Coopera Blog — video

What These Three Credit Unions Know about YouTube

Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on February 6, 2018

A recent PwC report, “Always connected: U.S.-based Hispanic consumers dominate mobile, entertainment and beyond,” found that an astonishing 90 percent of Hispanic consumers stream video on their mobile devices. When it comes to their video channel of choice, YouTube reigns. Seven in 10 Hispanics regularly use YouTube (compared to six in 10 non-Hispanics).

“Hispanic consumers spend a disproportionate amount of their day on the phone—most notably, streaming videos,” write the report’s authors. “Mobile video and, in particular, YouTube, are at the heart of Hispanic consumers. In response, brands looking to win over this mobile-dominant consumer should position the phone, and video, at the epicenter of their marketing plan.”

Credit unions looking to develop and deepen relationships with this young, fast-growing and often underserved segment, should pay close attention to these findings, as well as to how some of their colleagues are having success with video. Below are three ways credit unions have integrated YouTube into their Hispanic marketing and engagement efforts.

Financial Education

YouTube is a great channel for educating consumers on financial wellness topics. Here are just a few ideas:

• The credit union difference
• Budgeting
• Building credit
• Phishing scams
• Identify theft
• Scholarships
• Home equity loans
• Rewards programs
• Debt collection
• Car-buying process
• Home-selling tips
• Tax returns
• Money-savvy traveling
• Back-to-school shopping

Ascentra Credit Union in Bettendorf, Iowa, has leveraged YouTube to educate consumers, specifically through a monthly video series called Ascentra Making Cents. In addition to YouTube, Ascentra also provides the videos directly to its community partners to share through their own networks. The credit union is currently in the process of adding Spanish subtitles to the videos using funds it received from the 2017 Warren Morrow Hispanic Growth Fund Grant for Hispanic Outreach.

Member Testimonials

Consumers – particularly those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with traditional financial institutions – want to see certain things from any credit union attempting to make a connection with them. Employees and members who look like them, communications that speak to them and experiences that feel real to them are crucial to encouraging underserved individuals to give credit union membership real consideration. Videos of real members sharing why they chose the credit union and how it’s impacted them can benefit the credit union in many ways, including:

• Building credibility and trust
• Highlighting success stories
• Showcasing community impact
• Encouraging viewers to take action

Community 1st Credit Union in Ottumwa, Iowa, has several member testimonial videos on its YouTube channel. One example tells the story (in both Spanish and English) of how Community 1st helped members who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico open a restaurant and buy house.

Advertising Videos

Because it’s free to host videos on YouTube, it can offer a much higher ROI than television advertising. Plus, a Google-commissioned Nielsen study found more Hispanics watch YouTube than any cable network in the U.S. Posting advertising videos on YouTube can help your credit union build brand awareness and share your commitment to the community.

The videos don’t have to be overly complicated. Hapo Community Credit Union in Richland, Wash., has a series of short advertising videos on its YouTube channel. Each features a credit union employee sharing a benefit of banking with Hapo.

When launching a YouTube strategy, it’s important to continually go back to your credit union’s strategic plan to ensure each of your video tactics aligns with your business goals. If you have goals to engage Hispanic consumers, educate your community or promote the benefits of membership, you may find YouTube the perfect place to be.

Meeting Hispanics Where They Are: Online and on Mobile

Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on November 20, 2017

Google recently surveyed more than 4,500 U.S. Hispanics ages 18-64 about their preferences related to online sources, digital ads and search. The study found U.S. Hispanics use online sources at a higher rate (54 percent) than the general population (46 percent) throughout the purchase journey. It also found:

Hispanic consumers tend to favor online sources over family, radio and TV.
79 percent of those surveyed said they use search engines on a daily basis.
68 percent of the respondents who use search engines at least monthly do so on their mobile devices.
More than half of respondents who use online sources use their smartphones specifically to gather information before making a purchase.

How can credit unions and other organizations dedicated to serving the underserved Hispanic community meet them where they already are – online and on mobile? Below are a few examples of online and mobile resources being tapped by organizations to do just that.

Crowdfunding
According to Pew Research, 16 percent of Hispanics have contributed to a crowdsourced fundraising project. Since it launched in 2010, do-it-yourself crowdfunding website GoFundMe has raised more than $4 billion for personal causes from more than 40 million donors. When a licensed clinical social worker was struggling to afford providing low-cost mental health treatment to uninsured Spanish-speaking individuals in Louisville, Ky., for example, she turned to GoFundMe. She is currently well on her way to reaching her $5,000 goal to enable to her to continue providing therapy.

Putting a twist on the GoFundMe model, PayPal just launched Money Pools, a service that lets people create pages to fundraise for a specific item or effort among family and friends. Could this become a digital tanda? Although the service is too new to have data on usage rates, the focus on family and friends could resonate among many within the Hispanic community.

Social Media Influencers
One way for an organization to increase its reach within a certain segment of the population is to connect with those who have influence inside that segment. Consider starting with the top 25 Hispanic influencers on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. If your credit union has, for example, an important message to share with Hispanic members about helping children save for college, you could simply share with your social media followers. Or, you could try to get it in front of Jorge Narvaez, whose parenting-focused YouTube channel has more than 600,000 subscribers.

Instagram Stories.
After just one year in market, Instagram Stories has more than 200 million users – 50 million more users than Snapchat. At this rate, nearly half of all Instagram users will be using Stories by the end of 2018. A large portion of Instagram users, 38 percent, are Hispanic. In August, Instagram declared that JBalvin, an all-Spanish language music star, is the most-viewed Instagram Stories content provider in the U.S.. Brands interested in connecting with Instagram users, and with Hispanic Instagram users specifically, should consider mastering Instagram Stories. Here’s a how-to guide to get you started.

Connecting with Hispanic consumers online requires not only understanding where they are, but also how they want to be connected with. Google’s study found that including culturally relevant content – food, family and traditions – resonates with U.S. Hispanics online. Consider incorporating content that Hispanic members care about or that which is unique to the Hispanic experience. While not as important as culture, language also matters. For some U.S. Hispanic consumers, Spanish and bilingual content are signals you want to engage with them.

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

Video: Targeting the Hispanic Consumer for Growth

Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on May 8, 2012

I recently appeared on an episode of the CU Broadcast to discuss the Hispanic market opportunity for credit unions. The host, Mike Lawson, and I talked through quite a few topics, most notably how credit unions can earn the trust of young, unbanked Hispanics.

The video is also archived at CUBroadcast.com, along with many other insightful episodes of the show. If you get a free minutes, visit the site and watch a few…

Video: Targeting the Hispanic Consumer for Growth

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Tags

Subscribe