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With so many member engagement strategies to choose from, sometimes it’s helpful to have a few easy and exciting member engagement strategy examples to inspire your organization’s next move. Ideally your organization has a comprehensive member engagement strategy built on providing value, but in reality, member engagement is also just one of the many tasks on your to-do list and you need strategies you can implement easily and quickly. So, if you don’t have months to plan and execute an engagement strategy, check out these three real-world examples from our own industry you can implement today.
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Example 1: Create an engaging online community.
Inspiration: Event Planning & Management Association
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Online Communities are powerful tools to connect with potential and existing association members. With over 86,000 members in their LinkedIn group, the Event Planning & Management Association is a shining example of what is possible with an online community.
Step 1. Identify where members are spending time. It makes perfect sense that the Event Planning & Management Association would turn to LinkedIn to create their group because their target audience includes professional event planners, managers, and marketers. Their audience is already using LinkedIn to network and stay connected to the industry. Consider where your audience spends the most time and focus your efforts there.
Step 2. Make the name of your group clear and searchable. Your group name isn’t a time to try a catchy or clever title. Keep the name of the group in line with what your audience is searching for. The example association does this well with the name of their association first followed by exactly who it is intended for. Platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook also serve as search engines for users to find relevant information and groups, so keep that in mind.
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Example 2: Utilize Social Media.
Inspiration: Alliance for Women in Media, Southern California Affiliate
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With over 3000 likes on their Facebook page and video content featuring Taylor Swift (perfectly suited to appeal to their audience of women in media), the Alliance for Women in Media, Southern California Affiliate clearly knows how to utilize social media to drive member engagement. To follow in their footsteps, follow these steps:
Step 1. Appoint a dedicated social media chair and co-chair. Success with social media does require consistency, so it’s important to have a dedicated team responsible for following through with creating and posting content.
Step 2. Use it as part of an integrated marketing strategy. Simply posting on social media isn’t enough anymore. In this example, the Alliance for Women and Media does an excellent job of using social media to share content from in-person and virtual events, which are most definitely central to their overall marketing approach. Social media can work beautifully in tandem to almost any marketing strategy, and the strategies can enhance one another.
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Example 3: Create an informational, educational event.
Inspiration: Alzheimer’s Association – South Carolina Chapter
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Events such as fundraising galas and conferences are certainly appealing when it comes to member engagement, but they can be extremely expensive and time consuming. Why not consider smaller, more focused events that are easy to implement?
Step 1. Identify an educational need for your association. If education is an important part of your organization’s mission, educational events can serve double duty in advancing your mission as well as engaging potential and existing members. For the Alzheimer’s Association, one of their core goals is to “provide education and support to those facing Alzheimer’s and other dementias throughout the community.” Lean into your association’s mission to find an educational need and take it from there.
Step 2. Rely on partnerships. In this example, a partnership with the Public Library benefits both organizations. They can cross-market the event, bring in new members to both organizations, and focus on their strengths while also creating new ties in the community. It is truly a win-win.
Hopefully these three member engagement strategy examples can get the ideas flowing for your organization. Remember that small steps can make a big difference. Ask yourself what you can do right now to move your member engagement forward, and then do it!
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