Don’t worry. There already exists a solution to help you out, and it’s called a Learning Management System (LMS)!

The right LMS can help you streamline and automate many continuing education processes, helping your organization remain productive even during busy periods. By unburdening your team of tedious, recurring, manual workflows, you allow them to focus on the “personal touch” side of the sector: interacting with individual members!

In this post, we’ll cover how an LMS can help increase efficiencies in your organization, how you can leverage it for specific needs, and how to prepare your organization for the future. Let’s get started!

1. Examine Your Current Workflows

Before you start looking for an LMS, it’s important to examine your workflows and identify what needs improvement. This will help you determine what type of LMS to look for and how it can streamline your processes.

Consider which tasks are most time-consuming, then filter them by which processes are candidates for automation.

For example: Are you currently processing course registrations manually? What about certificates of completion? These are tasks that can be automated through an LMS.

There are a number of things a quality LMS can help your organization streamline. Here are just a few examples:

• Registering new members for continuing education courses
• Payment processing
• Scheduling and managing training sessions
• Generating course enrollment and completion analytics
• Tracking course progress for members
• Tracking and managing credits and certifications
• Integrating with other databases and systems
• Testing and assessment (with options for automatic grading!)
• Enabling course creation and management

Once you have a list of problems you need to be solved, begin crafting a requirements document–a list of everything you need for the perfect LMS.

There are lots of choices when it comes to procuring an LMS, of course; do you want one that’s custom-built or Software as a Service (SaaS)?

By identifying your needs (and wants!), you can start looking for the LMS that will fulfill them all!

2. Leverage Your LMS to Increase Productivity

Strategic use of your LMS is key to efficiently maximizing your time and resources.

By reducing the amount of time spent on mundane tasks, your staff will be able to commit more energy towards helping you reach greater heights and giving extra value to members.

Let’s take a look at how an LMS can increase productivity for your organization.

Pursue New Opportunities

By automating administrative tasks, staff can pursue new opportunities and ideas, such as expanding into new markets or launching new initiatives. This can help member-based organizations stay ahead of the curve; the ability to sustainably maintain growth while retaining members is key!

Administrative staff are the cogs in the wheel that keep an organization running efficiently day-to-day. The right LMS can eliminate many of the tedious, time-consuming tasks that administrators are subject to, freeing up more time to pursue creative activities that add value to members’ experience. These activities can include:

• Organizing webinars,
• Creating interactive programs and resources,
• Providing personalized career development services,
• Building a mentorship program,
• Organizing meet-ups to keep members engaged,
• Or even offering virtual office hours to help members with their questions and concerns!

Furthermore, teams can build relationships with external partners and pursue new revenue streams, giving their organization a nice boost. All of these initiatives help foster relationships, support collaboration, and ensure that members have access to the resources they need to succeed in their industry.

Remember: many members come to organizations to upskill, so by streamlining your course management processes, you can boost your quality and output in one fell swoop!

Develop Meaningful Relationships with Members

Without the burden of manual administrative tasks, staff can spend more time interacting with members and developing relationships, which can help increase member engagement and retention.

An engaged member base is key to the success of a member-based organization, so it’s important to invest time in strengthening and deepening relationships with your audience.

Develop and Implement New Programs

With more time on their hands, staff can focus on creating new programs for members. By providing targeted digital learning materials to your members, you can create a more engaging educational environment. You also add value to your organization’s membership by providing members with access to new skills and resources.

Fostering a better learning environment can help create a stronger sense of community, as well as create more opportunities for members to become more involved with your organization.

Providing online continuing education can also help foster relationships with members who may not have the same access to physical spaces or educational events, allowing them to become more involved and feel included. Everyone wins!

Focus on Data-Driven Decisions

With an LMS in place, staff can track and analyze data to make more informed decisions. This can help organizations make decisions that are based on facts and figures, rather than simple guesswork. This can also aid in streamlining your operations, allowing you to maximize the impact your time and resources can have on projects. Good analytics can guide you toward making decisions that are right for your organization (and your members!).

According to the University of Pennsylvania (2022), insights from business data analytics can help organizations update existing products or services to reflect changing demands, tweak marketing techniques, and optimize customer service. The enhanced adaptability can mean the difference between thriving and stalling.

For example, you can use real-time analytics to track the performance of members and courses, then use those insights to make any necessary adjustments. Additionally, you can use the data gathered from quizzes and tests to assess if members are truly grasping the material; if they do, great! If an unusual number of members are having trouble, that’s your cue to rework the material.

Overall, by using the data analytics a good LMS provides, organization leaders can better identify areas of improvement and prioritize tasks that will result in a stronger, more sustainable organization.

