Facebook can give you valuable information about your members: Facebook “likes” and “shares” can provide you with information about your members and what they want. A study published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2014 found that by analyzing the likes of 86,000 volunteers, they could gauge the characteristics of the person with incredible accuracy. They could predict whether someone was white or African-American with 95% accuracy, male or female with 93% accuracy, and a gay male with 88% accuracy. They found they could also predict whether a person was a Democrat or Republican with 85% accuracy. Taking the time to look at the people who are checking out your Facebook posts will help you learn about your base. It's important to know who is engaging with you on Facebook so you can tailor your marketing toward a specific demographic.

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

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

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