Given the growing importance of digital marketing, Filene Research Institute expert panelists agreed that credit unions need to do more than just pay lip service to the digital revolution by simply turning traditional collateral and messaging into digital content.

In addition, experts said while credit unions may have an advantage on the social media playing field as being authentic and having members' best interests at heart, big banks have learned the valuable lesson of emotion-based advertising, and that emotional appeal translates well to digital and social channels.

Taking a page from its own research, for the Digital Branding report Filene has replaced its traditional text-based PDF with a link to a web-based presentation, which includes a combination of video of the speakers and their slides.

“More importantly, you can share the presentation beyond your own screen in staff training or perhaps a board meeting; you can also do it in broader ways with your social and professional networks on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn,” said Ben Rogers, research director at Filene.

The latest report has drawn from Filene's November 2011 Credit Union Digital Branding Colloquium in San Francisco, where a panel of social media practitioners and researchers along with strategists from Google and Facebook shared what tools currently exist and are being developed while discussing how credit unions should rethink their branding and digital presence via digital messages and channels that resonate with consumers.