Whether you missed the original livestream or want to watch it again, you’re in luck! Vocalmeet, the CPA (Canadian Psychological Association), and the CSAE (Canadian Society of Association Executives) partnered to bring you a fantastic discussion on growth strategies for associations in 2022 and beyond—a discussion you can catch online now!

Meanwhile, in this webinar recap, we’ll explore the 5 powerful growth strategies that were shared during the livestream conversation. Join us as we discover the strategies other association leaders use to maximize their ability to generate non-dues revenue for their organizations!

1. The Benefits of On-Demand CE Courses

Does your association hold live sessions? Do you livestream continuing education courses and workshops? Well, you’re in luck; you can record these streams and transform them into continuing education (CE) courses. Your association gets more courses to package and sell, and your members get access to new, premium content–everyone benefits!

That’s not all; you can also use previously recorded courses to create something fresh and new. By re-editing and updating your older courses, you can offer your members improved, modernized content. Consider packaging it with new courses for extra value!

2. Cost-Effective Marketing Tools and Promotion

When it comes to earning more revenue, your members and the public need to know about the benefits and programs your association offers. Thankfully, there are plenty of economical assets at your disposal. In our discussion, Anthony Campbell, Growth Manager at Vocalmeet shared a few cost-effective marketing and promotion tools that will help your association do more with less;

• Jasper AI (Artificial Intelligence Marketing): Jasper is an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered writing assistant that can automatically generate persuasive blog posts, marketing emails, landing pages, and more! If you find it difficult to generate this kind of content, you may find Jasper a great help. You can find Jasper AI here.
• Canva for Nonprofits: Canva is a website that offers pre-made graphic designs that you can take and tailor yourself. If you find yourself needing lots of custom graphics, check it out! You can find Canva for Nonprofits here.
• Hootsuite: Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows you to schedule posts ahead of time, as well as keep track of your content streams, mentions, and more. If your association uses several social media channels, Hootsuite is the program for you. You can find Hootsuite here.
• Vidyard: Vidyard allows you to record your computer screen and webinar at the same time, making window-in-window a breeze. Use it to personalize your presentation content and more! You can find Vidyard here.
• Calendly: Calendly is a program used to book appointments online. You select the dates and times you’re available, and your members can book time with you in just a few clicks; what a time-saver! You can find Calendly here.

3. The Importance of the Strategic Plan

Having a clear strategic plan is important for any organization. Your strategic plan should outline the association’s priorities and how you plan to achieve them. This is essential in order for the organization to thrive and grow in a competitive environment. Will your staff be able to facilitate and manage your new priorities? Will your current budget allow you to build and support new programs? The key to successfully implementing your strategic plan is to avoid it from turning into your operational plan. Your strategic plan is designed to help you achieve your goals and mission. Your operational plan helps you carry out the tasks needed to achieve your strategic plan’s goals and mission.

4. Combined Dues and Non-Dues Revenue Initiatives

No one said dues and non-dues revenue streams had to be mutually exclusive! Try offering members free continuing education packages for early renewal. If you want to get even fancier, try creating membership packages based on what the member selects; you can run the gamut from low-cost, low benefits memberships all the way up to VIP premium memberships that include all the bells and whistles! The number of membership types and the perks they include is up to you.

5. Technology Consolidation

By consolidating your association’s technology, you can actually improve its ease-of-use and its value. Remember to KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly! Simplification will reduce both complexity and costs while improving the efficacy of your tools.

That’s not the only thing your association can condense, of course; consider having all of your technological needs filled by a single vendor! You’ll build a better partnership, and you won’t have to keep track of who covers what. One account, one vendor, one contact! Additionally, your vendor will become more invested in (and fond of!) your association–they may even be willing to go the extra mile for you as your business relationship develops. Better still, by sourcing all your technology from one vendor, you’ll have fewer compatibility issues when it comes to expanding your tools (they know what you have and what connects to it, after all). Streamline your processes; go for a vendor that offers all in one!

Has your interest been piqued? By offering on-demand CE courses, marketing with economic tools and promotions, directing in a plan-focussed manner, creating varied membership packages, and unifying technology and vendors, your association will be able to boost its growth and increase its non-dues revenue!

