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.

Future-proof Your Association

We’ve all heard a variation of that old adage, “nothing is more permanent than change.” Attributed to ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, it’s the idea that we are in a universal flux, and change is the only constant. As deep and academically distant as it sounds, the notion is very much relevant to our discussion today—associations must embrace change to stay relevant and competitive.

As the thought leadership space is getting more and more crowded, and swarms of previously unknown competitors nibble at the flanks, associations have to innovate, shift, and distinguish the value of their offering. In fact, only 50% of associations surveyed in the Marketing General Inc.’s annual 2018 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report believed they had “a compelling or very compelling value proposition.” However, among the respondents, those with membership renewal rates of 80% or more had done a much better job demonstrating the benefits to their members (54% vs. 39%). Failure to communicate benefits to members has also been echoed as a consistent top communication challenge in Naylor Association Solutions’ 2018 Association Communications Benchmarking Report. Such confluence of data is nothing new or surprising; inability to consistently relay value to members has always plagued associations for various reasons. No matter the reason though, without a solid value proposition and a cohesive message your organization might be “leaking” members.

Plan Your Communication

Speaking of cohesiveness, did you know that there is more than one approach to communicating with members while maintaining the integrity of the message? One size fits all strategy is no longer viable; members, especially the younger Millennials, almost unilaterally expect some level of personalization. You have to literally speak their language or talk the talk. Unfortunately, more than half (58%) of associations do not conduct any sort of segmentation or targeting for their communication whatsoever. Better overall planning and utilization of tactics particular to the platform of communication or even the department within your organization is the way to go.

However, this should not automatically entail considerable effort put into mobile or social media channels, as important as they are these days. In fact, print media is still in the top 10 channels of communication. If done correctly, planning your communication will surely add up to a genuine, consistent and effective participation. Keep in mind, member engagement is not a monolithic effort, but rather an amalgamation of direct and mediated communication methods that change and move with priorities.

Keep Tabs on Members

“What Good Is A Song” is the name of an oldie by Quincy Jones. The premise is that every song should bring some inspiration, value and meaning, otherwise it’s not worthy of listening. The same goes to all the membership involvement initiatives that do not measure anything or create useful data.

Associations usually have plans in place to increase their membership participation, and as a matter of fact, well over half or 62% do. Yet, not all measure it well—and a whopping 30% of them do not even have a procedure in place. It makes sense, since measuring, sorting, and then storing all of that information can be a tedious and even daunting task for those with less resources and technical capabilities. In spite of that, association executives should make an effort to support and encourage staff in collecting and measuring engagement. A well-measured engagement can be used as a solid base for future adjustments or changes to the strategy. One of the most obvious benefits is keeping abreast of members’ preferences and needs, which in turn leads to better services, overall satisfaction, and finally membership renewal.

Renewals are important

Despite being naturally focused on member recruitment as a source of growth, associations must not neglect renewals. It is necessary to employ impactful strategies to tackle membership renewal. Membership renewal is somewhat like wedding vows renewal—it’s more than just a financial commitment, it’s reassurance of trust. Members want to feel appreciated, and a part of a community. Thus, it should not be taken lightly on behalf of associations and members alike. However, sometimes renewals lapse, and it is critical to step back and give members a bit of time in those moments. According to the 2018 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, associations that have a higher renewal rate (80% or more) have done just that (88% vs. 79%). They are also “significantly more likely to offer a company/institutional/organization membership than those that do not (59% vs. 35%).

The latter is a very important point that goes to the core of this discussion—embracing change is an inherent aspect of staying relevant and competitive. And the trend of transforming the very essence of membership-based organizations, which is membership models, is picking up steam. Repackaging memberships and combining individual and organizational membership by “hybrid” associations, as they’re sometimes called, is becoming more prevalent, argues MGI’s Senior Vice President Tony Rossell. He further adds that those associations that include an institutional membership option on top of the individual see a 5-10 points hike in renewals.

