Are you really good at something you’d rather not even do in the first place? Maybe you’re a champion dish washer, or a nimble-fingered diaper-changing ninja.
I have the same problem with domain names. I’ve been building credit union web sites for a long time, and over the years I’ve developed a lot of unwanted expertise in the area of untangling domain name and DNS messes. It’s never a pleasant process — the rules are insanely bizarre and the stakes are high.
Over the last week or so, you might have seen a few rumors, articles and alerts about DDoS attacks on credit union web sites (for more information, see here and here). We’ve had some questions from our clients, and we thought the answers would be of interest to many SharediDiz readers.
Read more on DDoS and web site security: what CU marketers need to know…
We’re all dedicated employees, aren’t we? Come into work every day focused and ready to take on the world.
Ok, now let’s be a little honest. Do you take little breaks between projects to check out the latest Groupon? A new pair of shoes on Zappos? Choosing your fantasy league lineup for games this week?
Following are the top 15 search terms members have used on the credit union web sites we’ve built. These are pulled from the internal search functions used in the sites, not external searches from Google, etc. In other words, these are the things members are searching for once they are on a CU web site and use the search form. I’ve combined very similar search terms.
84 minutes a day. That’s how much time the average American spent on their phones in 2012 when they weren’t even talking. That’s twice as much as 2 years ago, and 50% more than in 2011, according to research by Ericsson, whose network handles 40% of the global mobile traffic.
I may never leave my house again.
I’m not paranoid nor do I have agoraphobia, there just seem to be fewer and fewer reasons to do so. Obviously technology has made the world much smaller, more accessible and convenient. We can stay in touch – with friends and with what’s going on around the world – without ever leaving our beds much less our homes.
Have you ever accidentally run across a web site that seems to be just one page crammed with keywords and shady ads? Or worse, did you let a domain name registration expire without renewing, only to find it’s been turned into an ad farm? Congratulations — you’ve just found a domain name squatter!
I’ve noticed lately that the term “cloud” seems to have sprouted a couple of very different new meanings. Everyone can agree on the sort of cloud that’s made of water vapor and hangs in the sky, but when it’s a buzzword applied to internet and data services, the meaning of “cloud” can be… cloudy.
A few items that have crossed our radar lately:
The Gen X Sandwich
If you are one of the 41 million GenXers, I feel sorry for you. After all, you have had to deal with us Baby Boomers your entire career. Too young to be your parents, too old to be your buddy, Boomers are the ones that hired you, fired you, supervised you, and otherwise helped shape your career – for good or bad.
Read more on GenX sandwiches, when marketing takes over IT, and grumpy websites…
Social media and gray hair may not seem to go together, but over the last three years AARP has been gaining attention online. Yes, that AARP.
According to Digiday, AARP had no online strategy and only began sending employees to social media conferences as recently as 2010. Since then they have hired a social media chief, have a managing editor for their company blog, plus five community managers who are focused on a specific issue, such as financial security or health, and developed a content strategy that mainly uses YouTube, Twitter and Facebook (with over 430,000 fans).
Read more on Your mom (or grandma) may be better at social media than you are…
On Monday, millions of web sites vanished when GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar and web host, went down for several hours. At first, an anonymous black hat hacker (or group of hackers) tried to take responsibility, but on Tuesday the company issued a statement that the outage was caused by “a series of internal network events“.
Building a social media presence/online community for your credit union can be a lot like dating. You dress up nice and are friendly to the world, but don’t always get the attention you deserve. Well, according to various studies by the IBM Institute for Business Value, what you are experiencing could simply be one of several perception gaps between businesses and consumers when it comes to social media interaction:
Read more on Maybe they don’t really want a relationship with you?…
Should credit unions offer financial education programs to people your age?
I really do think that lack of knowledge about the whole “how to manage your money” shebang is why people my age aren’t more involved with their money. I’ve had a credit union account for years, but until recently, my parents always handled everything. Now that I understand we are paying tens of thousands of dollars for college it feels real to me, even kind of scary. It’s even scarier when it is something I’m told is normal.
Ask Sam: So how important is social media involvement anyway? Do people your age really care whether your CU/bank tweets regularly?
This is a complicated question. I don’t have to tell anyone that advertising through social media is both new and ambiguous. You can spend more time than you can imagine trying to find the balance between posting too much and not posting enough in an effort to reach your desired audience. Even then you’re eventually going to ask yourself, “is it worth it?”
Speaking of great CU web sites, does your CU have mobile banking and a mobile-friendly web site? I hope so. When I joined my CU I was disappointed to learn they did not have either. I really was surprised because everything else they offered was great. They assured me they were working on it, and now, 6 months later, they have mobile banking, and a mobile site is on the way shortly.
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iDiz Inc. helps credit unions grow membership and market share through strategic branding, creative marketing promotions, and member-friendly web sites.
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