With the help of non-dues revenue, associations can provide members with extensive benefits, assist the industry at large, and engage in advocacy and promotional activities. To afford this, these non-dues funds usually amount to more than 50% of the total revenue of larger associations. But then, what about small and mid-size associations? How can they afford the cost, labour, and time needed to bolster their non-dues revenues programs? 

Well, in most cases, these associations already have the content and the groundwork laid to start earning non-dues revenue–all that’s left is a little creativity and effort to get the ball rolling! In this article, we’ll be exploring some of the best ways that associations can start earning additional revenue right away. Not only this–many of the below ideas can also improve the quality of membership overall, potentially leading to more members and more renewals!

Make an Event of It!

Events usually represent the largest non-dues revenue-makers for associations. Conferences, for example, often provide several revenue streams, including ticket sales, exhibitor fees, merchandise sales, and various partnerships, to name a few! For smaller associations, however, throwing a conference might not be realistic. Don’t give up, though–even smaller associations can still host and sell tickets to banquets, galas, or special dinners. If planned properly, events like these can provide the same revenue opportunities as conferences, just on a smaller scale.

Teachable Moments

Access to continuing education is one of the most desired components of an association membership for many. Because of this, many associations include training in their membership benefits–and rightly so! However, there may be other opportunities for your association to host training and workshop programs that go above and beyond the standard membership offerings that you may be missing. These opportunities include additional related certifications or accreditations that haven’t yet been included in the membership program. Some associations even offer training programs that stray outside of their industry or expertise altogether, such as hobby training or complementary skill training. 

Sponsorships and Advertising 

When considering incorporating sponsorships and advertisements into your association’s non-dues revenue program, you’ll be happy to hear that there are a great variety of options out there. The following are some of the major categories you should explore:

• • Events – Whatever type of event your association throws, you will have advertising and sponsorship opportunities available. This may include incorporating a sponsor’s banner or giving them a booth. You may even add in a promotional area near the entrance, invite a speaker to give a relevant presentation or have them run a workshop. 

• • Website – Your website has great potential for bringing in advertising and sponsorship dollars, but you want to avoid polluting the space too much. Consider a strategically placed logo or adding a sponsor page on your site. The Google AdSense advertising platform offers associations a quick and easy way to add advertisement links to their website with little additional work. Associations can also add affiliate links to generate revenue with each click.

• • Social Media – For associations with a large social media network, they can add sponsored posts into the mix. These posts are especially useful for all parties involved if the association and the sponsoring organization have overlapping interests. 

• • Sponsored Webinars – If your association posts webinars on your website for your members, you may consider adding webinars created by sponsors. In an ideal situation, these are a valuable source of non-dues revenue and are useful for members at the same time!

• • Publications – Whatever publications your association creates, they likely present an opportunity for advertisements. These can be regularly scheduled newsletters, member packages, or magazines. Similar to your website, avoid overloading the space with ads, or it could become distracting or off-putting for readers. 

• • Job Boards – Whether you currently run a job board or are thinking of creating one, these present one more option for earning non-dues revenue. While not a traditional sponsorship or ad, posting a job link for an organization can earn revenue, particularly if it leads to employment for one of your members! 

Put Your Membership Base to Work

Because they typically represent an established membership base that is usually contained to a single industry, associations can provide a unique opportunity to collect information for industry research, studies, and statistics. Outside groups may pay to have access to membership data, lists, and reports. Now, not every association and opportunity are equal here. It’s best to approach these carefully so that your members don’t get bombarded by sales calls, spam, or worse–phishing scams. When done safely and securely, however, your membership base can be an excellent resource for groups looking for inside industry information.

Help Granted 

Associations should always be on the lookout for funding opportunities from the government or national organizations. Each year, associations around the world apply to grant programs and receive development and philanthropic funds. This method is especially useful for nonprofit associations. These groups can also run fundraisers and donor drives to bring in more money. Get creative with these programs and invite members and non-members alike to raise as much as you can! If the event and the association are committed to a good cause, these efforts can often be rewarding.

While the hunt for non-dues revenue can be a complex one, there are always ways to get creative with it. Look into the methods you feel best suit your association and take a chance–you’ll never know how profitable they’ll be if you don’t try!

The post Maximize Your Association’s Value: Earn More Non-dues Revenue <i>Now</i> appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Intuitive Interface

It may seem overly simplistic to say that an LMS should be easy to use, but it’s a serious consideration that requires more than just a written claim to back it up. Nearly every LMS alleges that it is intuitive, but this isn’t always necessarily the case; because of this, associations must investigate the matter thoroughly before committing.

Look for a live demonstration or a trial version to actually test the interface and see for yourself how easy it is to use. Ideally, you’ll want a system that is accessible for first-time learners and administrators, but also one with enough depth to support growth and advanced operations. 

For learners, the easier an LMS is to operate, the more people will use it, and the more comfortable they will be with their training. On the back end, the intuitive operation allows for more than one administrator to manage the system. If the main administrator is off sick or away from the office, the association can still offer support and fix any issues that may pop up. Ease-of-use is vital for everyone when choosing an LMS!

