While non-dues revenues are different from membership revenues, they shouldn’t be viewed as totally separate from one another. In fact, many of the best methods for increasing non-dues revenues also enhance memberships. By adding additional or improved revenue streams, members find more value, and the association benefits from a raised profile, increased membership, and more engaged members.

Consider the following options when looking to expand your association’s non-dues revenues. You might just find that everyone connected to your association will benefit from these changes.

An Event to Remember

For most associations, events represent the largest non-dues revenue generator. Between registration fees, exhibits and sponsorships, events can bring in a significant amount of revenue. Each of these elements can be improved with some carefully planned initiatives. By thinking creatively about conferences and other events, associations can increase traffic and registration, while providing better experiences for their members.

There are countless ways to improve these events. You can work on improving the event offerings, recruit better speakers, and design more useful and relevant workshops to make your events more attractive to attendees. With more and more conferences going online, this is a great opportunity to supercharge conferences with shorter and more creative online sessions.

One useful method that might accomplish several of your goals all at once is to better integrate sponsors so that they are not only sponsoring but also have an opportunity to share their subject matter expertise with members. Try to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with some sponsors in your industry by inviting them to join your event planning committee. They might be able to add value to your event and your attendees by adding creative elements that you may not have thought of. In turn, your events can offer more varied sponsorship packages, which can increase revenues in more ways than one.

Incorporate More Learning

Many associations incorporate continuing education as part of their offerings for members. There is room to supercharge learning opportunities that go beyond standard continuing educations courses. For example, you can offer special workshops or create training courses on industry-adjacent topics. You may also consider offering a special learning package to provide semi-regular training, such as learning labs where members can join cohorts to work on issues together. These new options may provide additional revenue without encroaching on the membership offerings.

Another creative way to generate more learning-related revenue is to offer live stream access to in-person workshops or event training. This will make it easier for members to attend training at events, while also increasing the headcount and involvement in these programs. Try connecting all attendees, those in-person and online, to allow for interaction between the two groups and enhance the experience for everyone involved. This can be done through an online forum or an integrated learning platform that offers both on-demand and live sessions.

Make Time for Non-Members

Associations that see non-members as an important part of the association are the ones that stand to benefit the most from this group of visitors. Every visitor to your association’s website should find some value there. While you want to make sure that the bulk of the content is available to members only, keep some things accessible in order to advertise what your association offers and help turn those visitors into members.

One option is to offer training courses that non-members can access for a small fee or even for free. While these should be as widely accessible as possible to make the largest impact, a one-time fee or free courses shouldn’t replace the need for getting a membership. This is just a simple way of increasing non-dues revenues, while also giving potential members a taste of what membership can bring.

Job Board Access

For many members, job opportunities represent one of the primary reasons why they joined an association in the first place. While job assistance and career development are often built into a standard membership, associations can offer different levels of support for additional fees. Consider, for example, offering enhanced job board access that provides maximized exposure of job postings and searches in addition to one-on-one coaching, mentoring and resume writing workshops. Consider partnering with employers as this can work for both employers and job-seekers looking to improve their odds of finding the right job or person.

Your association might also set up a special program for certain members whereby recommended opportunities are sent directly to them based on their preferences and payment plan. This program might also allow members to engage with the employer/applicant more thoroughly. They may gain access to more information about the posting, such as employer information or a more detailed job description.

Bolster your Online Store

For obvious reasons, an association’s online store presents one of the largest opportunities to increase non-dues revenue. While increasing the amount and quality of products and services offered in the store can drive profits, associations can generate more interest in the store by creating and selling season- or event-related goods and services. Furthermore, associations can package relevant products or combine past products with newer items or to create a renewed interest or give a second life to older goods.

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Offering continuing education courses can be a strong addition to any association’s membership offerings. Gaining access to courses and certifications gives professionals another reason to join your association and even more reasons to renew their membership. These can all lead to increases in non-dues revenue. In addition, offering continuing education courses can have many more benefits. Truth be told, by making continuing education more accessible to members and nonmembers, associations can have a significant impact on their sector by turning the association into a knowledge center and industrial hub.

Become a Thought Leader

When an association takes the time and makes the investment needed to implement quality training programs, it makes great strides toward developing a learning culture. The focus on continuous learning helps position the association at the center of a knowledge hub. Members and nonmembers alike will look to the association for suggestions on how to advance and move forward professionally. Furthermore, in times of crisis, the association will become the go-to trusted resource for factual information.

Aside from the obvious increase in revenues and web traffic, thought leader associations also see increases in sponsorship and advertising opportunities for events and online programs, as sponsors and advertisers see great value in an active and engaged membership.

Start a Cycle

By creating a culture of learning and a resulting knowledge hub, over time, professional and personal betterment becomes a way of being. For example, students could access your vast resources for school projects. Then, as they graduate and begin their careers, you are helping these students develop into professionals and leaders within their industry. This leads to members and staff who are more involved in the association and more willing to pursue education and training in the future.

A well-trained and educated group of professionals helps to create a culture of inquiry and improvement within the association, with members who continue to positively challenge each other. In addition, well-attended courses, training programs, workshops, and conferences offer a superior learning experience and opportunities for mentorship.

Support Growth and Innovation

Another benefit of a learning culture is that it creates a group of like-minded professionals looking forward together. Our world continues to evolve and with evolution comes industry, technology, and professional changes. While ongoing continuing education can lead to increased productivity and non-dues revenue, it can also better prepare individuals for a changing world. It can positively impact perceptions about new developments and change, as well as increase the capability of your members to deal with ongoing changes.

