08/08/2010

Young, Free and Super-charged

By Tim McAlpine

This past Friday morning I presented in front of about 1,500 credit union CEOs and directors at the 33rd Annual Directors' Convention. This was definitely the largest crowd I have ever been in front of. I am the little scared dot on the stage in this photo!

Here is my slide deck.

The subject was Young, Free and Super-charged: Building social media campaigns that work. It was basically an overview of my thoughts on social media marketing for credit unions and a recap of the lessons learned from our eight live Young & Free regions.

I promised the folks in the audience that I would have these slides online after my presentation. Suffice it to say that the flaky hotel Internet access had other plans for me!

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06/04/2010

Young & Free Ontario launches today for Libro Financial Group and United Communities Credit Union!

By Tim McAlpine

We helped Libro Financial Group and United Communities Credit Union launch Young & Free Ontario today.

Ontario joins (in order) Alberta, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama  Tennessee, Mississippi and St. Louis to become the eighth Young & Free region in North America.

It's great to have a second region live in Canada! And it's not just any region—Ontario is by far the most populated province in Canada with over 13 million residents! Or put another way, 40% of Canada's population.

Ontario is our second region in North America and first region in Canada to undertake the Young & Free program as a collaborative initiative. The majority of our programs have been single credit unions representing a small section of their home state or province. This is unique partnership between two like-minded, non-competing credit unions that serve Southwestern Ontario. It’s exciting to see collaboration between two well respected credit unions. By coming together, they are able to share the costs and amplify their reach.

Nala and I travelled to Ontario in March and shot the CEO launch video while we were there. Jack Smit and Jim Lynn had a fun time working with each other and did a great job!

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Ontario microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

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04/26/2010

My advice: don't over think, over edit and under power your social marketing efforts

By Tim McAlpine

The fine folks from the CU Grow blog interviewed me after my presentation last month at the 2010 CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council Conference in Washington, DC.

After watching it, I should put a footnote on my 'ignore compliance and legal' comment. I don't want to get anyone in hot water! I would involve those that have product and compliance knowledge at your credit union in your social media marketing activities and equip your 'social voices' with the know-how and freedom to put accurate information out there without a lot of editorial review.

The point I was trying to make is don't let the red tape get in the way of enthusiasm and action and don't just try things half way. Use common sense and connect with your audience in a meaningful way.

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04/20/2010

We are helping CUES look for the credit union industry's best and brightest!

We are partnering with the Credit Union Executives Society to launch “Next Top Credit Union Exec,” a program for the industry’s emerging leaders modeled after our popular Young & Free program.

The Next Top Credit Union Exec contest searches for emerging leaders from within the credit union industry. Credit union employees 35 and under (or those new to the financial services industry) apply by creating a 60-second video about themselves and a project they are working on, a project they are planning, or an idea they have for their credit union. All videos will be on display at www.NextTopCreditUnionExec.com.

“Young & Free has found a recipe for success in searching for young credit union members, and we are excited to use the same format to seek out creative and smart young professionals from within the credit union industry,” said Dale Schumacher, chairman, CUES’ board of directors and president/CEO, Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, Tampa, Fla.

Interested participants can apply by June 1, 2010, at www.NextTopCreditUnionExec.com. Applicants will be organized according to six geographical regions. The industry and online public will vote for their favorite applicant in each region from June 4–14, 2010. The applicant in each region who receives the most votes will become a Regional Finalist for the Next Top Credit Union Exec and will receive a reward package valued at $5,000.

The six Regional Finalists will present on the progress of their project, program or idea, at CUES’ CEO/Executive Team Network in Dallas, November 7–10, 2010. The finalist who scores the highest via a combination of a judging panel, audience and online votes will receive the title Next Top Credit Union Exec and an educational package valued at $20,000.

“We can’t wait to watch how this unfolds. There are so many talented young professionals within our industry, and our hope is that we reveal the breadth of our emerging leaders through this contest,” added Schumacher. ”Plus, we feel the prize package is one that can take our young professionals to the next level of leadership within their organizations.”

In addition, CUES is launching a new membership, CUES NextGen, designed specifically for members 35 and under. Learn more about the CUES NextGen membership and the Next Top Credit Union Exec contest.

This program has been lots of fun to work on and we are really looking forward to seeing how it plays out. I'm sure you know someone at your credit union who would make an excellent candidate!

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04/06/2010

Young & Free Mississippi launches today with 21 credit unions!