The Right Features for You

The right LMS should meet your specific demands and needs; it should feel tailored to your association. These needs, of course, will be different for every association. For example, associations with more web-savvy staff and members may need things like robust social media integration and social learning features. In contrast, sales teams may look for features like leaderboards. Consider how mobile-ready the LMS is, what educational technologies it supports, and whether it can host a member forum. Each association should write out and rank the features that matter most, then find the LMS that satisfies the highest number of requirements for the best price.

Varied Learning Paths

To give your members the best when it comes to educational opportunities, you need a system that can support a variety of learning options and formats. While you may only offer one type of learning format now, you may want to incorporate other formats in the future. Because all learners have their own learning styles and interests, variety can spice up an otherwise rote, vanilla education system. 

Many associations may lean towards systems that allow learners to progress through a set path of recommended courses. While this is useful, it is important to ensure that these paths are customizable. If each learning path is mandatory and unchangeable, an individual learner’s experiences and prior training might be overlooked. Instead, find an LMS that allows for a web of optional paths–like a “choose your own adventure”! The bottom line here is that learners want options, and your LMS should be able to give them precisely that!

Solid Integration Capability

The ability to integrate technology is essential for associations if they want to provide their users with a seamless online experience. Your LMS should be able to integrate with your website, your eCommerce setup, job boards, and social media–the list is endless! Proper integration not only allows users to move freely around your association’s system and its web of connected sites, but it also allows administrators to collect and analyze information about the various sections of the system. The analytics an integrated LMS can provide will be helpful in gauging the effectiveness of your sites, promotions, and member engagement.

Accessibility and Customizability

While related to integration, accessibility and customizability deserve their own entry. Accessibility can refer to many things, but one of the most important for an LMS is mobile accessibility. The critical feature to look for here is mobile responsiveness, which refers to the ability of the LMS to adapt to different mobile devices and screen sizes. As mobile devices become more and more popular for easy, casual use, training is often completed on phones and tablets. Make sure your LMS can keep up!

In terms of customizability, the best LMS leaves room for growth and change in the future. A system could include all of the features in the world today–without customization capabilities, it will become outdated tomorrow! An LMS vendor that makes room for customization also demonstrates the desire to grow with both evolving technology and the associations that use it.

Data Tracking

Data tracking is an absolutely essential feature of an LMS, especially for associations that want to gauge learner progress. Not only can data tracking give members insight into their development, digitally “bookmark” progress for later return, and display learning achievements–it can also help administrators to identify any problem areas in the training that need addressing. LMS reporting can also draw attention to fluctuations in test scores and completion rates, measure compliance rates, and highlight changing exam results. LMS data tracking allows associations to turn their learning data into resources for advertising, personalization, and improvement.

Support and Training

It doesn’t matter how intuitive or straightforward an LMS is– questions and issues will almost always arise somewhere down the line. These are problems that will inevitably require some kind of support and/or training to solve. Be sure to check what the LMS vendor’s support lines are like, what type of training programs and resources are available, and if the LMS provider plays a role in the onboarding process. A solid support system can take the stress out of the integration process–there’s always someone ready to back you up!

While choosing an LMS can be a deeply personal endeavour to an association, there will always be features that can benefit everyone and anyone. So, when you look for yours, make sure to choose an LMS that not only hits your industry-specific targets, but the universal LMS needs as well. Happy hunting!

The post 7 Universally Crucial Features for Your New LMS appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

By employing the following methods, associations can increase their visibility, attract more members and visitors to their site, and better position themselves as an industry authority. If these strategies are done correctly, associations should enjoy more active, dedicated, and loyal members. Without further ado, here are six methods to quickly increase member engagement:

Posting Blogs Increases Member Engagement

Associations can provide helpful content in several areas, including their Learning Management System (LMS), social media channels, and official website. Typically, quality content attracts new members and encourages current members to engage with the association more often; because of this, one surefire way to get more eyes on your association’s website is to bolster your blog content. While some still think of blogs as informal online rambling, many associations use their blog to communicate helpful industry information to their members and visitors. Blogs can display beneficial information in concise, easy-to-digest articles, but you’re likely aware of this–you’re reading one right now!

A quality blog can have a massive ripple effect. The better, more useful, and more timely the content is, the more traffic your website will get and the lengthier each visit will become. Search engines often rank websites using these analytics, judging the quality of your content by how your visitors engage with it. A consistent blogging schedule can also lead to more regular visits, while also providing more material to post on social media–which can also encourage more meaningful online discussion in your comments!

Improve Your Social Media Presence

A quality social media presence can go a long way in improving your association’s visibility. It can help drive traffic to your website and content, while also demonstrating to members that you’re readily available and consistently up-to-date. Additionally, while social media allows associations to communicate with their target audience, it also helps to establish your association as a trusted industry information source.

Consider posting relevant industry or think pieces. Start conversations on your channels and encourage members and others to join in. You may also want to join in other discussions that are relevant to your association. These meaningful interactions will help increase your visibility on social media, have your posts showing up on more feeds, and establish you as an involved authority in the industry.

Enhance Your CE

Continuing education provides some of the biggest and brightest benefits an association can offer its members. By providing members with a varied selection of training and courses and constantly updating the material to reflect industry changes and demands, associations can draw in more traffic and turn visitors into members. Furthermore, with the right LMS and planning, your association can do even more than that!

