My Marketing Trends Kelly Kressner, Marketing Specialist

An interview with Peter Hodges, Bellco Credit Union

Now that you’ve been hearing us talk about adding social media to your marketing mix for the past few months, why not hear about the experience from a credit union’s perspective? Through Twitter, we were able to connect with Peter Hodges, Direct Marketing Specialist at Bellco Credit Union and ask him a few questions regarding their experience using social media.

LTM: What effect has using Twitter had on your relationships with members?
PH: Twitter is a perfect tool for credit unions because it’s a one-to-one medium. It’s a great way to connect with our members. Members initially seem to be surprised to find their credit union is on Twitter, but the reaction so far has been universally positive. I’ve found members are impressed that Bellco is reaching out to them through a “cutting edge” channel.

LTM: What other forms of social media have you added to your marketing mix?
PH: We have a Facebook page in addition to our Twitter account. Our Facebook page allows us to provide in-depth content on different financial topics as well as feature the community events we are involved in. Twitter also allows us to provide brief up-to-the-minute updates on our branches, financial news, etc. …To create additional awareness that Bellco is active on Twitter and Facebook, we have added Facebook and Twitter links at the bottom of every page on www.bellco.org.

LTM: How do you manage social media with your other job responsibilities?
PH: As the Direct Marketing Specialist, social media is a perfect addition to my job. I check search.twitter.com every morning for “Bellco” and “Bellco_cu.” This takes about five minutes. Then I come up with at least one tweet for our account each business day. I also check (our) Facebook account daily for new posts or comments. We like to address our fans’ questions and comments right away. …All in all, social media “maintenance” takes about 30-45 minutes a day.

>>Access the full interview.

Want to learn more about how social media can be weaved into your 2009 marketing efforts? Check out our webinar, “Let’s Talk Strategy – Layering Online & Social Media with Traditional Marketing”.