The post Webinar Recap: 5 Powerful Growth Strategies to Boost Non-Dues Revenue for Your Association in 2022 and Beyond appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Even if your organization’s products or services don’t play as well on social media as Netflix’s, it’s still possible that you, too, can make use of memes for marketing purposes. The effectiveness of this strategy depends on your audience; however, it is possible to succeed if you observe and follow some of the cardinal meme-sharing rules! Before integrating memes into your marketing strategy, here are a few tips you should be mindful of:

Designed for Social Media

Memes and social media are perfect for each other. Memes allow for quick consumption of engaging, comedic bite-sized content, while social media provides the perfect sharing vehicle through which they can spread. For marketing purposes, the sharing of memes on social media sidesteps hard marketing in favor of brand awareness. After all, the most effective marketing memes rarely focus on brand marketing at all. If they did, the genre-savvy audience would catch the intention and the meme would fall flat.

Bring the Community Together

One of the main reasons memes are so effective for marketing purposes is that they are truly community-based content. Specifically designed to be shareable, funny, and engaging, memes unite members of a community by leveraging a shared knowledge. Typically, the greater the number of people that understand the meme’s material, the greater the number of interactions on a post. People thrive on being aware of trends and bringing others into the mix, and memes accommodate this compulsion like no other. Because of this, memes have dazzlingly high engagement levels, one of the most important factors for an organization’s social media channels. However, make no mistake: memes must be used carefully to be effective!

Stay on Brand

Memes can absolutely be used to build brand relevance and brand awareness, but organizations should be wary; make sure you’re sending the right message when using them! In other words, make sure the meme matches the tone, energy, and values of your brand. If this is done right, memes can help showcase and spread brand identity quickly and easily. If no current memes share the spirit of your organization, you can try your hand at creating your own. While this is typically more challenging, the rewards on success are much greater. The rules for creating are the same as sharing: keep them on-brand and aligned with your audience.

Make Sure There’s an Appetite for It

The environment for memes can sometimes be turbulent. In general, audiences love memes and seek them out, but be warned— people can relate to them very differently. Before you begin sending out memes, be sure you understand your audience and what their appetite for memes truly is. This knowledge will allow you to cater your content to your viewers. The way to do this is simple: observe your audience closely. Take note of the content that resonates with them. What type of memes do they like to share? Now, it’s unlikely that everyone will agree on just one theme or type of content, but you can use this information to find a middle ground. When you first set out, start by sending memes sparingly to test the waters before going all-in.

Use Them Properly

One of the most important things to consider when creating and sharing memes is how to use them properly. Depending on your organization, the language and tone of a certain meme may not be a good fit. Memes often leverage a very specific lingo, one that might feel forced or unnatural coming from the wrong source. To avoid this, you’ll first want to understand the meme, how it originated, and how it has evolved. Make sure that the spirit of the meme doesn’t clash with your organization or marketing goals. You also need to ensure that you use all lingo properly – people will spot an outsider right away. If you need help to accomplish this, it may be worthwhile to have a digital native create the meme for you.

Avoid Major Mistakes

Every meme has an expiration date, though unfortunately, not one displayed for all to see. Some memes gradually fade away, while others disappear overnight. It’s important to get the timing right. If you’re too early, your audience will miss the joke. If you’re too late, you could become the joke. Furthermore, before repurposing a meme or creating your own, you should check the rights of the images used to ensure that there’s no copyright infringement or unfair usage. If you do use an owned image, be sure to ask permission or credit the creator in the method they choose. It’s also a good idea to avoid any images or content that could imply endorsement of another organization or brand, especially if that brand doesn’t share similar values!

When running your organization’s social media, it’s important to stay equipped, making use of every item in your arsenal. After all, it’s dangerous to go alone —so why not take a meme?

The post What if I Told You Associations Can Use Memes to Grow Membership and Drive Member Engagement? appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

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.

The post How Associations Can Benefit From Social Media 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.