Consider setting up an online forum to allow learners to communicate, learn, and network with each other. Try to stimulate discussions on the forum by posting relevant news or starting conversations on course topics. An active forum can improve website traffic and will encourage members to become more active and engaged. You can also incorporate a digital badging system that allows members to highlight their completion of training courses, certificates, and other industry-relevant achievements; this method helps generate online interest and promote brand awareness and gives members a visual indication of all of their accomplishments with your association.

Work with the Media

Who better to provide visibility for your association than the media? However, to be featured, your association needs to position itself as a helpful resource. You can provide various local or industry-relevant publications with information packages from time to time. Keep them informed about any new changes or important news in your field.

Not only will this help keep readers informed about your industry, but it will also cement your association as that publication’s go-to source for information. If you prove yourself as a reliable, helpful source, the publication will likely go to you first from then on whenever they need information on a topic in your field. This can get your association in front of their readers in a creative and helpful way.

Attend Popular Events and Build Relationships

One of the best ways to build brand awareness and increase your association’s visibility is to simply be visible. Participate in local or industry events, communicate with other organizations and professionals and build relationships. In addition to getting out in the open and making your association seen by current and potential members, these appearances can also help locate advertisers, speakers, sponsors, and trainers, as well as event exhibitors, professionals, and organizations, all of whom will bring value to your association and your members. Remember, if you don’t put your association out there, no one will know to look for it!

Enhance Your Store

To be most effective, the association store needs to be much more than a standalone shop. Instead, it should be fully integrated with your association’s website and system. Allow users to connect to it from anywhere and provide a seamless e-commerce experience. You may also consider offering personalized deals to members based on their experience and activity–did a member recently earn an e-Badge? Perhaps they deserve a discount for their fine work! Additionally, it’s good to provide relevant and useful course recommendations for graduates of other courses. If they finished one course, perhaps they’d be interested in taking a related one?

While newer products and courses may sell well–you’re offering up-to-date information, after all!–your association may have to get more creative when it comes to keeping up the demand hype over time. You can circumvent staleness by refreshing older courses with new material and updating them as your industry evolves. For example, you can also package older courses or goods with newer courses and goods in the same vein to provide them with a new spin.

When seeking engagement, the most important thing to remember is that associations and members will always be a mutual partnership; help your members grow, and they’ll support you in return. Create solid content, interact with your members online, bolster your continuing education programs, become a reliable source of industry information, put yourself out there, and keep your store’s products current; you’ll be amazed at how far these steps can take you!

The post 6 Methods to Easily Increase Member Engagement appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

In the past, organizations placed greater emphasis on establishing processes and tools, adhering rigidly to the plan, conducting frequent contract negotiations, and producing endless documentation. In recent times, however, there has been a shift towards constant communication, adaptive plans, customer collaboration, and greater individual ownership. This is often credited to both leaders and employees adopting an Agile mindset.

So, Just What is an Agile Mindset?

Encouraging continuous interaction, adapting quickly to changes, and increasing member engagement requires associations to think differently about how projects are implemented; it requires an Agile mindset. The Agile mindset must be flexible to changes in the plan, be open to differing opinions from teammates, be constantly learning, and be focused on delivering the highest value to members. With an Agile mindset, association employees are better equipped for collaboration and for managing the many challenges that can arise during a project.

You May Ask, “Does an Agile Mindset Benefit Association Employees Who Are Non-technical?”

There are some preconceived notions that an Agile mindset is not for the “non-technically inclined”–quite the contrary! Adopting an Agile mindset can be a game-changer for any project–after all, being able to swiftly adapt to change is an important skill for any association, project, or workplace!

Associations Are Ever-Changing; an Agile Mindset is Now Critical for Success

At times, employees can be buried under paperwork and fall victim to the multiple roadblocks that can result from poor communication, outsourced problem-solving, and unorganized task scheduling. However, associations and workplaces are evolving, and changing market demands and member behavior must be accounted for if one is to stay competitive. Consequently, associations need to keep pace with the shifting sands of market changes and business conditions. An Agile mindset will prepare them for anything the ever-changing business world presents them with.

Agile Teams Can Empower Each Other

The success of an association relies heavily on the confidence of its employees.

Find any poorly run association that stifles its employees, and the result will likely be a lack of motivation, underperformance, and minimal creativity amongst the staff. Business consultant and strategist Kaihan Krippedorff stated, “Arming employees with the tools, know-how, and mindset needed to successfully innovate on a continual basis will be paramount to organizational survival.” The key to achieving this lies in empowering team members with the freedom to operate under minimal limitations.

True Empowerment Involves Changing the Culture of an Association from One That Is Ruled by an Iron Fist to One That Inspires Innovation and Thought Leaders.

Empowering a non-technical team with the Agile self-direction mindset is crucial. It allows team members to be more independent, without the need for manager direction at every turn. With self-direction, the team is able to work together to execute each of their respective responsibilities and duties at a self-designated and optimized pace–without having to constantly look over their collective shoulder!
Self-direction emphasizes the abilities and experience of each team member and combines them into an outcome greater than the sum of their parts. This establishes trust among the team members, proving that each cog in the wheel is necessary and valued when working in tandem to complete a common goal.

Does Empowering Agile Teams Render Management Obsolete? Absolutely Not!

A manager can still lead, but an empowered team means that their focus can be placed more on strategy and communication with the team than on routine duties, which leaves the door open for team input which, in turn, allows team members to feel helpful and appreciated–after all, it proves that management has faith in their abilities! An effective leader can provide mentorship using positive feedback for a good performance, as well as constructive criticism for a poor one.

