Person-to-Person Lending

I really like the idea behind person-to-person lending sites starting to proliferate the web lately. Sites like Zopa are using the power of social networks and “mashing” them together with the concept of “social lending” in a way that is certain to appeal to the Gen Y demographic. 

Zopa (Zone of Possible Agreement) provides borrowers with the opportunity to apply for a five year loan with rates ranging from 8.75% to 16.99%, depending on their credit scores, which are graded by the company with a scale of A*, A, B, and C. 

Along with their online application, the borrower also creates a personal profile that describes their reasoning for the loan and they get the chance to promote their profiles to potential lenders directly on ZOPA’s website and other social networking sites. Lenders buy into a one-year Zopa CD that is currently set at a maximum 5.1% interest rate (this helps to lower the borrowers loan payments) and they are given the option of spreading out the interest earned from their investment to help further lower the rate of a borrower of their choosing.

 Borrowers must have a minimum FICO score of 640 and must be affiliated with one of only six credit unions currently partnered with Zopa. The maximum loan amount available is $25,000 and with the affiliation of a credit union, deposits are insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) for as much as $100,000.

 I think the idea is promising for the future and you can almost bet that 2008 will see additional credit union participation.

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The Tao of Credit Union Blogging, Tip #2.

Tip #2 Do not try to come off Gen Y in your messaging, especially if you had to use Wikipedia.Org to look up the definition of “fo’ shizzle.”

Do NOTand I repeat it again, DO NOT attempt to use Gen Y slang in your blog communications. The moment you drop your first slang word (even if you’ve used it in the correct context) you run the risk of losing credibility for everything your write thereafter.

As part of your overall blog strategy, make sure that you have a review committee setup (usually two people in your marketing department will suffice) to provide feedback/suggestions before you hit the “publish now” button.

Try to “think outside of the box” with your posts and collaborate with others on how you can pique the interest of your potential readership.

Although it is recommended not to try and speak Gen Y in your writing this doesn’t mean that your company can not experiment with creating company presences on Social Networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Linked In. If your company has television commercials that have run their shelve lives over traditional broadcast medium (and we know how expensive that is!) , why not create a company YouTube Channel (hello –it’s free!) and upload them there? 

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The Tao of Credit Union Blogging, Tip #1.

Tip #1 Downplay The Marketing Message

Nobody wants to read a commercial about the features of say, “online banking” right smack dab on your credit union blog – leave the targeted messaging right where it belongs – back on the corporate website.   I’m not suggesting that you can’t talk about the subject, I’m just saying don’t try to sell it like a door-to-door salesman.

Fight the urge to blatantly promote your products and services with an “exact miniature replica” of your marketing brochures. Instead, try to focus on topics that your audience might be concerned with in regards to a service such as online banking.   An article on tips for preventing identity theft and fraud would be an excellent segue to briefly (yes, briefly!) mentioning or linking to the aforementioned online banking service.

Give the reader information that is relevant and not your best marketing pitch – and if you are one of those financial institutions that tries to give away a toaster as a gift for reading the blog, you’ll be “toast” in Social Networking circles.

 

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Welcome to WiredCU!

If you enjoy following current evolving Social Networking trends as they pertain to credit unions, then you have found a resource for discussion. 

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