There was a time when consumers had no choice but to purchase their products or services  from the same vendor over and over again. These days are long gone. In today’s world, consumers have access to numerous  options. As technologies continue to evolve, it creates a unique environment that constantly fosters growth and innovation. And although the rate of change can be daunting for association leaders, it provides a unique opportunity for regular assessment, change and growth as new technology options become available. These innovations and opportunities are ever present in the world of eLearning where the pace of innovation shows no signs of slowing down. Therefore, as associations evolve along with their members, it is important to ensure that the education opportunities provided are fit for the digital age and meets the ever changing needs of members.

Here are the top five reasons why replacing an eLearning vendor is the right move.

1. Poor Product Quality

There are many factors that influence the outcome of a product or service. If an association and a vendor explicitly agreed to various service levels and technology requirements which are not being met by the vendor, then this is a sure reason to move on.

keep in mind that there is also the possibility that if your association has been working with a vendor for some time, the association’s increasing requirements will outgrow the existing contract and potentially what the vendor can provide. In this case, it is important to take a hard look at the service agreement and evaluate whether or not the present vendor can meet the new requirements. If the existing vendor is unable to meet the new requirements then it may be time to explore other vendor options.

2. Lack of Communication/Poor Working Relationship

When choosing the right vendor, it is important to observe their communication style. Is your point of contact responsive, patient and respectful? Did they take time to adequately answer your questions? Effective communication is key for project implementation and throughout the lifetime of the relationship. Poor communication with the vendor can lead to significant misunderstandings, frustration and can ultimately lead to the failure of a project.

When deciding on the best vendor for your project, it is advisable to build the relationship incrementally. Collaborate with them on smaller tasks to get an idea about their processes, strengths and weaknesses, and how they work and communicate. This provides opportunities to evaluate if you can trust them to manage larger tasks with more responsibilities, and to be honest with you if there are problems that will cause delays. If you recognize significant communications and other challenges during the negotiation stage with a vendor and although they may have the right product you are looking for, it is important to address these issues and to discontinue negotiations if you are not fully confident that issues  will be resolved..

In addition, during project implementation, there are numerous unknown obstacles that may arise. Hence, if you do not have a good relationship or effective communication strategies with your vendor, these issues may end up leading to delays and having a negative impact on the project. That is why It is also important to look at the strategies and tools used for communication with your vendor. Is the vendor local or international? There are different strategies that should be applied based on geography. If the vendor is local, then in person meetings, planning and brainstorming sessions can make it easier to resolve conflict. If the vendor is international then resolving conflict can be a bit more difficult but not impossible. Utilizing live web sessions, phone conversations and clear email communication are critical. If your vendor lacks the skills and the tools to effectively communicate and resolve issues, then it is time to move on.

3. Failing to Make Deadlines/Delivery Delays

There are many factors that can cause delays in project deliveries so it is important for you to work with your vendor to set realistic timelines .Setting realistic timelines means that both you and the vendor have clear expectations and buffer time if unexpected issues arise. Be prepared to provide feedback to your vendor during key phases of the project as you want to avoid getting further into the project and not having the time to provide valuable feedback. Effective project planning and time management are key to the successful implementation of a project and to the longer relationship.If your vendor is unable to set realistic timelines, misses key deadlines and does not respond well to feedback, then it is time to reevaluate the agreement.

4. Poor User Experience

Having a product that is easy to navigate is a must. Having the opposite leaves members frustrated and could impact your member engagement outcome. In fact, studies show that nearly 90% of organizations state that they wish to replace vendors because they are unsatisfied with the user experience.

A vendor that focuses on a great user experience means that they are aligned with your association’s expectations. The vendor should have the right resources in place to help your internal team and your members make a smooth transition. This could include instructional tools such as how-to videos, an introductory training session, live demo or even a free trial.If your vendor does not have these resources available then it is time to re-evaluate.

5. Below-Standard Technical Support

When technical issues occur, you would like to know the problems, the solutions, and the length of time for a resolution. This is especially the case when you have a project with a tight deadline or  issues that negatively impact members when a system or program is live. If your vendor fails to provide the proper help you need to fix the issue, you can be left in a situation where you feel helpless and question the reliability of the vendor and their products. Further, this can impact the public and members perception of the association. If your association consistently receives poor technical support from the vendor, then it is time to move on.