Iterations and Continuous Improvement

Achieving success is one thing; sustaining it for the long term is another story. Adopting an Agile mindset can help associations improve policies and processes quickly and easily, thus maximizing their efficiency. It is important for associations to develop plans that work with existing policies and processes, while also brainstorming about how these practices can be enhanced further. The improvements can then be made to the existing policies and processes–just make sure to be prepared for unforeseen obstacles that require further development. Remember, Agile values adaptability–unexpected issues are just a stepping stone to improvement!

Once the changes have been made, make sure to thoroughly assess the new policies and processes and observe their performance. Are they better? Worse? On par? This will provide key information for further improvement.

Now that your investigation is complete, management can make the final call to officially confirm the proposed changes, or else suggest additional modifications before moving forward.

Agile Improvement Strategies

There are other improvement strategies that can elevate an association to the next level. An association can implement lean continuous improvement, where the objective is to identify and abolish all areas that fail to offer members additional benefits. This is a proactive approach that allows the association to concentrate more on the relevant benefits that their members want and accelerate towards the end goal with greater efficiency.

Value stream mapping is another vital asset to improving performance in your association; this strategy enables the association to perform a comprehensive assessment of a process in order to identify where adjustments can be made and what can be eliminated by using knowledge gained from experience to indicate what is working in a process and what is not.

Conclusion

So, fear not, the Agile mindset makes associations a better, more cohesive place for staff and members alike! Greater emphasis is placed on major priorities, while lesser priorities are shelved for later.

Interested in gaining a deep understanding of the principles and practices of Agile project management? Take this trusted Agile & Scrum Certification Course!

Agile prepares you to take on any challenge that threatens the success of your project by arming you with independence and flexibility. With an Agile mindset, association leaders and employees can be certain that greater success is just around the corner!

The post Can an Agile Mindset Benefit Association Leaders? appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

While you may be fully aware of the benefits of offering continuing education programs online, in many cases, you may not have the final say in whether or not your association takes the leap. Chances are, you may need to convince board members (and even some senior decision-makers!) that the initial startup investment and time commitment will be worthwhile. 

For a detailed guide on how to increase revenue and memberships by setting up an online continuing education platform for your association, view our ebook here.

To win over the skeptics, you will need to have a firm grasp on all of the benefits an online continuing education platform can provide, as well as how the association can ensure that this initiative will be financially sustainable.

Here are five ways you can build a strong case and convince your board to invest in an online continuing education platform:

1. Be Prepared

Because you are trying to sell the benefits of online technology, you must first put your best foot forward. To do this, you must research online learning technologies and vendors so that you can collect all of the necessary data to support your case.

For research on online continuing education platforms, read our whitepaper entitled “9 Things to Consider before Offering Online Courses” here. 

It is important to know that there are many different types of learning platforms, each with its own priorities and formats. Some examples of online continuing education platforms include managed service platforms and self-service platforms. It is important to understand the differences and to outline why one approach may work better for your association than another.

In addition, board members like to hear about facts, statistics, and results. Therefore, it is good practice to do research on associations that have already invested in an online learning platform; you can use this to show how it has helped their association meet its objectives–objectives that may be similar to those of your own association! 

The best way to prove the worth of an online continuing education platform is to use real-life situations and specific case studies to demonstrate a platform’s usefulness. View our case studies here for insights into demonstrating the efficacy of online continuing education platforms.

2. Connect with Objectives

When presenting a proposal to anyone–especially a board or executive team–always remember that you are selling more than just an idea. 

Your presentation needs to demonstrate why investing in an online continuing education platform would align with the executive team’s objectives, would help achieve a better vision, or would aid in reaching their goals faster. Having a sound understanding of what is important to your association will help you connect your vendor of choice to your association’s strategy. 

Make sure to focus on the “why” instead of on the “what.”

If you spend most of your pitch talking about all of the fancy high-tech features of your online continuing education platform of choice, chances are, you may lose their attention! However, if you are able to prove to the decision-makers that these features work towards their specific objectives, they will be encouraged to view your pitch far more favorably. 

To make your presentation more visual and easy to understand, divide this information into different categories so that the decision-makers get a clear picture of the impact that learning technology will have on membership engagement, the attraction of new members, increased referrals, and the amount of positive feedback garnered.

3. Let the Numbers do the Talking

When you are building your case for the board, you need to consider how introducing a new online continuing education platform will affect the organization financially. 

With any major decision executives make, they always factor in how it will impact the organization’s bottom line. This means that it is key to make a point of saying how the learning platform will positively impact the financial goals of the organization.Include financial numbers and statistics in the eLearning industry during your presentation to show the potential increase in revenue that can be achieved when switching to a new online continuing education platform. 

If the board is focused on the cost of the platform, show how automation through an online continuing education platform can decrease manual operations. For example, automating certificate generation for online courses can decrease manual efforts and save time for staff!  Additionally, choosing a managed service vendor means association staff can focus on member engagement more while administering the learning platform less.

4. Avoiding Stagnancy

As you pitch all of the reasons why investing in the learning platform will greatly improve your association, you should also describe what could happen if they choose not to invest in this opportunity.

