Before attracting younger members, you need to educate them on why they should join your credit union, which was one of the main goals for 2012 at my credit union.
Being a Gen Y member myself, I realized I had little to no financial education or awareness of credit unions. The way we decided to reach Gen Y is to have Adam Carroll, CEO of National Financial Educators, come to our credit union and present on different financial education topics. Carroll approaches financial education in a way that we had never seen. He puts things into perspective and makes it easy for listeners to understand.
My team at Financial Plus Credit Union decided to spread the message by providing financial education regularly at our credit union to our members and staff. Making financial education available to staff will ultimately help the credit union succeed, as well as demonstrate how a financially responsible credit union makes its members a priority.
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Prior to his public remarks, Carroll gave an educational presentation for our staff at the credit union. The event was a huge success, especially because we have many staff members with children interested in scholarships. The knowledge gained in the private presentation helps our staff explain Carroll's concepts to our members.
The topic we chose to present first was Scholarship Mastery. This presentation focuses on how students can get scholarships, where to look and how to go through the application process.
To promote the seminars, we're issuing an exclusive invitation direct mail piece to members ages 16 to 20. As our seminar series progresses, writing about each event and posting the results will be important to encourage future attendance.
Incorporating social media into the planning and education process is also a great way to use an efficient and cost-effective tool for our promotions. We plan to post articles and photos from each of our events, including direct feedback from our attendees. We will post this information on our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the year to keep people informed.
We plan to host up to five seminars in 2012 over various topics, including scholarships and "Money in Your Twenties." These events will not only educate our members and staff, but they will also promote our credit union and showcase our people helping people concept.
Danielle Gibbons is marketing coordinator, Financial Plus Credit Union, West Des Moines, Iowa.
Contact 515-224-1222 ext. 214 or [email protected]
The Cooperative Trust is a grassroots organization composed of several hundred young credit union professionals. Its activities include meetings, mentorships online collaboration and development projects. Opinions expressed are the personal views of the author.
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