Five Digital Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

CUNA's eScan
August 8, 2012 | COMMENTS

Credit unions appear to have two choices when it comes to digital marketing: Get on board or become obsolete in the marketplace.

Executive teams should be fully committed to digital, install tools, and use data effectively. They also need to take their websites more seriously, according to Eric Layland, a senior digital strategist with the Seattle-based Confluence Digital.

The website is the flagship branch, Layland says, and organizations should support it as such. Many financial institutions, however, have earned the reputation for being less than cutting edge in the digital arena.

Layland highlights the five biggest digital marketing mistakes financial institutions make in an article for The Financial Brand. They include:

 1. Prioritizing traditional marketing over digital. Too many organizations have created barriers between departments. Marketing teams (digital and offline) must collaborate.

 2. Treating the website like an afterthought. Consider it an investment in the flagship branch rather than an expense item. Credit unions have maintenance budgets for branches, so why not have budgets dedicated to the creation, maintenance, and growth of your websites?

 3. Ignoring website-generated data. Visitor data is extremely valuable. You can use it to ensure you're meeting people's expectations when they seek something from your site. Not installing adequate tools for basic data acquisition is missing a major feedback opportunity.

 4. Allowing blind spots in website traffic patterns. Many financial institutions are forced to outsource elements of their Web operations, such as online account opening, to third parties. Access to user data from the third-party platforms can be essential. Ideally, you can track visitors until they complete their business on the site.

5. Ignoring paid search engine marketing. Paid search is a powerful tool, and most major financial services firms take it seriously—collectively spending about $4 billion annually on paid search. It should be an important tool for new-account acquisition.

The bottom line, according to Layland: If you miss the boat on digital marketing, you risk losing members to competitors that got on board.