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Social media can yield many benefits for an association. In the marketing world, social media represents one of the strongest tools available. Utilizing this avenue can create more brand awareness than traditional advertising, increase traffic to your website, and help improve conversion rates for visitors and consumers. Yet there’s more to social media than just blindly posting in the hopes of being seen. With a little thought and strategy, every association can turn social media from a mystery into a strength.

Create Meaningful Interactions

In order to get the most out of social media, associations need to do more than simply broadcast information. In fact, Facebook announced that its algorithms are moving toward promoting meaningful interactions ahead of all other posts. Now, this includes “engagement bait” posts as well. These are posts that ask for likes to create the illusion of meaningful interactions. Therefore, associations need to drive discussions that encourage thoughtful responses and queries from viewers in a more natural way.

Try using hashtags to create a more focused discussion, and don’t be afraid to be conversational. Social media users are well-versed in marketing speak, so try to use regular language to break through. In addition to increased brand awareness and interest, the results of these interactions can be enormous. Though social media interactions don’t directly increase search engine rankings, they can help influence them. Meaningful interactions also help to build relationships and create more involved members.

Be Present and Active

Social media allows people to connect with organizations better than ever before, but visibility isn’t enough. To make social media work for you, your association must be present and active, responding quickly to queries and joining conversations. In fact, many people now use social media for customer service inquiries the moment they need them. Although you can schedule your content submission to ensure that you’re posting regularly, try to communicate with your audience at different times.

In addition to being a space for basic customer service, social media allows for personalization. Use the platform to provide information to inquiring minds. Don’t be afraid to jump into relevant conversations and help people asking general questions about the industry. A continued social media presence can help with brand awareness and generate interest in the association without requiring much in the way of advertising dollars.

Learn from the Experience

While social media offers excellent opportunities for providing information to current and potential members, it is also home to a large congregation of professionals from every industry. Use this as a source of information and insight into what professionals are looking for, what industry trends are popping up, and what topics are generating the most interest. By incorporating these topics and trends in various ways, the association demonstrates it’s tapped in and paying attention.

Furthermore, like any customer service experience, social media interactions provide a great source of feedback and constructive criticism. Associations that use this information and build from it illustrate how they are willing to adapt and grow. On social media, this happens in real time and in front of many eyes, which provides plenty of great opportunities to provide excellent customer service.

Track your Results

After posting on social media for an extended period of time, it’s time to start learning from your experience and perfecting the artform. From the beginning, track your results to get the most from each post in the future. Measure what hashtags perform the best, and see what comments get the most likes. Ask yourself, what times do posts get the most interactions? Do posts with images do better than those without? While tracking can be done manually, various software and applications make this job easier and more automatic. Before long, your social media work will be more efficient and effective.

Mix Things Up

A little mixture goes a long way on social media, so it’s important to vary the type of content you post. You want to avoid strictly posting at people. Join in conversations, post about things outside your direct lane, and most importantly, avoid always self-promoting. Not only will constant self-promotion hurt your visibility on social media, but people may react negatively to your posts. Do all these things, but don’t stray too far off topic or relevance. People want their associations to be involved in industry- or professional-specific conversations. Last but not least, avoid posting the same thing on different social media channels as people will see posts as ads and not meaningful content.

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A Learning Management System (LMS) can work wonders for an association offering continuing education to members. These powerful systems can host courses, lectures, and certifications, allowing for intuitive management on both the front and back ends. They can provide huge time- and cost-saving benefits, offer extensive details on academic progress, and run thorough user reports. Yet, a quality LMS can offer much more than that.

While the main use of an LMS is education, these robust systems have many more capabilities that some associations may not understand. In fact, when used to its full potential, an LMS can add great value to an association in a variety of ways. Below, we’ll look at just some of the ways associations can get more from their LMS and make use of the tools that are ready and waiting at their fingertips.

Host All Your Content

Many associations use their LMS for continuing education courses and nothing more, but these systems can host more than just that. Consider putting up a large collection of information and resources. This might include best practices, industry tips, policy information, eBooks, and helpful articles. It’s important to diversify the type and delivery of content as well, like offering live webinars, interactive lessons, and videos. This mixture will attract and reach all different types of learners and ensure everyone can get something of worth.

Another effect this diversification may have is that it can help position the LMS and the association as a one-stop-shop for industry information and resources. By hosting a large library, members and non-members alike will visit the association when seeking information. Over time, they may even come to rely on the association as the go-to for all career and industry information. For that reason, associations should consider making some information accessible for non-members. Give them a taste of what they might receive as members and allow the LMS to do some marketing for your association as well.

Get Everyone Onboard

The onboarding process for new members can be time-consuming and lengthy. The sheer amount of information and assistance needed to get new members up to speed can be overwhelming. So, let your LMS take on some of that work. Use the system to hold all the information necessary. Host new member videos, mission statements, and membership details. Allow the system to slowly introduce new materials and new permissions over time.

Using an LMS to deliver and manage an extensive learning initiative can also help with new members and stakeholders as well. These onboarding plans can be thoughtfully strategized and laid out in the LMS to really streamline these processes in the long run. With a thorough and engaging onboarding process, associations can create more productive beneficiaries and increase loyalty in staff, members, and stakeholders.

Compliance Training

Many industries feature legal and regulatory changes that professionals need to keep up with regularly. Mandatory compliance training starts from the very beginning with health and safety training and may continue throughout one’s career to adjust and adapt to any changes. It may be necessary to begin a profession as well as to maintain a license and certification. By running compliance training via an LMS, associations can improve access, convenience, results, and their bottom line.

