4 Ways for Credit Unions to Use Content Marketing

You may have heard the term “content marketing” bouncing around in your business circles lately. Although it is a relatively new buzzword, the concept actually has quite a long history, dating back to the 18th century. One of the earliest examples of content marketing is when Benjamin Franklin first published “Poor Richard’s Almanack” in 1732 to promote his printing business. The almanac contained content for readers that was needed, valuable and entertaining, which led to it becoming a recognized and respected publication.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is defined by the Content Marketing Institute as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience, ultimately to drive profitable customer action. It is considered a subset of public relations, but the main difference is that PR already has an established audience through the journalists and outlets with whom you share your news, while content marketing creates its own audience through owned channels. It is also different from traditional marketing, which uses communication (such as email campaigns) to directly sell a product or service.

Through content marketing, credit unions can become a trusted source for the many people searching the internet for answers to their important questions. In addition to this advantage, you have unlimited access to this audience and can release relevant content to draw them to your website. Four ways you can implement content marketing to create new relationships with potential members are:

1. Start a Podcast

People have started to rapidly consume podcasts in recent years. In 2019, 62 million Americans, or 22%, listened to podcasts weekly – up from 15% in 2014, according to a study from Edison Research and Triton Digital. Podcasts are easy to consume because they don’t require extra time (a person can listen to a podcast while driving to work or cleaning their house) and display an authenticity that can be difficult to achieve through written or visual content. So, to hop on the auditory content train, what do you need to know? Here are five things to consider:

1. Decide on your target audience. 2. Think of a niche topic and make it informative rather than salesy. 3. Determine a regular schedule or frequency of episodes and stick to it. 4. Get the right equipment and software to record and edit. 5. Script it and start talking!

2. Write Blogs

Perhaps the easiest and most effective way to produce content that attracts prospective members is writing blogs. Blog posts can focus on a variety of topics. For example, a person might be interested in applying for a home loan but needs more information, which leads them to search the internet for, “How do I apply for a home loan?” If you have a blog post about the process with an intentional SEO strategy in place, chances are they will find and come to your website for answers.

So, what does this SEO strategy look like? Use relevant keywords – the words and/or phrases searchers are looking for – to help boost your page in search results. You’ll want to include your keywords in your blog post’s title, first paragraph and a subtitle. From the example above, the words “home loan” are keywords that people may be scouring the internet for, so be sure to thoughtfully include them throughout your piece. Most importantly, you should offer quality content so that web browsers will lead traffic to your website (Google actually takes note of content that does not prove to be high quality and ranks it lower). Providing valuable information opens the door for a conversation with your target audience, instills trust in your company and could be the start of a new relationship.

3. Create and Distribute Infographics

A combination of the words “information” and “graphic,” an infographic is just that – an easily digestible way to relay complicated information. People are more likely to retain and engage with visual content, and there are even strategies for patterns, color pairings and so on that are proven to be most effective.

As a credit union, you can use infographics to display the history of your organization or even explain and analyze numbers and statistics about saving, spending or investing. Once you have an idea of what information you want to share, there are plenty of tips on how to create a killer infographic. Some of these include choosing complimenting fonts, being aware of the flow and using the rule of thirds.

4. Release Case Studies

A case study offers real-life examples of how or when a company successfully helped a client, but it’s more than just, “Look at how we’re great!” Oftentimes, a case study lays out a client’s situation and why they started working with your business, what you did to help them and how they are more successful because of your work. That is, a typical format is: “Situation. Actions. Results.” Case studies establish credibility for your credit union and allows trust to be built with a prospective member – since you’ve proven successful before, it’s likely to happen again.

Incorporating these four content marketing strategies into your business plan can help set you apart as the expert in your industry. It’s important to continuously provide new content on a regular schedule to draw in new audience members. By publishing relevant content, those who visit your website will build trust in your business. They may not be ready to make a decision yet, but when they are, they’ll know where to go.

Jeff Bradford is the president of public relations and advertising agency the Dalton Bradford Group, heading up its Nashville office.