The post Top 5 Reasons To Replace An Elearning Vendor appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. For any association, it is important to provide  members with opportunities to continuously grow in their professions. To help achieve this, offering continuing education programs can be instrumental in attracting new members who are excited about learning opportunities that further their overall development and also provides opportunities for them to obtain continuing education credits. These programs can be an effective tool to not only keep members engaged, but also stimulate their minds in ways that open their eyes to new ideas and developments in their field. In addition, providing learning opportunities for members can also generate a significant amount of non-dues revenue. Therefore, to ensure success with offering learning programs, here are three keys to offer great programs that offer long term value to your members.

1. Adapt to Changing Times

With the world changing at a rapid pace, it is crucial that continuing education programs remain relevant. People who are seeking to advance their careers want to know the information your association is presenting is fresh and up-to-date. There is a lot of information on the internet that is not always accurate. Hence, this provides an opportunity for your association to provide relevant, factual content for your members to rely on that is backed by proper research. It is also important to keep in tune with any suggestions or requests that members may have about new and relevant topics to cover. Afterall, they are out in the field everyday and can serve as a great resource for providing relevant topics that may be of interest to other members and to the wider profession.

2. Think Carefully About Your  Learning Strategy

Alongside creating relevant learning programs, it is also important to be diligent when strategizing in order to implement the most optimal approach for your members. The programs should avoid filler material that fails to add any substantial value. Rather, the programs should offer an opportunity for skill development, career advancement and for gaining a broader knowledge that can foster both personal and professional growth.

A major factor is to determine the optimal method for developing the program curriculum. One option is to create a more traditional curriculum with fully developed learning paths that will guide members on which courses they should take, along with a defined schedule and deadlines. Another option is to offer a self-service curriculum where the members are empowered to choose their own set of courses according to their interests. To help ensure these programs can provide lifelong learning potential, your association must clearly identify the end result you aim to achieve. This means asking the right questions about your learning objectives. Should you offer programs from a general perspective that provides the same learning opportunities for all members? Or would it be more beneficial to take a specialized approach and offer programs that target specific areas or sectors? It is also worthwhile to consider implementing learning programs that can benefit both the long-term skills and experience of veteran members as well as the younger members.

3. Measure the success of your online programs

Analytics is a key component in assessing how your online learning programs are performing, specifically, the impact they are having on members. For example, your association will know it is on the right track if they frequently monitor how many members are enrolling in online courses. Moreover, the association can also analyze how well the members are performing in each program. Are they completing the courses they have signed up for, are they struggling with the course material, or are they simply disinterested? These measurements will indicate whether the course material or the instructor’s teaching methods require modifications.

Another factor for measuring the success of each program is gaining insights into how members fare once they have completed their respective programs. If they seek to learn more and enroll in additional programs, or if they go on to thrive and achieve a higher level of success in their careers, provides confirmation that the association has taken the right learning approach and is providing the best value for its members.

The post Three Keys to Offering Great Lifelong Learning Programs appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Creating a private online community can have a profound impact on an association and its members.  It provides associations with the unique opportunity to establish a private social hub that caters specifically to members and at the same time foster engagement between members with similar mindsets and values. In addition, the online community can also be used to provide mentorship for members as they can learn from each other, brainstorm ideas and grow together.

But establishing an online community is one thing – creating an online community that can thrive, grow continuously and keep existing and new members engaged is a whole different story. Here are five tips that can be implemented to engage members in your online community.

1. Have the Right Technical Support for Your Members

The best marketing for your online community is a great experience for your members. When thinking about technical support  for your online community, it is important to consider factors beyond the technical expertise of your support individual or team. The ideal candidate to provide technical support is one who takes the role seriously and thoroughly enjoys what they do. Additionally, they must be an effective communicator who is able to help members feel comfortable and at ease in all aspects of the online platform.

The ideal situation is to show empathy to individuals who may have technical issues or questions. Part of engaging with members is allowing them to feel like their opinions and questions are always accounted for. Remember, most members will recognize when their inquiries are met with generic cut-and-paste responses. Treat each member as unique and this will create respect and a feeling of inclusion.

