5 Things CUs Shouldn't Say in Social Media Posted by AVCU on 1:24 PM

Jimmy Marks' Digital Mailer blog talks about what your credit union shouldn’t say on social media, as quoted from the “Compliance Queens” at COMPASS 4 CUs:

1. “Get Pre-approved Today!” — This is a big no-no. You can’t pre-approve everyone. It’s not possible. Some folks aren’t going to have the credit rating for that. Better Bet: “See if you qualify for pre-approval today!”
2. “We’ll beat the competition!” — No, you won’t. Not if you leave the definition of “competition” so open-ended. Better Bet: “Come see how we stack up to other FIs in the [wherever you are] area!” You’ve got a little wiggle-room in there.
3. “Get an auto loan at 1.99%” — Don’t discuss rates in specific terms. Not everyone can qualify for your best loan rate. Can you promise a great interest rate and low down payment to someone with horrible credit? No. You can’t. Better Bet: “Auto Loans at 1.99% — qualifying borrowers only, see site for details: [link to site]”
4. “Anyone can join!” — Doubt it. Get specific about what qualifies your field of membership. Better Bet: Get specific. Very specific. End of story.
5. “We can save you money!” — Can you? One of the common themes you might have noticed in all of these is that they’re all too general about who can qualify for what and what you can do for any person in your social media audience. Better Bet: Talk about what members could save “on average”. It’s not deceptive to say someone could save money, that they could get a better loan rate. It’s deceptive to say they WILL. Promises made and not kept are dangerous. Stay away from them.

Some other best practices:

• Always have your NCUA logo/Equal Housing logo ONE CLICK AWAY from your social media posts. If you put a link on Twitter about your mortgage services, the next page a person reaches should have all the legal language required and the logos somewhere on the page.
• Disclose when you’re linking to a third-party website, even if you’re linking from Facebook/Twitter/etc. to another external site.
• Social media sites aren't intended for the needs of financial institutions - they are intended for short, simple messages, links, videos and pictures. You can't cram everything into a single post, so don’t try. 

Read the Digital Mailer blog here.