Firstly, an LMS allows for easy delivery and easy access. Training can be uploaded quickly and members can take the training any time, day or night. Existing content can be uploaded and changed just as easily. The content can be customized for specific learners and offerings can be personalized so members see only what they need. The automated system also allows for easy grading and evaluations, along with producing detailed reports on compliance rates. This not only saves the association time and money, but it provides additional value for current and prospective members.

Social Platform

After turning its LMS into a multi-function resource library for members, an association can encourage even more activity and involvement by integrating a forum for users to communicate with each other. Associations can take several different approaches with this social platform. They can allow participating members to communicate about specific courses or programs or they can create more of an open forum for members to discuss general industry materials.

Associations can stimulate discussion in these forums by introducing industry-specific news or developments or by creating opinion pieces and inviting responses. If done right, a healthy and active social platform can become a landing spot for members and users. It can lead to much more website traffic and more participation from members in general. Allow members to share discussions on other social media channels to encourage more traffic.

Add Something Extra

Aside from the ideas above, associations can think outside of the box when it comes to things that an LMS can offer. Try giving members and visitors anything that they might find value in. Post some instructional videos or training guides for hobbyists. Provide self-help resources or offer positive think pieces that visitors and members might find interesting. Consider posting industry or skill quizzes for members to test themselves with or give them fun and interactive activities to try.

While continuing education and training will almost always be the main reason people access their LMS, associations can add plenty of additional value by using the system to its full potential. The opportunities are endless and can generate some very positive results for the associations that find the right content. If unsure of what to offer, reach out to members and ask for suggestions.

The post LMS is More Than Just a Tool for Continuing Education appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Not everyone feels the same about technology, so associations shouldn’t expect every member to welcome technological changes with open arms. Each generation and each individual relies on technology in considerably different ways. While some use it in nearly every aspect of their lives and can adopt new innovations easily, others use it more sparingly and may find it challenging to learn new technologies.

For those members who interact with technology infrequently, innovative changes can be met with resistance, which can be the result of discomfort, insecurity, and fear. That doesn’t mean that these members will never adopt new technology, it just that technology changes need to be implemented carefully and with intention. The following information highlights just some of the steps that associations can take to ensure every member, irrespective of their level of technological comfort, is prepared for a technology update.

Understand the Fear of Change

To properly address member’s feelings toward change, associations must first understand them. Psychologically, the fear of change is connected to the fear of the unknown. In regards to adopting a new technology, this fear comes from the uncertainty of success while using it. Older members or those more unfamiliar with technology are likely comfortable completing tasks in more traditional ways.

To help overcome these fears, associations can provide some clarity to members. This might include clearly explaining what the technology is, how it works, and how it benefits each member. Ensure that hesitant members feel assured and confident that their concerns are heard and supported. Keep the communication lines open and the messages clear to help ease the transition along as best as possible.

Show Them the Value

When presenting the prospect of change to an unsure party, a powerful way to get buy-in is to demonstrate the value the change will bring. Rather than provide a list of features offered by the new technology, show users how this change will result in time or cost savings. Show them how tasks will be made simpler and easier to manage.

How value is communicated is also important. Focus on the intuitiveness of the technology. Keep the messages themselves simple, using analogies and relatable examples. Avoid any jargon or tech-speak to ensure all members get the message. This should not be limiting either. Instead, it should help keep the communications clear and concise, as well as understandable for a diverse member demographic.

Know Your Audience

In order to present ideal communications and create an effective technology roll-out plan, associations need to know their members and what they need and want from their membership. When addressing the value new technology can bring, for example, consider what value means to the different demographics. Highlight various elements of the technology that might speak to the different subsets.

It might even be beneficial to create different value presentations and communications. Separate members into different groups and use targeted mailing or advertising campaigns, like Mailchimp or Facebook, to send personalized communications to them. Each group will see only the information, features, and the value that speaks directly to them. For the roll-out itself, offer different options for different members. Make training optional or provide different training courses so as to not alienate more tech-savvy members.

Provide an Orientation

Since members are on different levels when it comes to technology familiarity and comfort, what appears simple for one user might be quite complex for another. For that reason, no matter how basic or easy to use a newly introduced technology might seem, it’s important to provide usage instructions and support. This ensures that no member gets stuck or locked out of a technology based on their experience level.

Associations can post a recorded visual demonstration highlighting the primary controls of the technology. A written or visual walkthrough can be linked for additional support. Users should also get access to a glossary to help them identify any terms they may be unfamiliar with. Any training or support documents should be written clearly and headlines and sections should be plainly marked. For the more complex technology additions, associations may look at offering training courses. This can be a useful way to ensure users know enough to use the technology successfully.

Take Baby Steps

While some users can handle a full roll-out without any problem, others need a slower and more deliberate introduction. If any resistance is in place, a new technology can prove overwhelming for some users. Associations should take time with these roll-outs. Give users a chance to learn different elements of the technology, taking in small pieces at a time, before giving them the entire system. Offer small trial runs of a basic version of the technology to give users a running start.

Providing a slow roll-out can be done through communications or through training. With a paced-out introduction to technology, users can build some familiarity and comfort in one aspect before moving on. Problems can be addressed in sections and solved before they become too large and discouraging. This approach also demonstrates to users that the association is considerate of their feelings, taking the time to assist all members make the most of the new technology.