Explain to the board that there are risks involved when an association does not evolve and change with the times. 

By choosing not to invest in online learning technology, younger members may not be as engaged in the association’s events. In addition, staff may not be as productive and may fall short of expectations. This could lead to frustrated members since they don’t have easy access to the information they need to succeed.

Building your case in this way can help to show the board that continued stagnancy could cause the organization to be left behind by competitors. Instead, by switching to a new learning platform, they could inspire innovation rather than complacency.

5. Transparency is the Key

As you build your case and prepare your presentation to the board, it can be easy to get caught up in the sales pitch and wow-factor of flowery words. But while there is nothing wrong with highlighting all of the great reasons to invest in learning technology, make sure to always stay grounded–after all, honesty is always the best policy!.

It is important to always be transparent. 

If your presentation does not mention any potential issues with transitioning to an online learning platform, and instead only focuses on the positive aspects, it could raise red flags with the board. They may start thinking you are keeping something from them, which will hurt your credibility and could turn them off of your pitch.

Your case will be more airtight and impressive if you are thorough and state all of the pros and the cons of investing in a learning platform. You want to make sure that the board is aware of all aspects of the switch and understands what to expect. While no one likes to discuss potential challenges during a presentation, this will give you an opportunity to present solutions and alleviate your fears. This type of honesty and confidence will go a long way to impress the board and put their concerns at ease!

Remember, when it comes to convincing others of the power of online continuing education platforms, you have to focus on preparation, targets, finances, improvement, and transparency. With all of this in mind, you should be ready to face your association’s board and dazzle them with your knowledge. Go forth and make your case–your members will thank you!

The post Five Ways to Build an Airtight Business Case for an Online Learning Platform appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Interactive Courses: Continuing Education’s Major Facelift with Minimal Change

The recent boom of advancements in technology and in online education delivery has made it possible to create and offer engaging and interactive courses to members.

To see these advancements in online education delivery, view our interactive demo page here.

Online continuing education programs for associations are usually incredibly diverse, filled with members with all sorts of educational backgrounds, experience levels, and aptitudes. Because of this, many associations have added programs that prioritize practical skills, prior knowledge, and individual learning abilities with new competency-based online programs.

What is Competency-Based Education?

Competency-based education provides exactly what it suggests: education progress tracked by competencies. This means that, rather than measure member progress by time spent in a course, the competency-based model measures student aptitude.

Benefits of Competency-Based Learning for Associations

• Minimal time is wasted on subjects that have already been mastered or are unnecessary for the learner.
• Learning is more personalized, focused, and purposeful.
• Learners progress at their own pace and are no longer confined to standardized time markers.
• Skill-based learning allows for quicker progress for more advanced learners.
• More non-dues revenue is generated due to higher enrollment rates caused by tailored programs.

When competency-based education is used in online programs, both associations and their members benefit.

• Specified learning allows members to earn certifications or credentials in specific fields.
• Focused learning enables quicker mastery over more current and applicable material.
• Associations earn more non-dues revenue due to their increasingly varied and program-specific catalogs.
• Competencies in most professions are readily defined, which makes for easier course development.
• Competency-specific modules double as refreshment courses and reminders for experienced practitioners.
• Knowledge reinforcement tests are powerful tools for measuring in-house applicant or trainee aptitude levels.

Next Steps for Competency-Based Online Programs

As associations continue to define and build competency maps, competency-based online programs will steadily improve. However, online programs must ensure that they meet the following requirements:

• Learners must be able to absorb and apply their learning.
• Learning objectives must be identifiable and job-specific.
• Learning must be engaging and immersive for modern learners.
• Competency-based programs must accurately measure prior learning and/or skills.
• Courses must be current, relevant, and flexible.

This is where interactive online videos come in.

Interactive Online Video Learning

Despite being the fastest-growing form of continuing education today, interactive online learning is still relatively new, which means that it’s still in the process of discovery. With online videos taking up about 1/3 of all internet activity, it is important to strive for the most effective methods of combining them with online education. Optimal online video learning results are achieved when lessons are engaging, responsive, and–most importantly!– interactive. 

Interactive online training often begins with a demonstration, which transitions into application: the learner is tasked with implementing what they have absorbed into practical scenarios in order to demonstrate that they possess an adequate understanding of the lesson. Not only this–all of the above occurs within the video itself!

Curious to see what an interactive video looks like? Click here.

Benefits of Interactive Online Video Learning

The best way to improve the educational experience of online videos is to turn them from a passive endeavor into an active one. Interactive online learning allows members to:

• Learn by practicing and recollecting actual experiences.
• Apply their learning to real-world scenarios and situations.
• Stay engaged, attentive, and retentive.
• Gauge their comprehension levels on the go.
• Experience multiple delivery methods, including gamified, scenario- and/or story-based videos.
• Apply their prior learning to interactive videos, or else advance through previously completed sections.

Though interactive online video learning for continuing education is still new, the benefits are proven. Over time, online programs have morphed from long, tedious on-demand videos into short, focused, and visually-enhanced modular segments. These micro-lessons are often called nano courses or nano credits.

Nano Courses and Credits

By adding interactive online videos to these nano courses, association members are able to earn credits for learning quicker and for applying practical skills. Furthermore, the amount of time wasted is drastically reduced, and the flexibility of study increases tenfold.

