It's been a while since we found a new financial institution blog worth writing about. The last two were The Diff, a brilliant recruiting-focused effort from Quicken Loans (here) and Carolina Postal Credit Union's i love my hoopty (here), an interesting idea that lacked follow through, a common problem with blogging.
While it only has three entries, I can already tell UW Credit Union's SourceCode is a winner. First, the man behind it, Eric Bangerter (see note 1) has a track record of bringing new innovations to market at a rapid pace. Madison, WI-based UWCU is on the short list of places I go back to time and time again to look for innovative examples of web-based delivery.
Second, the blog's stated purpose, "the official blog for Web Branch and UW Credit Union's internet offerings," demonstrates that the CU is not just jumping on the blogging bandwagon. They are strategically using this communication tool to reach the customers most likely to appreciate it, power users of its online banking service.
Finally, it just plain looks good. And not in a fluffy way. It has takes a serious, "I need to pay attention to this," approach that should resonate with its members, many who are highly educated or in the process of getting that way.
The first two weeks
The first entry, posted Feb. 18, provides a very important, but often overlooked, summary of the author's background so readers know the writing comes from a true insider and not just a biz school intern (note 2). The next two entries discuss a new online banking feature, QuickView, a nice addition that delivers a popup view of the last five transactions when mousing over an account title.
The blog entries so far are very concise and well written. The entries all have a graphic or picture to break up the text and/or illustrate the point. Finally, SourceCode has a good look and feel with all the expected features: RSS/email signup, links to the main site, an About Us section including an email address, and article tags to navigate to various topics. The only thing missing is a search feature.
Grade: A
Notes:
1. Eric is a long-time subscriber to Online Banking Report (thanks!).
2. There is nothing wrong with using biz school interns to blog, as long as the right audience is targeted, such as other college students. Or if they have a good editor to make sure the tone and content is superb.
3. For more info, see our report on blogging, OBR #135/136.