2. Create and Publish Content Your Members Want

The main reason why billion dollar corporations like Wal-Mart and Apple have sustained long-term success is their ability to read the marketplace and ensure they are always selling products and services that meet the needs of their consumers. Establishing a successful online community is no different. As an association, you must be fully cognizant of your association’s goals and why members would want to join the online community. As such, you should also have a strong idea of the type of content that is beneficial to members.

As much as possible you should solicit feedback from members on the types of content they would like to see on the platform. This means that your association must constantly listen to members in order to understand what they are looking for and the topics that are of interest to them. When members are asking questions on specific topics and issues, develop content that deals with those questions. Additionally, review their feedback to see if they are satisfied with the content or if they are asking for clarifications. It is important that the content you publish always has an educational value they will remember, rather than providing fluff material that they will forget soon after logging off.

3. Build a Community Culture

When establishing an online community, you in turn are establishing a relationship with each member. By connecting and communicating with each other online, there are ample opportunities for members to build strong connections. To allow the best chance for the community to have long-term success, you need to understand what makes each member tick. A useful method for building the culture of your community is to consistently analyze how the members interact with each other. Also, providing adequate opportunities for members to interact online through special interest groups for example will help to foster the community spirit. Lastly, get to know members, they  will appreciate that you understand them and this keeps the community unified.

4. Solicit Input from Members Who Join Your Community

When a new member joins your online community, you should welcome them. Aside from offering warm greetings, introduce them to what the general environment of your community is like by communicating with them one-on-one (whether by phone, email or direct messaging) and providing material that offers guidance that will help them acclimate quickly and feel even more at home.

It is worth noting that while new members are likely joining your community because they share a similar belief or mindset as existing members, they bring new ideas or interests to the table. As you welcome them to the community, engage new members by asking what changes or additions they believe would improve their online experience.  This helps them feel like more than just a number. As the community grows, members will feel like valuable contributors who are empowered to work with the association and other members to take the community to greater heights.

5. Monitor Engagement with the Community and Adjust Strategies if Needed

As the online community continues to expand, it is critical to constantly assess how your members are doing. When the online community was launched, you may have developed a well-designed plan on the personnel you needed, your target audience, how you would connect with the members, what categories of content you would provide, and so on. But is everything going according to plan?

This is where your members are extremely valuable. Monitoring the community involvement regularly will inform you if the members are as engaged as they once were, or if stagnation has set in. If you are seeing a decline in member interaction and in the rate of growth, do not hesitate to turn to plan B. This could be as simple as promoting a trial run to introduce new features into the platform and asking your members for feedback, then making the necessary modifications based on their responses. As previously mentioned you should constantly seek feedback from members. So  encourage members to offer suggestions on how to re-invigorate the community with new ways to interact and share innovative solutions. This is an effective way for you and the members to take ownership for elevating your online community for the long term.

The post Five Tips to Engage Members in Your Online Community appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

In-person events, such as conferences and conventions, have long been the staple of associations’ non-dues revenue streams. In fact, as much as 41% consider it their most valuable source of ancillary earnings, according to Association Adviser. Organized properly, they can certainly help diversify revenue, create necessary brand recognition and member loyalty. However, in person events can also require massive time and resource investments, meticulous planning and execution as well as relentless advertising in order to be successful and profitable. A clever way to counter this drawback is to boost revenues from in-person events by selling merchandise, sponsorship packages, hotel rooms, etc. Nevertheless, the financial impact of these add-ons is singular and marginal at best. Meaning that the event cannot be recreated once completed. If ticket sales are less than expected, then the association may even end up in a deficit situation.

There is, however, a more effective and simple way to tackle the issue: ensuring that the event is additionally recorded and available online, on-demand. And that’s exactly what an organization we discuss below did; they were able to increase the conference revenue from $250,000 in 2017 to $300,000 in 2018. How did they get an additional $50,000? Keep reading to find out!

Making events virtual and allowing on-demand viewing lends the level of versatility and revenue increase that cannot be achieved with onsite-only events. It gives the members unabridged access to content, and provides more opportunities to monetize in person events. Once digitized, event sessions have many uses. For example, conference sessions can be sold as individual online presentations or grouped into thematic sections or sold as a package. Whatever you decide to do with the content, the key is to figure out what works best for your association.

