If you're going to use Twitter, make your tweets interesting, entertaining, or valuable.

Having a formal, electronic welcoming process encourages new members to expand their relationship with the CU.

When times get tough, the first departments to be affected often are marketing and training. That's not right.

The most-read stories on creditunionmagazine.com during 2009.

Credit unions brought many glad tidings to their members and communities during the recent holiday season.

A debit card geared to teenagers has generated strong interest among youth seeking financial independence—and parents not yet ready to cede all financial controls.
 

Credit union pioneer Augustine Kang left a lasting mark on all who knew him.

The Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award program, conducted each year by CUNA’s Center for Personal Finance, showcases credit unions’ best “teach a youth to fish” efforts by imparting the essentials of money and credit management.

The Internet's increasing influence has set off this inexorable shift in our society, transforming how we live, how we learn, how we communicate, and how we buy. And as such, it's imperative that marketers change the way they market.

One-fifth (19%) of Internet users now use Twitter or another service to post or view status updates, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That’s up from 11% in December 2008 and April 2009.

CU role-playing game gives young people a taste of real-life finances.
 

Don’t let distractions cause you to lose focus on member service.

Five steps to establish a mental and organizational foundation to serve the Hispanic community.

Attracting and serving Hispanic members drives membership growth and bolsters the bottom line.

Too many young people are unfamiliar with CUs.

Unless your members start saving for retirement now, their golden years will be anything but.

Joe Dickerson, user experience architect on the “innovations team” at Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., offers observations about generation Y—those born during the 1980s and 1990s—based on recent interviews with gen Y members.

If CUs don’t tell their stories, banks will.

Offer value to seniors through information, warnings, and counseling.

It's ok to sell financial products when educating members.

Take note as the entertainment world captures the evolving face of America.

Financial education should start before a child’s formal education, new CUNA-sponsored research reveals.

Optimization is the key to success with any online advertising program.

Can a federal credit union use a trade name in advertising?

Get marketing insights from CUNA’s E-Scan.

Credit unions have a duty to help their members become more financially literate.

Television advertising success hinges on understanding your target demographic, providing intriguing content, and giving consumers a compelling reason to pick you over competitors.

The role of member retention often is overlooked in CU growth.

CUs reach the fastest-growing U.S. member demographic by applying lessons learned at WOCCU’s Hispanic Marketing Immersion Program.

Want to make inroads with nonmembers? Tell them about your credit union’s services and rate/fee advantages, and offer more convenient locations to their homes.

Implementing six minimum service standards has created a strong member service culture at $400 million asset Air Academy Federal Credit Union.

In January, $184 million asset Charlotte (N.C.) Metro Federal Credit Union boldly went where few (if any) credit unions have gone before: It ran a television advertisement during the Super Bowl.

Credit Union Magazine subscribers have chosen Cathie Tierney, CEO of $1.2 billion asset Community First Credit Union, Appleton, Wis., as the 2009 Credit Union Hero of the Year.

There are a variety of instruments that identify individual communication styles and how to deal with each.

Are credit unions required to provide member education as a part of their identity theft red flag programs?

Have hundreds of cable channels and the popularity of digital video recorders (DVR) rendered credit union television advertising obsolete?
Nathan Tothrow doesn’t think so.

Insurance is the ultimate membership development tool.

CUs pump up strategies to attract and retain members during tough times.

What do nonmembers want from CUs? National research offers insights.

A day in the life of a member experience auditor.

Get more from your marketing budget. Also, videos of award-winning CU marketers.

Cost-effective marketing strategies.

Forget direct mail, television advertising, and other mass media marketing, advises consultant Denise Wymore. They just don’t work anymore.

Practical advice from CUs involved with the Net Promoter Score.

Take these steps to get more from your marketing budget, advises Anne Legg, vice president of marketing for $168 million asset Cabrillo Credit Union, San Diego, and chair of the CUNA Mar-keting & Business Development Council Executive Committee:

Promotional messages emphasizing a person’s time and experiences with a product lead to more favorable attitudes and more purchases, according to Stanford Knowledgebase.

Net Promoter Score sparks creative ways to improve member loyalty.

Top award winners share their perspectives on marketing and business development.

High profile bank failures give CUs an opportunity to set themselves apart with service. In one instance, that meant member house calls.

This year’s National Youth Saving Challenge will expand from one week to the entire month of April.

Credit union philosophy is a great thing, says US Federal Credit Union’s Marty Kelly—just not as a member recruitment tool.

Despite lowered expectations for baby boomers, CUs can capitalize on boomers’ aversion to risk and loss of trust in other financial institutions.

Miriam De Dios, emerging markets director for Coopera Consulting, Des Moines, Iowa, cites four key areas credit unions must address in serving Hispanics/

Efficient, effective operations underlie sales success.

The marketing budget often is the first item on the chopping block during economic slowdowns. But companies should market far and wide during downturns.

Want to jumpstart your select employee group (SEG) relationships? Heed advice from Truliant FCU.

A remote sales force—a.k.a. relationship managers—can bring you closer to members.

There’s no silver bullet for the current economic turmoil.

‘My grandfather started as a CU volunteer in the 1940s.’

Want to connect with generation Y? Move member services beyond the branch.

With a 78% growth rate over the past four years, Hispanics are far and away the fastest-growing population group in the U.S. Corporate strategies targeting increasingly affluent, second-generation Hispanics are critical to securing growth and remaining competitive.