Overall Benefits

• Continuing education typically helps generate more non-dues revenue due to ever-updating fields.
• Realistic and challenging scenarios make learning engaging and memorable.
• The material learned from nano courses is often gained quickly and immediately applicable.
• Nano courses are effective for self-assessment, training, and/or mastery of a topic.
• Nano courses are fast and easy to create, allowing association members to quickly earn credits in newly developed areas.
• Videos are easy to create and update, allowing for the most up-to-date and relevant information.
• Situational-based learning and exercises help to teach how to draft documents, how to answer real-life questions, and how to act in many other scenarios.

As we have outlined, there are many opportunities for associations to expand their library of courses, improve their education programs and increase non-dues revenue.

Adding interactive online training courses and videos can help associations drastically increase their virtual reach. In addition, competency-based learning can add the educational rigor and focus that may be needed in order to advance online programs. Online continuing education is allowing members and potential members to advance their skills in the fields they choose–when they want, where they want, and in the order they want.

The post Increase Non-dues Revenue with Interactive and Competency Based elearning appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

To help with this, Vocalmeet and the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) teamed up to host a webinar to discuss strategic planning in 2021 and beyond; this webinar occurred in May 2021 but can now be accessed here.

In This Webinar, You Will Learn:

• How to Leverage Transformational Changes for Success
• Cost-Saving Technology Approaches
• The Importance of Strategic Planning
• Increasing Member Engagement & Growing Non-dues Revenue

For a quick recap of the webinar, you can download the webinar recap pdf here.

During the webinar, we were joined by the following panelists:

Theresa Kane, President of Piper and Company
Margaret Carter, Executive Director of the Ontario Dental Hygienists Association (ODHA)
Edward Byers, Director of Membership & Business Development at the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE)
Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste, Vice President of Professional Services at Vocalmeet

As you can see, we were joined by quite the panel of esteemed association leaders and experts! Read on to find out more about them:

Meet Our Esteemed Panel of Association Leaders and Experts

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• E-mail

Theresa Kane

Piper and Company, President

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Theresa Kane brings a business background and a thorough understanding of not-for-profit structures and processes to Piper and Company’s consulting work.

Theresa Kane conducts organizational reviews, creates and evaluates strategic plans, facilitates workshops, carries out qualitative research and incorporates the results of that research in new organizational goals.

Theresa is a graduate of the University of Guelph in Consumer Behaviour and the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, where she earned her MBA. Both York University and Ryerson University have invited her to join their faculties to teach undergraduate courses. Her teaching specialities include marketing and strategic planning.

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Margaret Carter

Ontario Dental Hygienists' Association (ODHA), Executive Director

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As Executive Director, Margaret Carter has led the Ontario Dental Hygienists’ Association for more than 18 years. She has overseen transformational changes that have positioned the Association to meet members’ needs.

As a part of ODHA’s mandate, Margaret leads the Association’s advocacy for legislative changes to the dental hygiene profession. Under her leadership, ODHA’s work has led to new regulations that advance dental hygienists’ interests and needs in Ontario.

Margaret has also accelerated the digital transformation of the ODHA. As Executive Director, she has championed numerous digital initiatives that have streamlined ODHA’s member experience and significantly reduced administrative work for her staff.

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Edward Byers

The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE), Director of Membership & Business Development

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A strategic thinker, motivator, and change agent, Ed has 15 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector. Ed has worked for organizations such as Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Special Olympics, The Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC) and CSAE.

He has delivered over 5M of new non-dues revenue to associations through items like corporate partnership, affinity programs, and the creation of new education and events. Ed has volunteered with organizations like MPI and PCMA, and he currently sits on the board of Wheelchair Basketball Canada.

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Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste

Vocalmeet,Vice President of Professional Services

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Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste is the Vice President of Professional Services at Vocalmeet. She has over 12 years of senior leadership experience helping organizations implement e-learning courses and technology platforms.

Dr. Jno Baptiste has spearheaded the development of hundreds of technology platforms and continues to guide organizations as they navigate the digital age. She has vast knowledge of the Continuing Education sector coupled with extensive experience working with associations to build and launch online Continuing Education (CE) platforms.

In addition, she is a leading consultant on Agile project management and uses Agile practices to successfully deliver technology projects on time and on budget. She is a university lecturer, sought-after speaker, accomplished writer, and a skilled consultant on digital technologies and Agile practices.

Dr. Jno Baptiste has won awards for innovation and technology and serves as an advisor to various post-secondary programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, an MA, and a Doctorate in Education.

Click here to visit the recap document–you’ll be glad you did!

The post The 4 Strategic Plans Your Association Needs to Survive and Thrive in 2021 and Beyond – Webinar appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Depending on the association, the information below may vary; however, the following list details a few tricks for helping you catch and maintain consumer interest. Of course, it’s up to you to take the information and put your own unique spin on it. If your association can successfully implement even a few of these tips, you’ll find your audience visiting more often and staying longer each time they do.

Consistent Timeliness

When a potential member first decides to engage with an association, the interest is there, but it has a looming expiry date. Especially in the beginning, a viewer will demand timeliness when it comes to a website’s response. If they request information, provide it to them right away. On social media, if someone reaches out to your association, respond within a reasonable time frame. If they sign up for something, deliver it as soon as possible. If this can’t be done immediately, send the consumer confirmation that lets them know that things are being processed, and when they can expect the next step.