Ask for Input

The final step, and arguably the most important, for closing the technological gap is to ask members and potential users of the technology for their input. After introducing or proposing the technology, reach out to members for feedback. Ask them to voice their questions and concerns about the roll-out. What is missing? What looks most challenging? After they participate in training or demonstrations or they use the technology for a short period of time, ask members where they struggled or where the technology missed the mark.

Associations will still want to try and preempt these concerns in communications and training materials, but this input can highlight things that were not considered. It will also prove to members that their feelings are considered and valued, especially when the association follows through and addresses this feedback.

The post Taking the Fear Out of Updating Your Association’s Technology appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

The goal of customer service is to create a bridge between an organization and a customer. Ideally, this connection sets the organization up as relatable and ensures that customers are heard and satisfied. For an association, customer service can keep members happy, involved, and willing to renew their membership in the future. If done right, great customer service can lead to member referrals, increased sales, and stronger relationships with other organizations, like advertisers and sponsors.

Accomplishing this, however, requires more than just friendliness in communications. Contemporary members demand that their associations keep their best interests in mind and prove it. Read on to uncover some ways that your association can go the extra mile for your members and give them the quality customer service they deserve.

Don’t Be Afraid of Change

Associations that are willing to adapt are able to demonstrate to members that they value change. It is necessary. It’s not only the industries, professions, and professionals that evolve over time, but the technology available to associations and membership needs evolve as well. Yet, while adaptation is needed, associations should avoid change for the sake of change. Instead, they should take calculated risks by incorporating moves that improve membership quality and value. Ensure members know why the changes were made and how these changes will benefit them.

A safe way to incorporate or introduce change is to request input from members. Ask for improvement suggestions, take member surveys, and run feedback polls. From there, it’s important to display the results of this member feedback and implement changes that the members want. Through this type of response, associations can build up member loyalty and engagement. Knowing their input is valued and integrated, members take a greater stake in their association. They align their interests more closely with those of the association and value its successes more. For the association, dedicated, satisfied, and engaged members provide more renewals and more referrals.

Maintain Clear Communication

Communication is one of the primary elements of good customer service. Associations that keep open and honest lines of communication with members maintain a higher level of engagement and a stronger reputation. By informing members of upcoming events and associational changes in a clear and concise manner, associations can eliminate or at least limit any confusion, misinterpretation, or mix-ups. This can improve event attendance and minimize any resistance to changes.

Through effective communication, an association can also position itself as a hub for industry information. Connect members with industry news, encourage targeted discussions, and notify members of association initiatives to ensure they continue relying on the association for information. Strong communication is a two-way street. For best results, associations can ask members to suggest their preferred level and method of communication. Answer questions and contribute to discussions via social media to ensure members see the association as something more than a faceless entity.

Be Genuine

The association members of today, particularly the younger generations, appreciate genuineness and authenticity from organizations. Intuitive professionals can read between the lines in sales speak and can perceive unspoken agendas in marketing communications. Simply by providing open and honest customer service, an association can build better and more trusting relationships with its members, leading to stronger loyalty down the line.

Another element to a genuine association is demonstrating empathy for its members. Try to appreciate and understand the member position. Be accountable and responsive. Apologize for inconveniences and address member concerns within an appropriate time frame. Genuine quality customer service helps build a solid and dedicated membership. Appreciated members attend and participate in more events, which can lead to more and better sponsorships.

Develop a Personal Touch

The best customer service relies on a connection being made between the association and members. For this to happen, members need to feel seen and heard on a personal level. Communications and ads personalized to the recipient will result in far greater responses than the general varieties. This makes sense as personalized communications speak to the recipient’s specific history, scenario, and interests.

Of course, this can prove challenging, especially for associations with a large number of members. By using targeted member technology, such as mail chimp or targeted Facebook ads, however, associations can still reach a large group of people with personalized communications. Associations can further improve the results of these campaigns by grouping members into similar demographics, like age, profession, job title, and location.

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When it comes to learning, we all do it a little differently. Even the best content provided by the best instructor can be lost on segments of the audience if it’s all presented in the same way. This is because of the way people digest knowledge. When trying to optimize audience reception and response, a little versatility can go a long way. While everyone’s got their own unique flavor in regards to how they process information, there are distinct learning style categories into which most people can be grouped.

For associations, offering different educational opportunities, like events and activities, professional development courses, and presentations, can satisfy each of the different learning styles. Furthermore, when creating events, continuing education courses and presentations, each of these categories should be explored. By catering to your entire audience, the content will be more enriching and returns maximized. In addition to increased and engaged participants, appealing to distinct learning styles can lead to more purchases, stronger advertising and sponsorship deals, and member satisfaction.

Understand the Differences

•  Visual

Also called spatial learning, visual learning is achieved through sight and observation. Without pictures or diagrams to help them, these types of learners may visualize materials to best understand them. For that reason, they may need additional time to process and digest what they hear.

• Auditory

Auditory learners best process information through sound and speech, such as lectures and reading information aloud. These types of learners often possess strong memory techniques, communication skills, and participation efforts.

• Kinesthetic

As tactile learners, kinesthetic-styled students process information best through physical engagement. They digest information through practical training and muscle memory, whereas long stretches of inactivity can lead them to tune out.

• Reading/Writing

Overlapping slightly with visual learners, reading and writing learners digest information through the written word. During lectures or verbal presentations, these students may need additional time to write down the information they hear.

How to Integrate into Events

The primary goals for event holders include attracting as many attendees as possible and ensuring those attendees return in the future. The best way to accomplish this is to design events catered to a diverse audience and provide them with content that they can process and appreciate.