Member-based organizations that use these techniques are more Agile and responsive to the changing needs of their members and external partners, allowing them to pivot and adapt to the changing market as necessary. This ensures that everyone gets the best value from their investment in your organization.

3. Prepare Your Organization for the Future with an LMS

With the right LMS, you can prepare your organization for the future. An LMS helps you stay organized, yes, but did you know that it can also help your organization keep up with the latest trends?

Quality learning management systems can offer emergent technologies, such as mobile-friendly learning platforms and gamification.

Have you ever been browsing the internet on your phone, only to stumble on a page that’s too wide for the screen and too small to read? That’s an issue of mobile responsiveness, and you don’t want your organization’s sites to fall into this trap.

A good LMS will automatically optimize its layout for screens of all kinds: desktop, tablet, phone, you name it!

You may think this feature falls under the “nice to have” column, but consider–mobile use is only increasing, and members are more likely than ever to take courses on-the-go. Mobile-responsive platforms are the way of the future, so don’t let your organization miss out!

Gamification is also becoming more popular. Not only that, it’s quite effective! According to Lampropoulos and Sidiropoulos (2024), post-secondary students highly regard gamification as an effective educational approach that can increase their learning outcomes, engagement, productivity, and motivation. It can also trigger both their both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Everyone likes games, so make using your platform feel more like “play” and less like “work”. Virtual badges (also called eBadges) are one way to do this; by awarding members with these digital achievement stickers, you let them know they’re doing well!

Another version of this comes in the form of “engagement scores”–a metric that can tell you how well your members are taking advantage of your platform. Consider offering competitions and awards for high scores!

By including these features, you’ll be better able to help your organization stand out from the rest and ensure that you’re providing the best possible experience for your members.

With the right LMS, everybody wins!

You may also like: Launching Your New LMS: 6 Steps for a Successful Rollout

Conclusion

With a robust LMS, you can help your organization increase efficiency with ease!

Taking the time to examine your current workflow and selecting the right platform for the job will help you increase efficiency, save time, and set your organization up for success.

Start searching for the perfect LMS today!

REFERENCES

Lampropoulos, G., & Sidiropoulos, A. (2024). Impact of Gamification on Students’ Learning Outcomes and Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Study Comparing Online, Traditional, and Gamified Learning. Education Sciences (Basel), 14(4), 367–367. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040367

University of Pennsylvania. (2022, October 20). 5 key reasons why data analytics is important to business | penn LPS online. Penn LPS. https://lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu/features/5-key-reasons-why-data-analytics-important-business

The post LMS: How Associations Can Do More With Less appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Professional associations often need to consolidate their technology in order to keep up with the changing landscape of the workforce. As new technologies are developed and adopted by businesses, associations must be able to offer their members access to these new tools.

By consolidating their technology, professional associations can make it easier for their members to stay up-to-date on the latest advancements in their field. In addition, consolidating technology can help associations save money by reducing the number of vendor contracts they need to manage.

In this article, we’ll examine the why, what, and how of consolidating your association’s technology.

Why would a professional association consolidate its technology?

When it comes to technology, there are a lot of options out there, so it can be difficult to know which technologies to consolidate. Thankfully, there’s a great solution for professional associations: all-in-one platforms!

All-in-one platforms can be a great option for consolidating multiple technologies:

• They offer a variety of features and benefits that are perfect for professional associations.
• They’re typically more affordable than purchasing multiple technologies separately
• They also offer more flexibility and scalability than most stand-alone technologies
• Not only this–all-in-one platforms can also provide a more seamless user experience for members and staff. After all, you have all of your programs in one place!

When considering which technologies to consolidate, all-in-one platforms should definitely be on the list.

What are the benefits of technology consolidation for professional associations?

As any professional knows, staying up to date with the latest technology can be a full-time job. New software platforms are constantly being introduced, and it can be difficult for associations to keep up. Thankfully, the answer lies in technology consolidation, which is becoming a growing trend among professional associations–and for good reason!

1. First of all, it can increase efficiency by allowing association staff to focus on fewer platforms. You only have to learn one system–not multiple!
2. Next, it can save money by eliminating the need to purchase multiple licenses or subscriptions. Think of it like consolidating debt; rather than paying multiple sources (each with their own interest rate and fees!), you’re focussing on a single payee. This makes it simple and easy!
3. Finally, technology consolidation can make it easier for members to stay informed and engaged by providing them with a single source of information.

While challenges associated with technology consolidation can arise (and we’ll look at those next!), the benefits typically outweigh the drawbacks, making it an attractive option for many professional associations!

What are some common challenges faced when consolidating technology?