A Case in Point: How an Association Added 20% to their Revenue by Recording a Single Conference Session and Offering it Online.

Let’s consider the following scenario. Imagine an organization, let’s call it Association of Professionals or AP for short. AP is an association with voluntary membership of roughly ten thousand, offering professional services and events, along with an annual conference. The conference is part revenue stream and also an effort to engage members and provide a venue for networking, sharing of ideas and knowledge as well as industry insights. And like many other associations, to entice members and bump up the attendance, AP offers professional development (PD) or continuing education (CE) credits as part of the conference. This type of incentive is especially pertinent to industries with mandatory continued education or training requirements.

Every year the AP board sits down to discuss the upcoming event and to review the previous ones for reference and improvement. This time around the procedure was no different, two of the past conferences—the 2017 and 2018—were compared and analyzed. There was just one caveat: some of the 2018 conference sessions had been recorded and available on-demand, so the revenues were no longer as similar as in the past. In fact, there was a significant change between the two events.

Consider this: only 1000 people or 10% of AP’s membership participated in both conferences. It was a two-day event with twenty sessions per day. The total revenue earned in the 2017 conference came up to $250,000 from all tickets sold. And the total for the 2018 conference rose to $300,000.

So, how did the introduction of recording and on-demand video affect the revenue numbers at the end of 2018? Well, AP was able to generate the additional revenue in a one-year period after the conference. It was achieved by recording just one! Session from the 2018 conference, and making the video available on demand for $50 through an online learning platform that is accessible through their website. In this case, only 1000 of AP’s 10,000 members bought the video. Imagine what could be achieved with more than one video and a good marketing strategy to go along with that. By the same token, simply repackaging and reusing, not even all, but some of your most popular sessions—the already generated and readily available content—your association could increase the revenue from events by a serious margin.

The Ins and Outs of Choosing the Right Approach for Your Conference and Event Recording Needs.

It is important to note that as a sort of a pilot project for AP, the process of picking the right technology and method was largely new and unknown. So, the organizers considered several options prior to agreeing to recording the 2018 event.

Just as in the year prior, they looked at numerous other ways of approaching this matter, including live video streaming. This has been a trend for quite some time. And to be fair, it’s not just a buzzword, there’s a myriad of applications to this fascinating technology, however challenges of implementing it are no less great. Trying to live stream even a single session, not to mention two or more simultaneously, requires meticulous preparation and serious technical capability and expertise. To put it simply: it’s an equivalent of running and broadcasting a live TV show for the duration of the event. The amount of planning that goes into that kind of production should not be underestimated.

Thus, having considered the pros and cons, AP decided to look elsewhere. On-demand videos was another option. It gave them the flexibility of post-production editing as well as full control over content to help avoid any potential issues associated with live events. Since this was a pilot project, hiring a professional videographer to help out with all the recording-related bits and pieces was a natural initial reaction. Having a professional in any setting can be a benefit, especially if it involves a learning curve. However, it should go without saying that hiring someone knowledgeable comes with additional expenses that must be factored into the budget.

Nevertheless, compared to a somewhat raw final product of recording videos yourself, today’s technology allows a lot. With tech capabilities of an average smartphone, video production easily falls into the Do It Yourself category. For example, Apple introduced support for high definition videos in its ubiquitous iPhones as far back as 2015. This is to say there’s really nothing holding you back from buying some sturdy tripods at a local or online store, and taking matters into your own hands—literally. At least that’s what AP’s event organizers ended up doing for their 2018 conference: Keeping cost under control and recording that session themselves!

The Sky’s the Limit for Revenue Increase from On-Demand Events and Conferences

There are several variables involved when offering video courses online, but luckily, the odds are all in your favor. If the lesser popular videos can remain online indefinitely, racking up views and generating revenue, imagine what a highly-demanded or mandatory PD/CE presentation could do. Indeed, it’s a gift that keeps on giving as your speakers and conference is constantly being promoted through the online sessions.