For best results, design activities and find speakers that include all learning styles. It might also be beneficial to split activities and speakers up by learning style, ensuring that every attendee gets something from the material. With such active engagement from all attendees, event-holders can improve sponsorship value, member appreciation, and the chances that attendees become returnees in the future.

• Visual and Auditory Activities

On the one hand, visual learners find value in events with visual-aided presentations or live demonstrations. Auditory learners, on the other hand, might enjoy from a Q&A session or a roundtable discussion. Both visual and auditory learners may benefit from gaining access to recordings of these presentations, demonstrations, and discussions.

• Kinesthetic and Reading/Writing Activities

To accommodate kinesthetic learners, event holders may host workshops or walkthroughs that attendees can participate in. If they go home with a free trial, these hands-on learners can continue their engagement beyond the confines of the event. Learners who process best from reading and writing can benefit from many of the activities above, but they may also appreciate a take-home booklet or email with notes from the event, additional information, or a record of the discussions.

How to Integrate into Presentations

On their own or as part of a larger whole, quality presentations can add significant value to an event. They can also make a memorable experience for attendees and generate advertising and sponsorship opportunities. To get the most from a presentation, however, presenters should create meaningful connections with each of the different learning styles. This can be done in a number of ways, but the following tips might lead to more consistency.

• Visual Presentations

Since most presentations already appeal to visual and auditory learners, presenters don’t need to reinvent the wheel here, though they can make some small tweaks to enhance the effect. Powerpoint-type presentation still work effectively, but be sure to include charts and graphs for the visual folks. Also, try mind-maps and creating visualization-friendly examples and scenarios. When presenting, be sure to pause and give time for these visualizations to take hold.

• Auditory Presentations

With the advent of live streaming and applications like Google slides, presenters can now host live Q&A sessions during their presentation. This active participation can benefit all types of learning styles, specifically the auditory and reading and writing groups. Auditory learners might also appreciate a repeat-after-me section.

• Kinesthetic Presentations

For kinesthetic learners, a physical activity or participation element can work wonders. Presenters may involve movement or a component that utilizes something most attendees have access to, like a smartphone. A small group activity is enough to get the blood and the creative juices flowing for this segment of the audience.

• Take-Home Value

Another useful means for adding value to a presentation is to add a learning-style specific take-home component. Access to a recording of the presentation works for both visual and auditory learners, whereas a quiz or a fill-in-the-blanks section helps the kinesthetics and a written overview or transcript reaches the reading and writing crowd. Furthermore, by adding an effective take-home element or the rewatchability of a presentation, presentations extend the value of an attached sponsorship or advertising.

How to Integrate into Continuing Education

Preparing a course that satisfies each of the learning styles can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Associations can choose to create content that appeals to various learning styles or offer different options for different learners. Either way, the versatility should lead to more members enrolling in courses, more successful outcomes, and improved membership value.

• Visual and Auditory Courses

Many online courses today are designed for visual and auditory learners. Associations often design lessons with visual and aural aids, like verbal lectures and presentation-style courses with pictures, charts, and diagrams to help drive home facts and information. For video courses, content designers can break up large chunks of verbal or written information with animations or live-action scenarios. Instructors may choose to speak or lecture over rolling videos to capture the attention of both visual and auditory learners and help them process information.

• Kinesthetic Courses

Some of the latest and greatest continuing education advances have come in the field of kinesthetic learning. To appeal to these types of learners, courses now offer interactive scenario-based training in which students can apply their knowledge directly. Courses may also include simulations or practical demonstrations as a learning aid. Training may include more traditional lab participation or explore gamification as a modern way of reaching learners and getting them involved.

• Reading/Writing Courses

While large chunks of written content can be off-putting for some learners, reading- and writing-styled learners process information best this way. To accommodate these learners without sacrificing the content for other participants, courses can allow students to access a transcript of the course materials or a written overview. Video lessons might include closed caption options and the course could include a fill-in-the-blanks quiz.

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As the world of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increases its reliance on the internet, the importance of digital security and security follows closely behind. According to the Ponemon Institute’s State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium Size Businesses survey, 67% of SMBs experienced some form of cyber attack in 2018, an increase of 6% from a year earlier.

Even more alarming, only 28% of these organizations feel its defenses are “highly effective.” However, the solutions are out there. The problem is, organizations don’t always know where to look. In fact, nearly half of survey respondents are unsure how to incorporate suitable cybersecurity measures. Help is near. Associations that incorporate the following measures can better protect data and safeguard against attacks.

CHANGE THE CULTURE

Integrating proper cyber security requires a top-down culture shift. First, management needs to acknowledge the need for cybersecurity, and then they need to initiate an organization-wide buy-in plan. This may include running information or training sessions highlighting why proper security is important, what the potential threats are, and how everyone can contribute to protecting the organization against them.

While cyber threats can come in many different shapes and sizes, organizations can focus on the biggest and most prevalent. According to Ponemon Institute study, the most common attacks in 2018 were phishing and social engineering, web-based attacks, general malware, stolen devices, denial of services, and advanced malware attacks. The more prepared users are, the lower the chances they fall for predatory attacks.

Know Your Enemy – Phishing, Denial of Services, and Zero-Day Attacks

Simply providing staff with some quick training on how to handle the most common attacks can make a major difference.