One of the most common challenges faced during technology consolidation is managing data. When multiple systems are consolidated into one, there is often a lot of duplicate data that needs to be cleaned up. This can be a time-consuming and tedious process, but it is essential for ensuring that the new system is accurate and usable.

Another challenge that is often encountered is compatibility. Different systems often use different standards, which can make it challenging to combine them into a single platform. This can lead to frustration from users who are unable to access certain features or data, so it is crucial to thoroughly test the new system before rollout.

Finally, another common challenge is simply getting everyone on board with the change. When a beloved system is replaced with a new one, there can be a lot of resistance from users. It’s essential to communicate the benefits of the new system and provide training on how to use it–ease users into the transition and make sure they know how it will help them; you’ll find it much more painless to make the change if you do.

By addressing these challenges head-on, professional associations can ensure a successful technology consolidation!

How should a professional association go about consolidating its technologies?

In order to properly consolidate a professional association’s technologies, an organization should first take the time to understand its requirements:

• What functions need to be performed?
• What data needs to be stored and accessed?

Once these questions have been answered, the association can begin to evaluate which technologies are best suited for its needs. In some cases, it is possible to use a single piece of software to perform all of the required tasks!

However, in other cases, it may be necessary to use multiple software programs or even a combination of hardware and software. Regardless of the approach that’s taken, the important thing is that the professional association consolidates its technologies in a way that meets its needs and leads to increased efficiency.

How does a professional association know when it’s time to move on from its current technology solutions?

There are a few ways to tell when it might be time for your professional association to move on from its current technology solutions:

• One is if the solutions no longer meet your needs, or if they can’t keep up with your changing requirements.
• Another is if they’re becoming increasingly expensive to support and maintain.
• Finally, if you’re finding that other organizations are using more advanced technologies that give them a competitive edge, it may be time to consider an upgrade.

Of course, these are just general guidelines–ultimately, it’s up to your association to decide when the time is right for change. Just remember: if you’re starting to feel like your current solutions are holding you back, it might be worth exploring some new options!

You may also like: 5 Things NOT to Leave Out of Your LMS

Conclusion

Professional associations are always looking for ways to improve their operations and serve their members better, and technology consolidation–the process of evaluating and merging different technologies into a single streamlined system–is here to help!

Technology consolidation can provide many benefits, including reduced costs, improved efficiency, and enhanced member experience, so keep it in time next time you’re considering new strategies. And, while there are a few challenges that can arise during technology consolidation, with careful navigation, you can lead your association to success!

If you’re considering consolidating your association’s technologies, Vocalmeet can help. We have years of experience helping professional associations make the switch to new solutions, and we’re here to guide you every step of the way!

The post Technology Consolidation: Why Should Your Association Consider It? appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Tip: Enhance Your Research

The ability to research effectively is a crucial skill in many jobs–especially when in connection with the law: for bar associations and their members alike, fast, accurate legal research capability is essential. Because of this, it’s important to properly organize your association content and boost its accessibility by making it as easy as possible to find; this is particularly important if your association is promoting CLE training and publications. Thankfully, there are a few proven approaches to do exactly that!

Leverage Document Software Designed Specifically for Legal Research

When providing access to legal material, bar associations should use a solution that facilitates searching, highlighting, and annotating legal documents. It’s important to pick one that’s user-friendly and intuitive, as well as one that fully integrates with your website and your learning management platform. You want something that’s a pleasure to use and that allows seamless navigation with the rest of your web environment. For this reason, white-label integration is a must!

And, because you’ll likely be using it frequently, you’ll want one that loads quickly. Focus on SaaS applications (we’ll get to that in the next post!) so you can access content directly on your browser; no external programs means you don’t need to worry about access points (or about carrying around your work PC!). Not only that–web-based solutions are also more likely to incorporate the latest innovations for saving bandwidth and loading time, such as dynamic caches, lazy-loading, and infinite scrolling.

Provide Advanced Search Capabilities

Any modern legal research solution should allow users to combine full-text search in the body of your documents with search-by fields (such as date, author, field of law, etc.). At the minimum, your search engine should support Boolean operators, including:

• AND: Adding “AND” means all linked words must be included.
  • For instance, searching pink AND blue AND green will only give you results that include all three colors; this limits your results.
• OR: Using “OR” means one or the other–not both.
  • For instance, searching pink OR blue OR green will give you results that give you only pink, only blue, or only green–but not a combination of any of them; this gives you a larger pool of more specific results.
• NOT: Searching “NOT” filters out results that contain the word.
  • For instance, searching pink NOT blue NOT green will only give you results for pink, removing anything that mentions blue and/or green; this considerably fine-tunes your results.