Remember that only 10% of AP’s members took part in the conference. This means a huge chunk of 9,000 people or 90% of AP’s audience and its potential revenue remained untapped. Some of those members might have not been interested in traveling and paying for food and accommodation, others might have not wished to take valuable time off work. Regardless of the reason, the opportunity costs – to use the economic term, of such inaction could be far too high, especially for associations with small non-dues revenue streams. Moreover, let’s not forget about the non-members. Having a quality mandatory lecture or highly sought-after event speaker at your conference could surely drive up traffic from outside of the member perimeter, which in turn would create more revenue as the non-member fees are usually higher. This also serves as a means to promote your events to both members and non-members.

Since scalability is truly limitless, such an investment can yield solid returns rain or shine. With potential returns like what we described with AP, the benefits of offering event and conference content online are boundless, and the sky’s truly the limit.

The post Benefits of Digitizing In-Person Events and Conferences for Associations appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Members are the life blood of every association. Therefore, associations make concerted efforts to attract new members. While attracting new members is a critical component of a sustainable association, retaining existing members should not be overlooked. Every year, more associations are shifting their primary focus to member retention. The numbers don’t lie. Acquiring a new member can cost between five and twenty-five times more than retaining an existing member. This disparity becomes even larger when you consider the value a member brings to the association. Retained members spend more money within the association and are often more involved in association events than new members.

While attracting new members will always be incredibly important for associations, many are putting more emphasis on member retention by developing initiatives that foster member loyalty. But, if loyalty drives member retention, then the question becomes: what’s driving member loyalty?

Here are six strategies for creating loyal members.

1. Be An Industry Leader

This goes without saying, but members need to feel that their association is on top of everything industry related. At the very least, members want to feel certain that their association understands their industry better than they do. If the association provides industry news, industry changes and updates, a calendar of industry events or any combination of these things, members find more value and have another reason to connect with their association. This information can be hosted and updated on an “industry-related” webpage, shared through social media or sent out in a scheduled newsletter. What’s important here is that the member has access to a steady stream of industry information. This alone helps position the association as an industry leader in the eyes of its members.

2. Have a Plan

In the digital age, change is a necessity for all industries. Professions and professionals are required to grow and advance or risk being left behind. For a professional, this can be a daunting prospect, but associations can help ease the burden. Members rely on their association to inform them of changes coming to the industry. Associations that have a plan and are in-tune with their industry assure members that they are in reliable hands. Demonstrating a plan can be as simple as maintaining a content calendar, scheduling early membership renewals, informing members of industry events far in advance, adapting to industry changes quickly and allowing members to react to those changes through online learning and certifications. Planning for the future doesn’t have to make for additional work either. Many of these functions can be automated with the technology available to associations.

3. Result-Driven Content

When members are looking to renew their memberships, they weigh the benefits of the membership against the cost of maintaining it. They then compare that to other competitor associations. One effective way to build benefits for members is to create result-driven content. This is content that has measurable wins for members upon completion. That could be a certificate, a course completion diploma, or even a new license. Whatever the benefit is, it is quantifiable for the member.

Measurable and result-driven content is important for member retention because it stands out as a benefit for the member when it’s time for renewing. It provides the member with something to lose as well if they consider not renewing. Of course, result-driven content also acts as an important vehicle for further engagement, encouraging members to participate and connect with the association.

4. Personalized Touch Points

Associations build relationships with members through contact points or touch points. In the digital age, members seek personalization alongside these touch points. It doesn’t matter how large an association is, each member wants to feel that they matter and that they remain an individual. Thankfully, the tools available to associations make creating and sending personalized touch points easier than ever before. Touch points can be any form of contact, whether that be email, a response to a query, an FAQ, social media content, member feedback forms, surveys, etc. Every personalized contact with a member validates the member’s worth and the association’s presence. It also encourages greater participation and engagement from the member.

5. Multi-Tiered Member Engagement

Member engagement is not as simple as mass communication. Not all members are alike and, associations that treat each member the same risk alienating many. By creating subgroups among members, however, associations can save time while still maintaining some personalization in each contact. As members move through their membership and renewal process, they move down an engagement and participation funnel. Members move through this funnel at different speeds.