Phishing threats involve attackers sending emails with a fake “from address” or even worse, from a trusted source like a hacked email account to persuade targets to provide valuable information or to open attachments infected with a computer virus or other malware. Since it is one of the easiest ways of attacking any organization, it is therefore the most common way to break into computer systems and networks. To minimize this threat, everyone in your organization should never open any kind of email attachment or click on any link that was submitted via email without requesting it from the sender. This includes especially emails that you received from senders you know. Additionally, always hover over links to verify the path goes where it says it does or ensure the email header details, like “reply-to address” and “return path,” align with the trusted source’s actual information.

To protect against denial of services (DoS attack), which is when attackers flood web servers with requests to intentionally overload them, organizations can set up on-premise and cloud-based protections to detect and reroute any potential attacks. Vocalmeet provides this type of protection to all of its clients.

For advanced malware attacks, like Zero-day exploits that expose unpatched software vulnerabilities, one of the fastest-growing threats, organizations and users should keep well configured firewalls in place and even better, should limited access to servers that host your online applications only to certain IP addresses like the one from your office or a company VPN etc. More importantly use only essential applications in your public facing network to reduce the amount of potential vulnerabilities.

Make an Inventory and a Plan

In order to protect its assets, an organization needs to first review what assets it has and who and what has access to the information. This may involve making an inventory of every device, all software, and each user that is connected to the organization’s system. Perhaps most importantly, these inventories must be updated regularly. In addition to providing a useful overview of the organization’s system, updated inventories can then be used to identify someone or something with unauthorized access.

The next step is to create a security plan that everyone in the organization can understand and follow. According to the CyberEdge Group’s 2017 Cyberthreat Defense Report, “Low security awareness among employees continues to be the greatest inhibitor to defending against cyber threats.” Even the most basic plan can improve security drastically, such as ensuring employees log off when away from their devices and reporting unusual happenings or activity.

Maintain Proper Technical Hygiene

 To ensure the organization’s security remains intact, every member must commit to the process. This may include regularly updating security and malware protection software, including antispyware and antivirus software, and using a firewall when connecting to the internet and securing Wi-Fi networks. Users should also ensure they stay up-to-date on software updates. Though many of these tasks get put off until the most convenient time, they should be prioritized for best results.

Specific Hardware and Software Configuration

 While many modern devices are built for convenience and accessibility, the trade-off, unfortunately, is often a lack of security. Organizations can overcome this by streamlining the functionality of its software and hardware. A web server with only web service functionality, for example, reduces the vulnerabilities and the risks of attacks.

Similarly, many technology users increasingly take security risks to increase convenience despite the growth in cyber threats. This usually results in users employing poor passwords or even keeping the default passwords, which can often be looked up online and cracked easily. The organizational solution is to force users to regularly change their password, require them to use their own individual accounts for all activities, and establish a lockout policy for wrong attempts.

Manage User Privileges

While the majority of cyberthreats are external to an organization, limiting user privileges and permissions can go a long way to eliminating a large portion of internal cyber weaknesses. This may mean that some users don’t have the same level of access to information as others. Some users might not be able to install software or use specific websites, for instance.

Organizations should also restrict admin privileges. Since admin access and credentials allow users to make drastic system changes, controlling this power can limit any malicious or accidental threats from the inside. If admin access is needed by standard users, these privileges can be offered temporarily and supervised carefully. By practicing this level of control, organizations can also prevent phishing attempts, as admin credentials and access are more carefully monitored and protected.

Get an Insurance Plan

Even for the organizations that take every precaution, cybercrime still remains a very real possibility and a serious threat. Therefore, establishing a backup plan and an insurance policy in case of an attack is every bit as important as trying to prevent one.

One surefire method is to create and maintain backups of all-important information and documents. Setting systems to back themselves up automatically can take much of the legwork out of this process. While this doesn’t eliminate the threats, it can soften the blow if they do occur. Another option is to obtain an insurance policy that protects against cybercrime. Not only can insurance coverage help manage and minimize the risk of malicious cyberattacks, but it can also provide organizations with an overview of their systems, their vulnerabilities, and their level of risk.

The post How To Protect Your Association From Cyber Attacks appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Members are the lifeblood of every association. While maintaining a solid membership represents the central mission, acquiring new members remains a yearly challenge. According to the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, less than half of all associations increased their new member acquisitions in 2018 and nearly 25% of associations saw a decrease in renewals. To keep the fresh faces rolling in and the familiar faces smiling, associations must continue finding new methods of increasing and maintaining their membership. The following tips might just do the trick.

INTEGRATE SPONSORSHIP

Perhaps the most effective method for attracting new members and driving renewals is by improving membership value.  Although this can be done a number of ways, increasing sponsorship dollars and involvement can go a long way to achieving this goal. To increase sponsorship dollars, associations need to find more sponsors or find more innovative means of sponsor involvement. The key for the latter option is integration.

By better integrating sponsors in its initiatives, an association can provide sponsors with more valuable opportunities and offer higher sponsorship levels (and prices). This could mean giving sponsors direct access to an event audience as a guest speaker or allowing them to host a focus group. These opportunities can prove mutually beneficial if done right, ensuring sponsors want to maintain and further develop this relationship.

 PROVIDE VALUE IN VALUABLE LOCATIONS

Both new and established members look for value in their memberships. An effective method for an association to demonstrate value is to establish itself as an authority in the industry. This can be done online by starting or joining meaningful conversations. Try hosting informative discussions and providing actionable insights that potential members can join in on or, at the very least, notice.

To accomplish this effectively, associations need to identify where their potential members congregate and what interests them the most. This may require the association to divide potential members into demographic groups. It might start a LinkedIn discussion on specific industry topics or share relevant stories and news via Facebook or Twitter.