Timeliness can take advantage of pique interest periods and help to put out potential fires such as misinformation, before they get started. There’s no question that being timely requires effort, but it pays off. All audiences, no matter the situation, will appreciate a responsive and prompt response. Timeliness also means that few, if any, barriers exist between the potential member and the requested information. Even the most engaged person will lose interest if they have to jump through too many hoops to get what they want. Consequently, make it simple and make it quick!

Captivating Design

Design is one of the most important elements when it comes to capturing someone’s interest. An eye-catching ad or website can encourage viewers to look deeper and linger longer. While associations shouldn’t be afraid to get creative and try something unique, making sure to work in some tried-and-true methods can also help. Consider, for example, using small movements or animations in your ads, or using Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons. Make the animation large enough that it draws the eye but small enough that it doesn’t annoy the potential consumer.

Effective use of attractive colors and contrasts can also work to bring attention to something specific. Having a CTA contrast against the background colors so that it pops off the page can, for example, convince viewers to focus on the intended message. Yet, even the greatest laid plans and structures may not work for some viewers. A technically perfect ad still needs timing and a bit of luck for it to land, so experiment with a variety of ads to find the best fit. Work in different formats, sizes, and styles until you land on something that hits the way your association desires.

Humanized Interactions

The modern consumer is equipped with the uncanny ability to sidestep and ignore most marketing attempts. They can spot ads with a quick glance and see through veiled promotional materials with ease, but they also have a soft spot for personal connections. Members want to be treated as real people by real people. Associations can accomplish this rather easily by communicating in a natural way with a friendly tone and treating consumers respectfully.

Personalizing communications for consumers can also work wonders. To do this properly–and take it further than just using the person’s given name in an auto-generated email–you must segment your audience into more manageable groups. Once divided, these groups can be sent targeted communications based on their location, interests, career types, or any other demographic. Associations can use retargeting pixels to track the engagement levels on their communications and dedicate their efforts and budgets to only the genuinely interested people, giving every audience only the most personally relevant information.

Kept Promises

This may seem like an obvious point to make, but actually having the content or product you’ve promised, is absolutely integral to the success of your interest-catching endeavors. Tricking people into thinking you offer one thing, only to offer them something completely different after they’ve clicked through is an outdated and entirely ineffective tactic. Not only will your audience realize quickly that they’ve been conned, damaging all trust and potential of working with your association in the future, but this kind of activity is extremely counterproductive for website search results.

Under the current search engine algorithms, associations that try to trick viewers into getting clicks receive harsh penalties that can sink their search results. Instead, delivering good content and following through on promises is what leads to positive search results. So, skip the bait-and-switch and give the people only what promised. Then, continue to do so regularly. If your association can deliver useful and quality content on a continual basis, your search results and your ads will perform better in both the short term and the long term.

Always Listen

In the end, perhaps the best way to keep your association’s audience interested and engaged is to listen to what they tell you. There’s a lot to learn both from the times that you win and those that you lose when it comes to marketing. Ask your members what worked for them. Poll consumers to find out what they want to see from your association. Track the bounce rates from people who clicked once and then left without further engagement. Identify and evaluate every possible touch point and tinker, tinker, tinker with it until it has been perfected. Take the chance to really connect with your members and listen to their input—the results may just surprise you.

The post Keeping Members on Your Association’s Website appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Can associations use the same strategy to market online events as they would in-person events? Well, not necessarily.

Welcome back to our conversation on proven strategies that associations have used to run successful online events with Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste, Vice President of Professional Services at Vocalmeet. In Part 1, we focused on the key factors that associations must explore before choosing an online platform. In Part 2, we discussed the different hybrid formats and how associations can offer hybrid events cost-effectively. And last but certainly not least, in Part 3, we address how associations can generate revenue with online events.

Q: Many associations fear that members do not see the value in paying for online events, and so they decide to offer these online events for a significant discount or even free. Consequently, some associations haven’t been able to generate the same level of non-dues revenue from online events, as they would with in-person events. Based on your work with association clients, would you agree that online events should essentially be offered for free?

A: That is 100% a myth that must be demystified. Helping members and other attendees see the value in online content requires a shift in mindset. And that shift in mindset must start with the association. What do I mean by that?

1. To start off, the traditional in-person format means that the financial benefits of these in-person events are singular and often marginal, as in-person events cannot be recreated once completed.
2. With online events, associations can get a longer-lived value from the investment of time and money. This means that with pre-recorded sessions or sessions that are recorded during the live events, associations can continue to generate revenue by selling these sessions on-demand long after the event has ended.
3. The shift in mindset comes from understanding that there is value in convenience, reduced expenses of attending online events, and flexibility for members to access on-demand sessions at any time afterwards.

In fact, through our work with association clients, we see first-hand how much members do see the value in convenience and not having additional expenses around travel, accommodation, and taking time off work. For example, associations we work with typically attract about 10% of their total membership base to in-person conferences. Of course, you can argue that members who attend in-person events regularly value the in-person networking opportunities. But what about the remaining 90% of members?

Well, I mentioned earlier in Part 2 that although some members are eager to network, others may simply wish to attend education sessions. Removing the traditional barriers to attending events, and offering sessions on-demand afterwards, have certainly helped our clients significantly increase the percentage of the membership that are engaged in their events and programs in general.

