It's not enough to just have a presence on social media platforms. It's like that GEICO commercial: "Everyone knows that."

There has to be a strategic plan, though, and between compliance guidelines, new platforms, revamped algorithms for Facebook–and the list goes on–proving the return on investment in those new channels has remained elusive.

"It's time credit unions used social media with a purpose to produce a revenue stream and valuable ROI. Any CEO, director or member would get very excited about that," said Deb Schaeffer, business development manager at Chatter Yak!, a marketing CUSO that specializes in social media, website development and branding reports.