SALEM, Ore.-As credit unions continue to look for new methods of reaching members and potential new members, $410-million Maps Credit Union recently debuted its Ustream account with a virtual press conference.
Jennifer Cadiente, media writer and graphic Designer for Maps CU, said it was "really easy" to set up the credit union's account with Ustream, a provider of streaming video.
"It was the same level of work for setting up a Twitter account," she said. "I can see a lot of different ways to use Ustream to share live video and to record things we do on a regular basis."
For example, Cadiente foresees the credit union broadcasting some of its member education workshops so the people who cannot attend in person still can receive the education. She said exactly how the new tool translates to the credit union's bottom line remains to be seen.
"At this point, we have some cool ideas but not a lot of experience," she said. "I do really like it as a press communication tool, because it seems so easy for reporters to get the info they need without having to call in or go in-person. As we experiment with some of the interaction tools, we may be able to let reporters ask their questions verbally rather than through chat or Twitter."
Maps In Mexico
The Ustream video made its debut with VP-Development Jill Nowacki and Community Liaison Oscar Porras reporting on a trip several Maps employees made to Oaxaca, Mexico, earlier this year. The group was a mix of frontline employees, executives and board members, all of whom were responsible for their own fundraising.
"It was a really good cross-section of the people we have here at Maps," Nowacki told the streaming audience. "The experience resulted in an added appreciation for all the different functions at the credit union."
Agreed Porras: "We don't always get to work with all employees, so this let us get to know each other as people."
Lessons were learned starting on the first day, reported Nowacki. The Maps group was told to walk down a road and carry building materials back to a work site. She wondered why not simply use a pickup truck that appeared to be available.
"I was told gas was too expensive and scarce," she recalled. "It was an immediate lesson on not going into a community and telling people they should do things in a certain way."
Nowacki noted Mexico has small microlending groups that help small businesses. She said it was an "excellent reminder" of the function of CUs.
"We are neighbors who came together and helped each other," she said. "It was good to see that pure vision. It was refreshing and helpful."
Porras reminded the audience that many low-income Mexicans have had negative experiences with financial institutions.
"This includes some who lost their life savings, and they had no one to call, no one to complain to," he lamented. "We in the United States don't think about the need to tell people their money is insured at a credit union."
"Our expectation is that money is insured," added Nowacki. "It was pretty eye-opening to find out that is not an expectation in other cultures."
Porras said a visit to a local Oaxacan credit union offered an unusual lesson-it was successful simply because it did things legally.
"Many financial institutions in Mexico don't follow the rules. That blew my mind," he said.
For CUs that cannot make it to Mexico, or another foreign country, for an exchange trip, Porras suggested taking employees to a Hispanic grocery store and having them order from the butcher in Spanish.
"That will let them know what it is like for an immigrant who comes to this country and does not speak the language," he said.
