The growing number of consumers using digital financial services makes digital marketing a crucial function, says Peter Platt, president of Accountable Digital.

Consider that 60% of U.S. adults use digital banking including 56% of baby boomers, 66% of consumers choose digital as their primary access mechanism, and 22% of consumers use a branch less than once a year, says Platt, who addressed the 2018 CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Conference Monday in San Francisco.

“Half of all financial transactions are coming on mobile now,” he says. “If consumers are doing a search, they’re not using your app but your website.”

Platt advises credit unions to use these digital strategies to reach current and potential members:

• Engage prospects throughout the sales cycle using display ads, social media, and search ads. These mechanisms both build awareness and generate responses.
• Drive new accounts using geotargeted display advertising to grow interest and awareness of new checking options.
• Remarket to current members by focusing on those who log in to online banking.
• Attract new prospect with local search. “Use bank-related terms to attract prospects seeing banking services,” Platt says.
• Use social media to build your brand.

“Understand your audience’s digital use and desire, and amplify the credit union experience in your message,” he says. “Build a solid tracking platform looking at both online and offline efforts, and review the results. Digital isn’t a ‘set it and forget it’ activity.”

► Visit CUNA News for more conference coverage, and get live updates on Twitter via @CUNACraig, @cumagazine, @CUNACouncils, and by using the #MBDCouncil hashtag. Learn more about the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, a member-led professional society for credit union executives, at cunacouncils.org.