Similarly, members react differently to touch points. Some may actively reach out to the association. Some might only respond to emails. Some members might never communicate at all after registration. Group the members accordingly and reach out to these groups in ways reflective of their activity. There is no sense in dealing with a member that has already renewed and is readily active the same as those who have never participated. This small step will allow for an engagement process that saves time and money and reaches the right people with the right content.

6. Utilize Social Media

While most associations are using social media already, not all place as much emphasis on it as they should. Social media acts as an open channel of communication for an association. In addition to simply creating an online presence for the association, social media is a great place to run series-based content, post upcoming industry changes and events, address questions and communicate with members. For members, social media is a perfect spot to share success stories, ask questions, and initiate conversations and collaborations with other members. The bottom line is that social media increases member engagement, and better connects members to their industry and to the association.

The post What’s Driving Member Loyalty? appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Is your association stuck on deciding whether it’s time to embrace social media?

You don’t have to look any further than the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or the AARP Take a Stand campaign to see why social media is the real deal when it comes to building awareness, driving engagement and accomplishing strategic goals.

But also consider this: nearly 80 percent of Americans are on social media, and the worldwide number of users is expected to be 2.95 billion by 2020. An audience awaits your association’s message!

With several options, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, deciding where to start might seem daunting. Even if your association is already using social media, is your staff being strategic and seeing the results they want?

Consider these four factors to get started and ramp up your engagement.

1. What do you want to accomplish?

First and foremost, associations should be using social media with purpose. How does social media as a form of digital communication fit into your larger communications strategy? Fundraising, promoting registration for an event or live webcast, announcing a new appointment or partnership, and sharing specialized expertise — these are just some of the reasons why associations use social media. Campaigns can be long or short-term, but each and every post on social media should have a call to action. What is your association asking followers to do and why?

2. Pay attention to timing, frequency, and content

Without a doubt, images — properly edited, formatted and shared to social media — get attention. But is that all you should post? How about videos, polls or blog posts? Audiences crave interesting, aesthetically pleasing and engaging content, and as long as your association has fresh material, it should be shared. The possibilities are endless, and associations should experiment with different types of posts — try different tones, such as including humor and serious posts. Over time, through analytics, you should come to understand what your audience finds interesting.

Ultimately though, whether it’s a weekly meeting or online document, associations should think about how staff can generate ideas for content and create a monthly schedule that lets everyone know what will be posted, when and by who.

Associations should also be aware of how existing visual identity can help build a social media brand that reinforces organization-wide objectives and communications goals. A simple example is to use color schemes and font-types that reflect your website design on any social media images.

Perhaps most importantly, and certainly when it comes to building a content schedule around certain posts, associations need to be measuring how their posts are performing — are posts popular in the morning, afternoon or evening of weekends or weekdays? By popular, we mean are they driving traffic and leading to the conversions you want to see take place on your website. Associations should also be asking how many times a day they should post content. Media platforms include analytics tools that help social media staff find these answers. It’s critical that associations train and empower staff to become the experts needed to help these social media accounts flourish.

3. Tweet, post, share: are all platforms equal?

To successfully use social media, associations need to deliver the right content to the right audience through the right channel. If you’re wondering whether you should focus on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, the truth is you should be focusing on all platforms. But you should be aware that your LinkedIn followers, given the platform’s purpose to connect professionals, will differ from your Facebook followers — and individuals will use each platform at different times during the day. Your social media strategy and posts should reflect these differences. Cross-promoting content on multiple channels can be highly effective, but can also frustrate an audience if they’re seeing the exact same image and words more than once and in more than one place. Associations should find unique ways to promote the same content. Doing so also addresses the fact that not all platforms are suitable for the same type of post — Twitter, for example, won’t allow you to post over a certain character limit. Be strategic and clever about how you’re sharing content in more than one place.

4. Social media is community driven

Associations should not be afraid to engage directly with their social media followers. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are designed to encourage dialogue and two-way communication, which ultimately leads to a captivated audience, as well as relationship and community building. In addition to posting content, associations should find their digital voice and embrace the opportunity to engage with the public. This can include starting discussions on relevant topics, providing answers to questions, moderating live webcasts, or connecting members with each other. Doing so will help associations get the most out of their online social media presence.

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