Throughout our conversations with credit unions around the country in the last few weeks, we have frequently been asked questions about the best ways to communicate timely and important news to current and prospective members right now.

Many credit unions have had to close the lobby of their branches entirely and are now turning to digital communications to relay messages to their members.

While switching your communications primarily to the digital space may be daunting, it also offers you an abundance of targeting capabilities to reach your target audience while they are stuck in their homes and online more than usual.

Communicating With Current Members

The primary form of communication that you should be using to reach current members right now is email.

Whether it is an update to your drive-thru hours or announcements for different types of COVID-19 relief, emails will allow you to communicate messages directly to your members in a timely manner.

If you have not already, make sure that your website displays some form of COVID-19 update on your homepage and most frequently viewed pages. This will ensure your members see the message no matter where they navigate on your website.

Also, if you can update your mobile app, include any COVID-19 updates on there as well.

On the advertising side, display and Facebook ads are going to be your most beneficial form of communication because they don’t require your members to perform a search, and they provide you with highly customizable targeting options to reach your desired personas.

Communicating With Prospective Members

While Facebook ads can be beneficial because of their precise targeting capabilities, a majority of your budget to engage with prospective members throughout this pandemic should be allocated to paid search advertisements

Paid search advertisements have the highest intent and conversion rates of all of your advertising options, and require the user to perform a specific search to see them.

Building Your Brand’s Legacy

Times are tough right now. With your branches operating very differently right now, and many of your members thrown into unexpected difficult financial situations, you may be uncertain what the future might hold for your credit union and its members.

However, if you leverage the correct forms of communicating to your members through digital channels during this crisis, and do everything you can to help, your credit union's brand will only be stronger when the world begins to return back to normal. We recommend leaning towards over-communicating. If you think you’re doing too much communicating, you’re probably doing the right amount.

If you would like to learn more about how your credit union should be communicating and marketing throughout this crisis, click below to watch our recent webinar.

Webinar: Credit Union Marketing Response to COVID-19