MILWAUKEE, Wis. -
Those are among the plans for Brewery CU, one of the half-dozen CU pioneers reaching out to the youth market at what Alexa Internet rates as the world's sixth most popular Internet site. "Everyone around Milwaukee under 30 has a MySpace site, and that's the group I want to reach," explained Jim Schrimpf, CEO at Brewery CU. The $29-million CU hopped on the MySpace bandwagon in September. But, skeptics ask, at what cost?
"We don't think it's such a great idea for financial institutions to post profiles on MySpace," wrote Jim Bruene, editor of Financial Marketing Weekly, in May. "To prospective customers over 30, it looks rather silly. To those under 30, I suspect it looks incredibly lame."
Schrimpf takes a different view.
"Credit unions that don't take a risk are going to have to merge," he said. "MySpace can be fresh and provide information at the same time. I want to tie in music to our site, like a live recording of my band from the 70s. Or I may get a camcorder and make short videos to put on the site, such as 'how to enhance your credit rating.'"
Land of Lincoln CU of Decatur, Ill., ventured onto MySpace in September-with trepidation, according to Julie Horath, marketing manager at the $93-million CU. "I must say there were some of us who were a little leery, having heard of the predatory activity associated with MySpace," Horath said. "But for the most part we've had nothing but good responses."
MySpace CUs say the allure is obvious: the site is continuously cruised by current market darling Generation Y. Recent visitor stats suggest a shift in the MySpace demographic, however. Though the youth market that built MySpace four years ago hasn't abandoned the social networking site, more than 50% of the site's visitors are now people 35 and older, according to comScore Media Metrix, a Reston, Va.-based firm that provides Internet audience measurement services.
According to comScore Media Metrix, the 18 to 30 crowd are frequenting slicker networking sites, such as Facebook.com, where credit unions are listed by the hundreds. That didn't stop Land of Lincoln Credit Union Member Service Representative Jessica Gorris from persuading her CEO that MySpace might help lure members into the credit union's newest branch.
Six months later, it's hard to tell if the site is successful, though hits are steadily increasing, said Jessica Gorris, the MSR who launched Land of Lincoln CU into the MySpace limelight. "People are definitely reading the blogs, which are the main educational tools at the site," Gorris said. "Once we realized that MySpace appeals to a global audience, not just our community, we switched gears from getting people in through our doors to proving that credit unions are the ones who are looking out for your financial education." Land of Lincoln at MySpace features links to articles addressing topics like dumping debt and understanding credit scores. "We're very, very cautious, and we try to keep it professional for the skeptics," Gorris said.
Schrimpf said that MySpace has been good for Brewery CU. "We've gotten a lot of hits and interest, and new members opening accounts because of it," he said. "We keep all the content, including the links and Friends Space, clean enough for our standards.'"
FOR MORE RESOURCES
Read more about CUs breaking into new business models at www.cujournal.com and searching any of the following bolded terms in the archive:
CU*Answers for a story on CUSO networks changing the CU landscape
ZOPA for stories on P2P lending
For more information on this story:
* Brewery CU, www.brewerycu.com
* Land of Lincoln CU, www.llcu.org
Other CUs on MySpace:
* Co-Operative CU, www.co-operativecu.com
* Hershey FCU, www.hersheyfcu.org
* Motor City CU, www.mcccu.com
* USA FCU, www.usafcu-onlineusa.org.