We helped the Mississippi Credit Union Association (MSCUA), representing 21 participating credit unions to roll out Young & Free Mississippi today. Mississippi joins Alberta, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee to become the sixth Young & Free region in North America.

Young & Free credit unions to date have been single credit unions representing a section of its home state or province. It’s exciting to see a group of credit unions embrace Young & Free and make this program truly state-wide. I'm confident that this cooperation amongst a group of credit unions will make Young & Free Mississippi a great success.

This came together because of the leadership and passion of a number of key people that believed in Young & Free, including Doug Adams from MUNA Federal Credit Union who championed it at the committee level and MSCUA CEO, Charles Elliott. Here's what Charles had to say about the program.

“I am excited to see Mississippi credit unions cooperatively working together to ensure their future by reaching out to a critical new generation of potential members. Young & Free provides credit unions with the greatest opportunity for success in reaching young adults by utilizing social media instead of solely traditional media. The ultimate goal of Young & Free Mississippi is to help our credit unions connect with young adults and to help us understand how we can serve the under-25 Mississippi crowd better than any other financial institution.”

Nala and I travelled to Mississippi in February and shot this fun launch video with most of the participating credit union CEOs. As luck would have it, the video shoot was the day before Mississippi received a huge dump of snow!

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Mississippi microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

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03/27/2010

Social media? Check!

By Tim McAlpine

This past Monday I spoke about Young & Free at the CUNA Councils Marketing and Business Development Conference in Washington, DC. I added a slide to my deck near the beginning of my talk to try and get across a growing concern that I have about credit unions and social media.

We all know that there is a lot of hype about the power of social media lately. Credit unions (and every other type of business for that matter) are finally taking note and getting involved in social media. Over the past couple of years, social media, social networking and social media marketing have moved from niche to mainstream.

But it begs the question: Is the typical credit union social media strategy working?

• Many credit unions have added a blog, but without a compelling reason to be, a long-term content creation strategy, dedicated people to contribute to it and adequate on-going promotion, it will sit idle and collect dust
• Next up, a rarely updated Twitter account with very few real local followers—instead the credit union is following other credit unions and credit union insiders and randomly broadcasting its hours and rates
• Add in a Facebook fanpage with the same industry fans and same lack of compelling content and interaction
• And finally a YouTube channel with a couple of barely viewed corporate videos

These vacant social media outposts become the equivalent of digital tumbleweeds blowing through the vast desert.

"Is your credit union utilizing social media?"

"Oh yeah! We've got a blog and we're on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!"

This hands-off, low-impact, toe-in-the-water appoach reminds me of a quote that I heard from a friend, "It's like peeing in a dark suit. You may notice, but nobody else will!"

I call this check mark social media marketing and it's not necessarily doomed to fail, but it is doomed to not do a whole lot and ultimately turn credit unions off of social media.

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03/16/2010

Living Young & Free Show 013: Money and Marriage, the Buying Calendar and Financial Vices

By Tim McAlpine

Chris from Alabama talks with married couples to find out what financial steps they've taken in their relationships, Josh from South Carolina walks us through the buying calendar and Joshua from Texas teaches us about financial vices.

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02/26/2010

All Young & Free got was a lousy T-shirt...

By Tim McAlpine

... and a bunch of exposure by social media maestro Jason Sadler and his new sidekick Evan White!

We bought another day of shirt wearing on I Wear Your Shirt on Wednesday, February 24. Young & Free received a full day of Tweetin', Facebookin', Flickrin', Ustreamin' and YouTubin' by both Jason in Florida and Evan in California. A highlight was this cool video that Jason put together!

Fun stuff and another successful day on I Wear Your Shirt! Thanks Jason and Evan.

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02/19/2010

Living Young & Free Show 012: Landing a Job, Video Games on the Cheap and the Golden Rules of Haggling

By Tim McAlpine

Josh from South Carolina talks about things to avoid when job searching, Joshua from Texas takes a look at video games on the cheap and Chris from Alabama goes over the three golden rules of haggling.

You can also download all of the episode as a podcast from iTunes. 

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02/08/2010

Announcing the strangest credit union music video contest ever

What if we mashed up "Pants on the Ground", Move Your Money and Why Gen Y Live with the love of credit unions and the public's growing animosity against the biggest of big TARP-taking mega banks as a very strange and wonderful way to promote credit unions? Throw in an Apple iPad and this challenge could not get any more topical! Sounds like good fun huh? Watch the video to learn more.

Now head to the contest page for the complete story.

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