Ideally, however, your research solution should also enable users to complete proximity searches; for instance, it should allow for searching within sentences (/s) or paragraphs (/p). Wildcard operators (*) are also highly appreciated by legal researchers, as they allow truncated words and look for all derivatives of a keyword from a single query. For instance, if one were to search “injunct*” to get documents, the solution would also match either “injunction” or “injunctive”. The best legal search solutions provide stemming capability by default, weighing in the possible derivatives (including singular and plural forms!) in their lists of results automatically. Now, that’s helpful!

You’ll probably agree that a common annoyance when browsing the Web is getting a long list of search results without any context about why you’ve received these results in the first place. To guarantee your members reach the pages and documents you invested your efforts in, make sure your search results page guides them in the right direction.

Employing the use of short snippets that are automatically generated from the body of your content and include keywords in context (in bold) are a must. Various ranking mechanisms (by relevance, but also by date, by popularity, etc) can also aid members in their searches. In addition, your members will greatly appreciate the ability to refine their searches directly from the results page (instead of clicking back and forth between distinct search and results pages)!

Finally, when your members reach their destination on the page or document you’ve produced, why not help them navigate it even faster with keyword highlights? This is particularly relevant for larger publications, in which the significant content may be hidden deep within the document.

Curious to see how all of this advice can be combined in practice? Here’s how the State Bar of Wisconsin has done it for its Books Unbound service!

You may also like: Academic vs Association LMS: 4 Key Differences

Conclusion

Research improvements can’t be overlooked when it comes to boosting value for bar associations. With the right tools and savvy, you’ll be able to offer your members an unparalleled search experience!

Next week: the Cloud!

The post Technology Tips and Tools to Help Bar Associations Build Trust and Support Members – Part 2 appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Thankfully, we’re here to help! This series of posts produced in collaboration between Vocalmeet and Lexum will cover our top tips and tools to help your bar association make the most of what the internet has to offer:

Tool: Your Website

It may feel like a cop-out to start with what’s arguably the most obvious tool in your association’s belt–its website–but it’s a crucial factor that can be easily overlooked.

Build a Solid Base

Regardless of what you’re making, it needs to have a solid base. The same is true for your association’s website: if your site isn’t visually attractive and user-friendly, you’re already losing out on potential members.

First, make sure your website is modern: if it looks like it was built before Y2K, you’re not going to find much success. It’s hard not to judge a book by its cover when you’re browsing the net, so if you want to keep your audience on your page, make sure your site’s design is snappy, clear, and interesting.

Pay attention to both the user interface (how your website is laid out) and the user experience (how it feels to use your website); if either of these is lacking, you’re going to frustrate your members. Frustrated members are more likely to wander, so be sure to make the process of using your site painless for everyone involved.

A good way to achieve this is through integration. If all of your website’s sections–whether that means your store, forums, continuing legal education, blog, or more–are properly integrated, your users will be able to navigate your site with ease. Additionally, integration means a more seamless experience with more consistent branding. If all your pages match, members are less likely to get confused. In this line of thought, make sure to pick white-label solutions (in this case, software that can be purchased and rebranded to match your association) when relying on third-party vendors to power some of these sections.

You’ll also want to beef up your site’s search functionality. This is especially important when it comes to your continuing legal education courses or publications, of course (members can’t purchase material they can’t find!) but it also applies to your site as a whole. Allow for an array of filtering options; you could include sections for keywords, categories, fields of law, popular posts/courses/books, speaker/poster, profiles, pages, and more! (Look out for part 2 in this series, where we’ll go into more detail on this topic.)

If your bar association is partnered with other quality organizations, consider adding a section presenting them and their logo. For instance, if you run a county bar association that belongs to a larger collective (for instance, a state bar association), you can indicate this with their brand image. This will show your members you belong to a larger network of credible organizations–promoting your peers and proving your reliability in a single step! (Just make sure you get permission first.)

Captivate Members

Catching the attention of members may sound difficult, but there are a number of ways you can accomplish it.

First, you’ll want to put context-specific member testimonials at the front and center of your page (or somewhere else easily accessible!). For instance, on a page dedicated to a practice guide, try to include some feedback from practitioners heavily relying on it. After all, who better to promote your products and services than the members who use them? If you don’t have a stock of reviews available, don’t worry; you can offer CE program discounts or vouchers to those who submit them! Soon, you’ll have plenty of quality member quotes to use.

Your association should also establish a knowledge hub section on its site. This can encompass a variety of formats–videos, blog articles, Ask Me Anything sessions (whether they take the form of livestreams, recorded live sessions, or forum threads), news updates, anything! If you find it useful or interesting, your members likely will, too. By establishing a broad, frequently updated body of resources, your members will be more inclined to keep coming back for more.

