According to a 2013 Adobe survey of 1,000 professional marketers, 76% of them thought marketing had changed more in the past two years than in the last five decades. As a result, marketers are not confident in their digital marketing abilities as the survey found only 48% of marketers feel highly proficient in digital marketing.

The survey also found that 82% of marketers learned about digital marketing on the job and have had no formal training, and only 9% of marketing professional strongly agreed with this statement, “I know our digital marketing is working.”

Diane Knudson, director of web development at services CUSO CU Solutions Group in in Livonia, Mich., said the most frequently asked questions she gets from executives is how do they get started in digital marketing and how do they measure ROI. Throughout this year, Knudson has been hosting digital marketing webinars that she said have been well attended. A recent session attracted nearly 100 credit unions, she noted.

“I really think the best place to start is to figure out what their credit union's overall strategic goals are, what they are trying to achieve and then figure out which platform is going to work out best for them in the digital space,” Knudson suggested.

For example, one of Eli Lilly FCU's strategic goals is to differentiate itself in the marketplace by helping consumers be financially well and to help them at every step throughout their lifetime journey.

“To do that you just can't be pushing product,” Jones said. “You have to make sure that members are getting the right product to fit their particular unique needs.”

Read more: Content marketing magic …

To accomplish this goal, Eli Lilly FCU launched a content marketing system two years ago by offering comprehensive eBooks that provide members with in-depth information about how to buy a car, buy a home, finance a college education and other topics. The credit union also developed a blog and an email marketing automation system that keeps track of delivering customized messages to members that download their eBooks.

Jones likened content marketing through digital channels as pull marketing that draws members to the information they are looking for to help them make sound purchasing decisions versus push marketing, which pushes products and services to members who may not need them.

The pull marketing method may be a viable marketing approach in some digital channels because more than 60% of American consumers do online research or look up product reviews to help them make a decision to buy products or services, according to a Nielsen research report released in August.

Eli Lilly FCU produces an eBook and posts two new blogs each month. The blogs are written by employees who are subject-matter experts in their field, Jones said. They are encouraged to write posts in their own style and in the first person, which facilitates an authentic voice from a consumers' information mindset.

That authentic voice seems to be working. ROI figures showed the credit union's blog are averaging more than 2,000 views a month, and blog readership has skyrocketed by 468% over the last month, Jones said.

The eBooks and their corresponding landing pages have logged 4,488 visits with 1,197 downloads that converted to nearly 300 new contacts. Jones said contacts are people who have come in contact with the credit union through means other than membership first.

Read more: Missoula FCU's Buzz Points …

The $395 million Missoula Federal Credit Union in Missoula, Mont., is leveraging several digital channels to promote its new credit and debit card product that enables members to rack up reward points, or Buzz Points, when they shop at local merchants. Though launched at the end of June, the program is expected to be in the black by the end of the year and members have already gained a substantial amount of reward points indicating members like the new program, according to the credit union.

“We knew our members wanted a credit and debit card rewards program and the Buzz Points program also gives us the ability to grow our interchange revenues,” said Joni Walker, senior vice president for marketing and development at Missoula. “The program also is our way of competing with the big guys.”

While the credit union can't afford to hire celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson to stump for its credit-debt card rewards program, it can compete locally.

“We are all about western Montana and this Buzz Points program came in at the perfect time when we realized we wanted to do a hyper local rewards program and incent people to purchase locally,” Walker said.

Members receive a quarter point per dollar spent at a national or regional business and one point per dollar spent at 600 local merchants, she explained. They rack up the points even if the local business hasn't signed up for the Buzz Points program. The credit union is using its website, Twitter and Facebook sites to promote the program and has a separate Facebook page for the rewards promotion. Members also can redeem their reward points via a mobile app.

Since Buzz Points began at the end of June, about 15% of the 30,000 members who hold a Missoula credit or debit card account have signed up. The credit union also has partnered with up to 60 local businesses for its recommended merchant program that enables them to offer additional Buzz Points to customers and email special offers to clients who have bought competitors' products.

“On a Web portal, merchants can keep track of the email offers and see how many customers redeemed the offer,” Walker said. “Having been in marketing for half of my life, that just makes me so excited for the merchants.”

In 2015, the credit union is looking to step up its Buzz Points program by encouraging members to like its Buzz Points Facebook page or post on it to earn points, while merchants would be allowed to pitch special offers to members.

“Most of these small business owners are mom and pop shops and they only have so many hours in the day to think about marketing and how are they going grow their business without spending a whole lot of money on mass media, which may or may not work,” she explained. “This is a really good way to help local merchants target their customers and really see the impact of how their marketing dollars are working for them.”

Walker said Missoula expects the Buzz Points program to be in the black by the end of the year.

“The interchange revenue is huge for us as it is a great way to become top of wallet with our members,” Walker said. “We've been in this program for only a month and a half now and we have already seen our interchange income pick up.”

The credit union's members racked up one million Buzz Points from the end of June when the program began, to mid-August.