Should Your Credit Union Be Active on Instagram?
With over 700 million monthly active users, Instagram’s primary age group is 18-29, which is the prime demographic for credit unions to target to grow their membership. What’s more? The photo-centric app shows a human side of your credit union, giving your credit union an edge over megabanks. It’s a great resource for business development and community engagement.
Getting Started
When you visit an Instagram page the first thing you see is a username, a photo, a short description, and the only clickable link on Instagram (barring ads). When choosing an image for your Instagram photo, note that it will be a circular image; we recommend using your logo for branding purposes. Your bio is your introduction to your audience: and you only have 150 characters including the ever-important link to your website! Make sure your mission and brand are clear. There’s also a place to update your contact info: add a phone number, email, and address so that Instagram viewers can easily get in touch with you. Now you’re ready to get going!
What should your credit union post on Instagram?
Imagery is key when it comes to Instagram. Use branded imagery consistently throughout all your posts, whether elements of your brand are included or you always have your logo present whether on someone’s t-shirt, merchandise or buildings. Instagram is a great way to showcase pictures of your staff and overall community involvement. Money tips and quotes could also be shared in a picture format.
To be successful on Instagram and social media platforms, you need to actively engage with your audience creating a conversation. Follow local businesses, organizations, and influencers within your community. Engagement is key, like and interact with their posts. You don’t want your Instagram channel to be one-way.
If you can, get employees involved. Employees, like your business development team, can capture the most humanizing moments of your financial institution.
Don’t be afraid to use hashtags! In fact, Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post. Try including:
- 3-5 popular hashtags (In the millions of followers) ex: #instagood
- 5-8 moderately popular hashtags (In the hundreds of thousands of followers) ex: #personalfinance
- 3-5 keyword targeted hashtags (In the thousands of followers) ex: #netDE
- 1-2 branded hashtags i.e. the name of your credit union
Creating branded hashtags allows people to follow your brand specifically and creates a visual index of your financial institution.
To recap, creating a presence on Instagram allows your credit union prime access to Millennials & Xennials, extends your brand’s digital presence, gives your audience a behind-the-scenes look, creates meaningful relationships, and gives a face to your financial institution.
Need help getting started? We can help! Contact us today for a social media consultation.
