and label them with the uniquehashtag you've created, and repost your followers' pictures. It'sgood social media marketing strategy to make members feel heard,understood and excited. Even if you're marketing a loan, you canuse platforms like Instagram to post pictures that don't haveanything to do with that product. You can post topical pictures,memes or something related to the holidays. The idea here and withall social media is to project a friendly, human image of yourcredit union.