Credit Union Social Media Engagement Isn’t Everything

When it comes to credit union social media engagement, there’s a common experience many marketers have. You post something on social media and eagerly await all the likes and comments the post deserves. But few (or none) ever come.

So, is your post a failure? Not necessarily.

Engagement via likes, comments or shares is great, but there’s more to social media than that one metric. Here are a couple other ways to judge the success of your social media posts.

#1: Impressions

The truth is, a lot of people don’t like interacting with credit union social media posts. It doesn’t mean they didn’t see your message. It just means they didn’t signal it to you.

Impressions are a way of gauging how many people experienced your brand, even if they were too shy to tell you about it. 

More specifically, impressions are the number of times people view your post; it counts both new views and repeat views. The same person viewing your post five times will add five impressions to your total. That means you can make a big splash with comparably low engagement numbers.

For example, this LinkedIn post from Mark Arnold received 36 reactions but more than 1,100 impressions.

By simply seeing your post, the consumer gains greater awareness of your brand. Don’t underestimate the power of brand impressions to move someone into your sphere of influence down the line.

#2: Reach

Of course, you want to reach new people. It’s great that your biggest fan gave you 10 impressions on yesterday’s post, but those impressions don’t signal new interest in your content. Reach does.

A post’s reach is the number of individuals who see your content. In other words, it counts unique views (both from followers and non-followers) without double counting if a person sees your post more than once.

So, a credit union social media account with 600 followers has a reach of 600 if every follower sees a post. If 650 people see a post, the credit union reached 50 new people who weren’t followers.

#3: Referrals

What do referrals have to do with social media? A lot, actually.

Referrals reflect a type of reach not measured by any social media analytics: word-of-mouth. Let’s put it this way…your posts impact people who might not even have social media accounts. Friends or family see a post they like and share it with their loved ones across the living room.

This method might be even more effective than a potential member viewing a credit union social media post on their own. After all, 41% of people trust a recommendation from someone they know more than a social media recommendation.

But how do you take advantage of referrals? 

1. Examine your best posts (taking impressions and reach into account).
2. Craft engaging social media content worth sharing OR promote products worth having.
3. Track how many people say a loved one referred them.

Remember, engagement isn’t everything. Look at impressions, reach and referrals as other ways to measure a post’s impact. And if you’re ready to construct captivating credit union social media posts, book a free consultation with On The Mark Strategies today!