HOST MUST-ATTEND EVENTS

While it may sound easier than it is, hosting events that sponsors want to participate in and members want to attend is a powerful way to drive both renewals and new members. Associations can come up with a variety of ways to create a must-attend event, but demonstrating value is paramount. A great way to create value is to make the event unique, offer something members and potential attendees can’t find anywhere else.

This might involve taking some risks. Try discussing cutting-edge topics or projected industry trends. Recruit new speakers who haven’t done the industry event speaker circuit and those who bring with them new ideas. Integrate sponsors with similar interests to improve event workshops, focus groups, and discussions. Finally, invite or incentivize members to bring a guest and a potential new member.

 LISTEN TO CURRENT MEMBERS

One of the best sources of information for an association is their current members. This is a group that knows what they want and what they need from their association. Conduct a member survey to generate a list of improvements and share the results with members. Most importantly, make sure to address the feedback. Follow through on promises and prove to members that their input is important and highly valued.

TAP INTO PREVIOUS MEMBERS

According to the 2018 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 16% of members choose not to renew their memberships on average. While these former members have a variety of reasons for not renewing, this group represents a very valuable source for both referrals and renewals. Equipped with these former member’s contact information, associations can use targeted advertising and offer special member discounts for best results. Facebook’s target audience feature can help streamline this process.

KEEP MEMBERS ENGAGED

Engaged members are often loyal members, and proper engagement starts at the very beginning. As soon as new members join, personally thank them and provide them with an orientation. Familiarize them with the association. Show them how to access member benefits and encourage them to participate in the community. If possible, connect new members with a mentor or a more experienced member to accommodate this process.

From there, keep your members informed. Notify them of current discussions, upcoming events, and professional development opportunities. Be sure to ask members what level of communication with the association they want and honor that feedback.

UNDERSTAND THE MEMBER LIFE CYCLE

Members want different things at different stages of their careers. While offering a one-size-fits-all benefit system might be easiest, it’s more effective to offer something for each of the various groups. If done properly, members will continue finding benefits in their association and continue their engagement over the course of many years.

The first here is to understand the member life cycle. Identify what the member career stages are and what professionals need at each stage. For example, new professionals might seek out events to attend or mentoring opportunities. More experienced professionals may look for continuing education courses or professional development workshops. Meanwhile, industry veterans may find value in more hands-on opportunities, such as volunteering with the association, delivering event speeches, or contributing content for training.

GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

While paid advertising is a great way to get new members, there are other, more inexpensive methods. Natural advertising, for example, that which comes from members simply because they wish to share an association’s value with those around them, can cost nothing. For this to happen, however, members need a reason to discuss the association and they need to do so on a public channel.

Try starting a conversation on the channels your potential members use, like Facebook or LinkedIn. Encourage members to share stories or accomplishments, post pictures or give out event and workshop invitations. Even if this advertising doesn’t directly result in new members, it will generate a buzz and familiarity within the industry.

RUN A SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Membership drives represent one of the best ways to create an influx of new members. These concerted efforts to market an association and generate interest in joining can take on a variety of forms, but the results can prove very beneficial. To get the most out of a drive, develop a strategy, make a budget, and utilize all the resources available.

Membership drives might be as simple as an advertising campaign, email or phone campaign, incentivized referrals, or a resource giveaway. Some associations host small events, like luncheons, business spotlights, or speaker events, or larger events, such as networking events, charity drives, or conferences.

The post How to Win Members and Influence Renewals appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

If your association hasn’t started yet, it’s time to start aggressively recruiting millennials and engaging with these young professionals.

But how and why?

If you’re at a loss for an answer, don’t feel bad. Association board members, executives, and marketers have been just as stumped over the years. And with good reason. Stereotypes about millennials abound: they’re entitled, obsessed with themselves, and lack loyalty. But these stereotypes have been proven to be largely debunked myths, and we’re here to tell you why it’s time to start paying attention to millennials.

Why should associations care about millennials?

Millennials — who include anyone born between 1981 and 1996 — currently make up the largest generation in the U.S. workforce. By 2030, they’ll account for 75 percent of the labour market.

To date, associations have largely been comprised of baby boomers — and while they make up a majority of memberships, they only account for roughly 25 percent of the U.S. workforce. The problem, as several associations have begun to notice, is that these older members are aging and causing association memberships to decrease. It’s a very real and key concern: associations are facing the unique challenge of not only building up but also maintaining their membership. To do this, younger professionals need to be actively recruited to replace retiring baby boomers. And so, now is the time to aggressively recruit millennials.

What millenials are looking for?

Associations need a compelling value proposition for millenials to join: what will these young professionals gain from paying dues, attending your events and engaging with your community?

To develop or redefine a compelling value proposition for millennials, it’s important to understand what motivates these young professionals. We know, for example, that millennials are attracted to organizations and brands that are trustworthy, transparent and come by way of a friend’s referral. We also know that millennials are interested in working with (not for) organizations that embrace technology, that aim to help society, and that foster personal and group relationships.

Millennials are beginning to enter their prime earning years and they crave meaningful work and community.

Incentivize and create meaningful purpose for millenial members (let millennials help drive your activities)

While associations should consider simple ideas — like targeting new graduates from college programs (by attending on-campus career fairs) or creating a new membership category for young professionals that offers differentiated benefits such as waiving initiation fees and providing free attendance to paid events — it’s also important for associations to find a role and purpose for millenials given what we know about their motivating factors.

