By Duane Hogg
What do credit unions and basketball have in common? The third annual PSCU-sponsored March Mania Credit Union tournament: a social media spin-off of the collegiate fan favorite NCAA March Madness tournament.
Credit unions register for a free spot in the tournament.
Brackets are released to the public along with engaging interactive content.
Then fans vote as 64 credit unions compete to be crowned the “national champion.”
And best of all, it’s for a good cause: the winning credit union receives a donation to the charity of its choice!
Everybody Wins
More than 5,000 posts about the tournament were generated across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, making everybody a winner. Each round, the brackets told the story of how all 64 credit unions progressed throughout the tournament. As credit union members and employees shared the story, it spread even more.
PSCU also provided additional March Mania content related to the tournament and the credit union difference. The content not only asked fans to vote for their credit union, but also spread the message of supporting the local community. Fans became more engaged in support of their local credit union as the competition grew tougher each round. The overall goal was to spread awareness of credit unions in a fun, interactive way.
Don’t Forget the Hashtag
A custom hashtag, #MMCU17, was created as the primary way to vote. Fans commented or replied with #MMCU17 on posts to score points for their favorite credit union. This allowed content to be tracked and measured throughout the tournament. PSCU also set out to trend alongside the official March Madness tournament by utilizing trending hashtags like #MarchMadness and #elite8 to reach a larger audience outside the credit union movement. Several credit unions, like Y-12 Federal Credit Union and Associated Credit Union of Texas, created their own custom hashtags (#Y12FCURocks and #acutx) to boost their awareness and visibility.
Trivia Time
Credit unions asked fans to take a time-out during the tournament and answer some real questions about their credit union. Every time fans provided an answer, their credit union earned two points. The responses were amazing and nothing short of promoting the credit union difference. For example, “What’s the difference between credit unions and banks?” revealed several key points about credit unions’ special sauce. These answers were the equivalent to real testimonials from real people.
Going Viral With Three-Pointers
Video was huge throughout the tournament, leading to the winning credit union scoring over 1,000 points and getting 8,000 views on Facebook alone. To encourage credit unions to utilize video content, the tournament included a three-pointer scoring system. This gave some credit unions the edge when it came down to the final buzzer.
And the Winner Is…
One credit union emerged as the National Champion – Lincoln Maine Federal Credit Union.
Lincoln Maine came out of the gate with personalized, engaging video content and a solid fan base. It fought hard during each round by rallying fans across all social channels and enlisting the help of social advocates to reach a large audience. As it came down to the final round, Lincoln Maine left everything on the floor and took home the championship, scoring over 250 points in the final round alone.
But the real MVPs are the fans, who voted effortlessly every round and continued to spread the word until the very end.
Duane Hogg is a digital strategist and credit union storyteller, creating content that compels Millennials to not only think but also to act. In addition to content marketing for the Make Your Money Matter campaign, he also manages the Engagement Builder platform, which allows credit unions to listen, publish and engage with their audience across various social media channels. Follow him @iamduanehogg