Finally, you can appeal to the kid in all of us: achievement badges! By offering digital badges (also known as eBadges) for accomplishments like completing programs or course tracks, you get to reward loyal members with a virtual sticker. Members can then display their badges on their profiles or on social media–showing off their accolades and promoting your association at the same time! Everyone likes to be validated for their hard work, and you’ll be scratching that “collector’s itch” for some of your audience.

You may also like: Let’s Get Digital: 3 Strategies to Boost Member Engagement Online

Conclusion

When you’re looking to boost engagement, you can’t go wrong with a sleek, appealing website. Make it intuitive, make it fun, and make it smart–your members will appreciate it!

Looking for more tips and tools? Have no fear, this article is just the start! Check in next week for our tips to enhance your research ability.

The post Technology Tips and Tools to Help Bar Associations Build Trust and Support Members – Part 1 appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Software as a Service (SaaS) integration is the process of integrating your organization’s software applications with each other, as well as with any third-party software applications you use. This process ensures that data can flow freely between all systems and that any changes made in one system are reflected in the others.

Examples of association-specific SaaS applications include association management systems (AMS) and learning management systems (LMS).

Integration can provide many benefits to your association, including increased efficiency, improved data accuracy, decreased administrative work, and higher member satisfaction.

What is SaaS integration?

SaaS integration is the process of connecting two or more software applications in order to share data and information. This can be achieved through several means, including:

• Application programming interfaces (APIs)
• Web services
• Even manual data entry!

The main goal of SaaS integration is to help organizations streamline their processes and workflows by eliminating the need to switch between multiple applications.

In the context of organizations, SaaS integration can be extremely beneficial in terms of simplifying member management. For example, by integrating your AMS with other software that your members use (for instance, an LMS), you can automatically sync data and information between the two systems. This way, your members don’t have to input their information in both systems; everything is taken care of automatically.

SaaS integration can help you save time and money by reducing the need for manual data entry. In addition, it can help improve information accuracy by eliminating errors that can occur during manual data entry. Overall, SaaS integration can provide a number of benefits for associations and their members.

You may also like: 7 Universally Crucial Features for Your New LMS

Types of Integrations Available to Organizations

There are a number of different types of SaaS integrations available to associations, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. We will cover the three most common member-based organization below.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

One popular type of integration is known as single sign-on, or SSO. SSO allows members to log in to multiple software applications with a single set of credentials–usually their username and password for the association’s website. This can be extremely convenient for members, as they don’t have to remember multiple sets of login information.

Single sign-on is also known as one-way integration. One-way integrations are the simplest form of integration, as they only allow data to flow from one application to another.

For example, if you wanted to integrate your AMS with an LMS, a one-way integration would allow data to flow from your AMS into your LMS, but not the other way around.

One-way integrations can be useful in situations where you only need to send certain types of data (for example, member information) from one application to another.

Data Integration

Another type of integration is data integration. Data integration allows different software applications to share data. This can be useful for keeping member information up-to-date in multiple systems and for avoiding the need to enter data into multiple systems manually.

Data integration is also known as two-way integration. Two-way integrations are more complex than one-way integrations, as they allow data to flow in both directions between applications.

For example, if you integrated your AMS with your LMS using a two-way integration, data could flow back and forth from the AMS into the LMS, and vice versa. This could be configured so that when a member finishes a course on your LMS, the completion is reflected in their profile on your AMS. This can save a lot of time and hassle for both you and your members!

Payment Gateway Integration

Another type of integration that can be extremely useful for organizations is known as payment gateway integration. Payment gateway integration allows you to connect your association’s website to a payment gateway, such as PayPal or Stripe. This allows members to make payments for membership dues, event registration fees, continuing education courses, and other items directly on your website.

Payment gateway integration can be extremely convenient for members, as they don’t have to leave your website to make a payment. This can also save your association time and money, as you don’t have to process payments manually.

There are many other types of integration available, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. The best way to determine which type of integration is right for your association is to speak with a SaaS integration expert who can assess your needs and recommend the best solution for your organization.

You may also like: Taking the Fear Out of Updating Your Association’s Technology

Conclusion

Overall, SaaS integration can provide a number of benefits for organizations and their members, including increased efficiency, improved data accuracy, decreased administrative work, and higher member satisfaction. When choosing a SaaS integration solution for your association, it’s important to consider your needs and goals in order to select the best option for your organization; you’ll be glad you did!

The post SaaS Integration and Member-Based Organizations: What You Need to Know appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

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.

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.

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.

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