Member Engagement

As the year winds down, generating ideas for social media posts can be a challenge. Keep your social media fresh by posting about holidays and events. Here are several themes to get you rolling: Monthly Observances AIDS Awareness Month Bingo Month Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month Human Rights Month Safe Toys and Gifts Month Food Service Safety Month Weekly Observances 3-9                Handwashing Awareness 18-22            Cookie Exchange […]

Many associations still rely on dated techniques to engage members. Does your association struggle with member engagement? You’re not alone. There are typically 3 main reasons why members disengage: No Time Less Participation More Competition Here’s the key: Your members don’t need to show up to events to be engaged. To be clear, face-to-face meetings still have great value, but they aren’t the only way to build commitment and a sense of belonging. There are many trends and tactics associations […]

The start of the holiday season signals one of the busiest times of year. Give yourself a break; plan your social posts in advance to allow yourself time to focus on family and fun. Check out these holiday and event ideas for your November social media posts: MONTHLY: Health National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month Diabetes Month National Epilepsy Awareness Month National Family Caregivers Month National Healthy Skin Month, Cancer Awareness Month Prematurity Awareness Month Food Georgia Pecan Month Good Nutrition […]

Association pros spend a lot of time defusing uncomfortable situations. Handling interactions with difficult members, the board of directors, or co-workers can be mentally exhausting and stressful. Download a complimentary copy of The Art of Dealing with Difficult People » It doesn’t have to be. You can’t change people, but you can change the way you deal with them. The Art of Dealing with Difficult People is a short, “how-to” which includes various techniques to handle encounters with challenging personality types. Preview: Tip #5 […]

We recently hosted a webinar presentation with Shari Pash of Strategic Solutions for Growth, entitled Engaging the Disengaged Member. It’s now available on-demand free of charge! Shari shares useful ideas and tactics for engagement that can be implemented right away. Learn about foundational tools for growth, multi-step retention programs, recruitment systems, and strategies to reach passive members. She explains how to develop strategies and implement tools to improve engagement to meet goals and increase revenue.     SEE ALSO: New-Member Onboarding & Retention […]

Coming up with ideas for social media posts can be stressful and time consuming. The social media success formula indicates that only 10% of posts should be about your organization. So, what about the rest of your posts? A simple technique for keeping on pace with your content calendar is to post about holidays and events. Here are several holiday and event ideas for your October social media posts: HEALTH • ADHD Awareness Month • Breast Cancer Awareness Month • […]

You need volunteers to keep your association humming. Recruiting them can be tough. Retaining them can be even tougher. But if you unlock the secret to the psychology behind volunteering, you’ll have the formula that works. It’s important to recognize and address the reasons people don’t volunteer: • “I don’t have the time.” • “I’m doing things with my family.” • “I have a full-time job.” • “I already have too many priorities.” Equally important is to focus on what […]

Kyle Sexton explains how professional staff of associations get more done with less. How do they do it? Leverage: Leverage man-power by adding volunteers Leverage investments by aligning with sponsors Leverage assets by rebuilding the membership model This means teamwork, of course. They say a team isn’t defined by their ability to work together, but their trust in each other. High-functioning organizations have balanced accountability systems with high levels of trust among the team. Having served with a high-functioning team for […]

Most associations have a variety of personalities within the group – on average, about 30 percent of members in a professional organization are introverts, 40 percent are strong extroverts, and the remaining 30 percent fall somewhere in between the two. Providing an atmosphere that welcomes all personality types is not only critical for growth, but also helpful in increasing member engagement among all of your members. Steps to providing an environment that welcomes all personality types include: Determining what your […]

 Part 5 of the 5-Part Series: Why Member Engagement No Longer Means Face-to-Face Tactic #5: Inbound Marketing That Captures Prospects’ Attention In the olden days of marketing, way back in the 20th century, marketing was comprised primarily of outbound – interruptive campaigns. Marketers created campaigns that were specifically designed to interrupt you from what you were doing so they could get you to listen to them. They would leverage direct mail or advertising to deliver their message to a targeted audience. […]

Part 4 of the 5-Part Series: Why Member Engagement No Longer Means Face-to-Face Tactic #4: Driving Engagement Through Thought Leadership Thought leadership is simply positioning yourself, or your organization, as a voice of knowledge and expertise in the marketplace of ideas. This is critical in helping people connect your association with specific topics when looking for information, especially if they are trying to solve a problem. Your association has information and offers services. You are an expert. People want to […]

Part 3 of the 5-Part Series: Why Member Engagement No Longer Means Face-to-Face Tactic #3: Storytelling Drives Digital Engagement As outlined in our recent post, content is critical for your association to fully engage members and prospective members. With that in mind, it is important not to overlook the power of storytelling. A story can engage your audience like nothing else. Depending on your organization’s mission, this is a tool you can leverage in a very compelling way. The member […]