Q: That’s a great point, and engaging more members throughout the year with online events will surely help with membership retention as well! You mentioned that associations need to help attendees see the value in online content. Can you share some strategies on how to accomplish this?

A: It all comes down to marketing, and I can’t stress this enough: marketing online events requires a different strategy than marketing in-person events. It’s not enough to simply rebrand all in-person events as “virtual” without any additional information. Be mindful that some attendees may not be comfortable with technology and especially with attending online events. That said, it’s critical that associations outline the benefits of online events:

• Address the technical concerns by letting attendees know that it’s easy to sign up for online events and that there’s technical support if they need it.
• Highlight the savings they obtain from not having to travel and still getting the value of the education sessions (not to mention access to the on-demand recordings for as long as the content remains relevant!).
• Remind attendees how the online sessions can help them improve their skill sets for their professional work; this is even more important if the sessions are voluntary and not for continuing education credits.
• One of my colleagues wrote an article for the American Society of Association Executives on Why Associations May Be Disappointed in Their Online Course Sales – it’s worth reading! The article covers how associations can mitigate the challenges around having to compete with so much content available online today.

That wraps up our conversation! Thank you for joining us, and we hope you gained some valuable insights on running successful online events. We understand that every association has different goals and mandates. If you’d like a second opinion for your upcoming events, send us a request and we’d be happy to share additional insights into what our association clients have done.

The post Proven Strategies for Associations to Run Successful Online Events: Part 3 appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Live stream, on-demand video, webinar, learning management system, virtual conference, hybrid conference…and the list goes on.

It is no secret that more in-person events shifted online in 2020 than anyone could have ever predicted. Based on common principles of economics, the significant increase in demand consequently led to a significant increase in supply. With all the different online platforms available on the market, how can you ensure that your association makes the right decision?

Well, look no further. We recently interviewed our Vice President of Professional Services, Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste, to learn some proven strategies that associations have used to run successful online events. At Vocalmeet, Laurelle leads the implementation team that helps associations shift their courses, events and conferences from in-person to online.

Below is a snippet of Part 1 of 3, where we focus on the key factors that associations must explore before choosing an online platform.

Q: From your experience helping associations shift their events online, what would you say are the top 3 things for associations to consider when choosing the online platform to use for a specific event?

A: First things first, we advise our clients to avoid trying to mimic every aspect of their in-person events virtually. This includes, for example, following the exact schedule and timing of in-person events, assuming that all attendees want to be seen via video, or attempting to make attendees feel as if they are walking through a real exhibit hall. It’s important to understand that online events are different from in-person. When we work with clients, we need to first understand how we can help them emphasize the key benefits of their online events.

To do so, we ask our clients to explore 3 key factors that will determine the type of online platform that would best fit their goals and needs:

1. Target Audience – Who is the main audience for your event? How comfortable are they with technology? Are they typically flexible with their schedule and able to attend an event at a specified time, or do they prefer accessing content at their own convenience?
2. Level of Interactivity Required – What is the level of engagement expected from attendees? Are attendees looking to have a discussion or is it simply a presentation where they are able to ask questions? Is the content more informational and attendance is voluntary, or is it a mandatory requirement for the profession (e.g. ethics training, workplace safety training or continuing education)?
3. Resources Available – How many staff members do you have dedicated to plan and execute the online event? How much time do you have before your event? What is their comfort level with technology? Will you need additional tech support on the day of?

The answer to these questions will determine whether you offer more interactive on-demand content vs. live webinars, whether you find a platform that is browser-based and easier to use for attendees, whether the platform can track progress and attendance for continuing education purposes, whether you work with a vendor that can provide a “white-glove” service, and so on.

Q: Speaking of resources, we understand that budget is a primary concern for many associations. Could you explain how the different online solutions and the different scenarios you mentioned affect cost?

A: Yes, as a rule of thumb, the 2 key factors that impact costs when it comes to online solutions are the number of hours of content that will be offered and the number of users on the platform. Additionally, live events tend to be more costly than pre-recorded on-demand programs. This is because live events require more bandwidth and resources on the day of, including a full tech support team to manage the event and troubleshoot any issues.

That’s just a general guideline. Additionally, be very mindful of scalability and the number of users a platform can support. Some solutions are optimized for a limited number of users, and may start running into issues when you exceed that number of users. My advice would be to have these in-depth conversations with potential vendors as each vendor has different features and packages, as well as different pricing models that would impact scalability.

So, the key takeaway here? Focus on your members and the primary goals of your courses, events and conferences. Avoid trying to mimic every aspect of your in-person events virtually; your members and other attendees will only be frustrated as they compare their online experience to past in-person experiences.

Online events provide different benefits for attendees, and different online platforms serve different needs. By exploring the 3 factors outlined above – target audience, level of interactivity required and resources available – your association can choose an online platform that best fits the goal of your event. This will not only allow for a positive attendee experience, but also help your association be more cost-effective.

In Part 2 of our conversation, we will discuss the different hybrid formats and how associations can offer hybrid events without breaking the bank. And in Part 3, we will share best ways for associations to increase online attendance and sales, as well as proven selling points for sponsors.

Continue to Part 2

The post Proven Strategies for Associations to Run Successful Online Events: Part 1 appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.