Associations can, for example, highlight to millennials the impact of their advocacy work — doing so will illustrate an association’s influence and ability to make positive change in a respective industry and in society more broadly. More impactful information communicated to young professions could include quantitative news — hard data — on how many advocacy efforts, issues and letters were addressed because of your association’s influence.

Ultimately, millennials should be participating in associations’ advocacy efforts, and be welcomed to an association’s committee and governance bodies. Giving millennials real opportunities to get involved will make them feel valued while associations will gain real value from insightful young professionals.

Communicate opportunities when recruiting and onboarding

Associations should pay particular attention to how they engage with millenials about strategic planning, online community, and advocacy opportunities during the recruitment and onboarding process.

In a recent survey from the Association Innovation Benchmarking Report, 2018 a majority of associations identified an email welcome as essential to onboarding, but less than half identified an invitation to join their association’s online community or an invitation to volunteer. Associations should work to ensure that young professionals are encouraged to become involved early on in the membership and they should work to ensure that the contributions of millenials — whether it be volunteering on event programming, advocacy efforts, or online community moderation — are valued and appreciated by the association. This could be done through thank-you notes and annual award recognitions, for example.

Embrace digital engagement with millenials and focus on building online communities

Millennials have embraced digital media unlike any generation before. Eighty-five percent of millennials have a social media profile and 92 percent of them own a smartphone. However, the aforementioned survey, only 12 percent of associations identified digital marketing to be one of the most effective strategies to recruit new members. Somehow, associations are missing the mark when it comes to digital.

Yes, capturing the attention of millennials on social media can be challenging given the amount of online content. But know we that millennials use social media differently than other generational users — Facebook is used more as a news feed and for private communication rather than public posting, and Twitter is largely used on mobile devices and when millenials are bored. Associations can use this information and millennials desire for engagement to their advantage.

A majority of associations already use Facebook and Twitter but should consider strategies such as organic and sponsored posts, retargeting advertisements, advertisements targeting custom audiences (millennials in targeted industries), and an e-commerce store (allowing for event registration and purchasing memberships) embedded into Facebook as ways to bolster their performance on these platforms.

Surprisingly, almost half of surveyed associations do not offer their members an online community. It’s another glaring gap in how associations are missing an opportunity to engage with younger professionals. Associations can work towards countering this reality and building online communities by responding to online comments and requests from members, creating engaging campaigns with calls to action, posting content with consistent and captivating messaging and imagery, and posting content that advance value propositions over shameless self-promotion (that is, sharing content that will actually benefit, educate and give opportunities to younger professionals).

Associations shouldn’t underestimate the power of LinkedIn when seeking to recruit and engage with millennials

In the above mentioned survey of associations, only 21 percent identified LinkedIn advertising as an effective method to generate new members. And less than 70 percent of associations said they use the business and employment-oriented social media platform.

The lack of use is concerning given that LinkedIn has been identified as responsible for 46 percent of the social media traffic to company websites. A recent study noted that LinkedIn generates more conversions — 3 times higher — than Twitter. Moreover, LinkedIn has grown to over 500 million members, with half using the service monthly and up to 40 percent of those users accessing the platform daily. Of those users, 63 million are mobile users and, more importantly, 87 million are millennials who are beginning to grow their professional network and build their career as future decision makers — in fact, 11 million are already in decision-making positions. The platform provides an incredible opportunity to reach young professionals without delving into Instagram or Facebook.

Associations can embrace the power of LinkedIn by connecting with influencers, becoming active by creating and sharing posts (the ideal length is about 40 words or 248 characters) and by refining and recreating the audience-specific content that is generating engagement with your millennial audience.

Measure your association’s engagement with millenials

When budgets and resources are finite, it’s important to make decisions that are data driven and impactful. Associations should take the time to understand how and which members engage with their content: what events are being attended (and by who), which links are being clicked (and by who), which online forums are generating discussion (and by who). Associations should frequently reach out to their millennial members to ensure engagement strategies are working with younger demographics and to see if they help associations understand any gaps in what they’re looking for from association membership.

Many associations have taken steps to invest in assessment tools and techniques to understand whether or not content is reaching the right audience and how to improve conversion rates. Member login rates, A/B testing with newsletters, analyzing attendance and volunteer rates, donations by member segments, and member participation in a variety of member-only forums are important ways to track whether or not an association’s efforts are paying off. But far too many — nearly half — of surveyed associations identify a lack in how marketing efforts are analysed. It’s critical for associations to always have a goal in mind and to keep an eye on how efforts are progressing. With this insight, associations must be being sensitive enough to adapt and change course when certain approaches or key messages fail to resonate with intended audiences.

Final thoughts: don’t forget about benefits

Millenials are the future members, donors and supporters of associations. To target, recruit, welcome and engage these young professionals effectively, associations have to re-focus marketing and recruitment strategies and communications efforts. Indeed, associations have found success in recruiting millennials when their value proposition is refined, when their message is targeted, and when their voice is authentic.

Social media is the perfect medium to find out what millennials are thinking, and while the ultimate goal is for associations to produce shareable and feel-good content that entertains and leads to desired conversions, it’s important to remember that members — whether they’re young or old — expect more than social media posts from their association. They expect benefits from the membership. Belonging to an association can offer welcome swag, such as national park passes, handwritten notes or functional items such as clothing. These tokens of appreciation express gratitude and help build belonging. But more importantly, association membership should offer millennials opportunities — to develop new relationships, to gain experience through exclusive continuing education, and to enjoy the benefits and joy of being a professional within a certain industry.

The post How to Attract and Engage with Younger Members (And Why It’s Important to Start Recruiting Millennials) appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.