It's that time of the year, again. No, I'm not talking about Thanksgiving -- although, turkey, mashed potatoes and apple pie sound pretty tasty right now. That's in a couple days. I'm talking about Credit Union Journal's 2013 Best Practices Awards, which are out this week. To recognize this annual issue and all its splendor, we invited CU Journal Publisher Frank Diekmann on the show to discuss some the top 25 category winners -- and what credit unions can learn from the trends, uses, and surprises that turned up in this year's triumphant group.

Always an enticing read, this issue is up to your earlobes with practical credit union case studies that many CU peers can emulate and tweak to their their benefit. Many thanks to Frank and his editorial team for sifting through the many entries and providing us with a couple dozen (and one) best practice gems from which to learn and better ourselves. Check it out...

Visit:
cujournal.com

What's one of the biggest thorns stuck in the side of your credit union today? Without question -- the continuous hot lava flow of regulations hits the top of the list more often than not. To curtail this industry angst, we invited Howard & Howard's Steven Van Beekon the program to throw us a life jacket and save us from this issue that plagues every corner of the FI world. Now you may recall, Steven served as the Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Senior Federal Counsel at NAFCU, where he was responsible for all aspects of NAFCU's compliance assistance program and compliance-related products and services. So this ever-percolating issue is pretty near and dear to his heart.

If you're looking for some helpful tips on reg relief from a legal perspective, this is the episode for you. Many thanks to Steven and his expertise for being on the show and soothing our compliance souls. Check it out and let us know your thoughts!

Visit:
howardandhoward.com

In part two of our straight-talk on marketing conversation with The Financial Brand's Jeff Pilcher, we dive deep into effective uses of social media for FIs, mobile banking's game-changing future, and the inaugural Financial Brand Forum conference coming up in April 2014. Jeff is calling his conference "two days of pure financial marketing brain food," having already lined up a mighty stellar group of FI industry speakers for attendees to devour every morsel of marketing intel.

For more details on this conference -- along with social media, mobile, and more, check out this episode and enjoy 20 more minutes of treasured takeaways from Mr. Pilcher.

Visit:
thefinancialbrand.com
financialbrandforum.com

There are some things in this world that are just good without question: chocolate in any form, Hawaiian sunsets (probably sunrises, too), a baby's laugh, red Ferraris, and Gigi Hyland returning to the credit union industry -- this time as the National Credit Union Foundation's Executive Director. After getting settled in her new position, we caught up with Gigi to discuss her new responsibilities, goals, and challenges to enhance the effectiveness of the NCUF and its diverse industry outreach efforts.

We also talked about today's pressing issues credit unions face along with her expert advice as 2014 approaches, bringing with it a few significant hurdles in Q1 alone. We also found out what she's been up to in between her jobs at the NCUA and now at the NCUF. No, she didn't climb Everest or swim from Cuba to Florida. Turns out, she's been quite busy giving back to her community during her well-deserved sabbatical. Always a pleasure visiting with Gigi and talking about her endless passion for this industry. Enjoy the show!

Visit:
ncuf.coop

Need a great resource for your credit union's next marketing campaign? Check out this episode of CUbroadcast with The Financial Brand's Jeff Pilcher who provides numerous secrets and keys to financial marketing success that he routinely covers on his site -- along the abysmal failures. Jeff affirms, however, that The Financial Brand's primary goal is to deliver helpful marketing content, as well as, providing the tools and resources to make financial marketers' jobs easier -- all for free. Many of his stories convey that goal, as he publishes such items as:

Social media power 100 ranking
Bank and credit union taglines
Bank and credit union websites (good ones and bad ones)
SEO glossary
How to write attention-getting headlines
Financial infographics for presentations (I've used a few!)
Redesigned bank and credit union logos

Prior to launching The Financial Brand, Jeff built brands for hundreds of banks and credit unions across North America. As a result, he has a bit of experience in this area, as we discuss the success of The Financial Brand along with FI's usage of social media, Financial Brand Forum conference, and plenty more in this first of two parts.

Side note: The video in this episode was a bit sketchy at best as Skype wasn't having its best day, so we converted this episode into an audio podcast. Now you can multitask while listening to this info-packed episode on financial marketing success. Check it out -- and stay tuned for part two next week.

Visit:
thefinancialbrand.com
financialbrandforum.com