RIVERDALE, Utah — America First CU here hopes Gen Y members will open up a little bit more at the credit union's new social media website — a site that aims to educate through entertainment.
"Our 18 to 26-year-olds don't talk to us as much as we'd like them to," explained Jennifer Davis, young-adult connection manager at the $5-billion CU. "They're out using the social media channels. So we created a similar microsite, where young adults can be entertained and educated to help them prepare for the financial firsts in their lives."
More than 1,200 people — 60 % of whom are CU employees — are registered users at the new site, dubbed YourNextFirst (YNF) and inspired in part by Young & Free, the CU social networking tool initiated by Alberta, Canada-based Servus CU.
At the "Financial Firsts" pages, the YNF community shares and learns about first-time financial experiences, such as buying a first home or going to college. "Pick Your Plastic" and "Buying the Right Car" are the Financial Firsts that have generated the most user comments, said Davis.
Gen Y employees at the CU provide a series of brief tips for each Financial First, with links to credit union products and services "in the background," Davis said. Users can comment on the tips or add their own advice.
"With so many 'firsts' happening in their lives, it's great to have someone to talk to about them," said Davis. "We want to reach out and talk to them, make them realize that we do care about them and install a loyalty to the credit union — but we want them to tell us what they want as well."
Is Gen Y, in fact, opening up to America First at the infant YNF site? Statistics show that nearly 14,000 unique visitors have hit YNF pages about 22,000 times since the site's "quiet" launch in May, Davis said.
At the same time, Davis said America First would like to hear more from its target audience. "We haven't gotten as many user posts as I would like, but we hope to increase participation by experimenting with what users respond most to and by hosting contests."
Even minimal interaction would suffice, she continued. "If a handful of people come back once a month with a financial question, and they take away one lesson on a life-change, then I'm happy." Davis' ultimate goal, however, is to have each of the CU's 100,000 young adult members register with YNF.
Currently, most of the site's user interaction is due to comments on the YNF blog, where employees post random financial tips on topics such as individual development accounts, employment or saving for Spring Break, Davis said.
Beyond financial firsts, America First is highlighting "Life's Firsts."At the Life's Firsts page, users are posting photos and videos, such as shots of a first time eating an artichoke, a baby's first smile or a teen's first blind date.
Life's Firsts, with its focus on the personal rather than the financial, seems symbolic of the fine line that a credit union walks when launching a social media site. "Not everyone agrees that entertainment is the right way to reach out to this age group," Davis said. "Some worry that we're trying to be something we're not."
But Davis said she thinks that social media tools offer ripe opportunities to attract young adults. "I strongly believe that educating through entertainment is the way we need to go. Our management team was not opposed to the idea but needed to be educated on the potential benefits social media would have for America First."