Generations Change, So Should You

By now, we have established that knowing your members, anticipating their needs and proactively engaging with them via all applicable channels should be every membership organization’s objective. But it is also worth considering how social and generational changes outside of your control influence your membership segments.

For instance, Baby Boomers (those born between 1946-1964) still make up the largest chunk of membership with 36%, followed by Generation X (1965 to 1979) at 29%, Millennials (1980 to 1995) with 19%, and finally Generation Z (1996 and after) at 6%. Despite the fact that the ubiquitous Millennials come a distant third, they are the fastest growing group. Soon enough they will naturally catch up and take over the majority. Thus, anticipating and preparing for this shift is something to keep on the agenda. And many associations believe they’re actively communicating with members to better cater to their needs. For example, a solid 84% think they have an up-to-date, relative content. Nevertheless, only 20% or just 1 in 5 are convinced that they have a good idea about their members’, readers’ and even advertisers’ needs. As a result, certain practices with lots of potential get neglected, such as membership customization, which hasn’t changed in the past seven years.

As of 2018, only 18% of associations actually have a separate category for young professionals who are newcomers to the industry, the same percentage of associations as in 2011. New graduates are one of the most important groups for any association. Nearly two-thirds of all association members join within five years of graduation. Successful future-proofing of associations hinges on this member segment. Thus, customizing and tweaking membership benefits to fit new graduates’ preferences is of paramount importance.

Staffing

Finally, we’ve talked a lot about numerous external challenges and ways of dealing with them, but we have yet to mention the internal ones. While taking care of your members’ needs and simultaneously juggling multiple other objectives, it is easy to forget about your own. Respondents in both aforementioned surveys claim being impacted by lack of staff in key positions. In fact, close to half (46%) of associations think they are understaffed, and more than half or 51% of communications teams specifically, feel the same way. Insufficient staff (35%) is also mentioned as a top challenge. And more than half would actually hire more people if they miraculously received a 50% budget increase.

Having enough people, but more importantly in the dedicated positions, is extremely beneficial for efficient and effective communication. For example, staff phone calls still generate 37% of membership renewals, and are frequently used to welcome newcomers. It is also difficult to keep up with the volume and frequency of communication required for an effective engagement strategy without enough people. How will the members learn of the benefits and opportunities if there’s literally no one to tell them that? So, overall taking care of staff and having adequate amount of folks on the job could be the difference between success and failure for associations of any size.

The post How to Start Using Change: An Association’s Guide to Shifting Priorities appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

New graduates are one of the most important groups for any association. They are well-trained, ambitious, and most importantly, primed and ready to grow within a new industry. Making this group even more alluring for associations, nearly two-thirds of all association members joined their association within five years of graduation. New graduates are incredibly important to the success of most organizations. However, since the majority of new graduates today are “Millennials” (born between 1980 and 2000), this comes with new challenges.

According to the Naylor’s Association Communications Benchmarking Survey, more than half of all associations find Millennials difficult to recruit. The reason for this is primarily because most associations fail to account for age or career stage when setting up their recruiting strategy. This usually includes a lack of personalization that is specifically for Millennials — a major misstep. These new graduates are looking for very specific things from their future associations: job opportunities, networking, and professional development. While many associations offer these benefits, some slight graduate-specific alterations can go a long way in increasing their effectiveness.

1. Allow For Customized Memberships

New graduates are looking for an association that is designed specifically for them. The most successful online companies allow users to completely control their experience. Since many new graduates grew up in this online world, they expect it from all companies nowadays. For associations, a similar experience can be offered simply by allowing new members to tailor a membership to their needs. Whether this means members hand-selecting the membership benefits they wish to receive and pay for or simply picking between one of several membership packages and payment options, choice and customization are essential and effective.

2. Personalize Your Communication

Another effective strategy that organizations use to attract to both new graduates and Millennials is personalization. Personalization is important in every aspect of an association’s outreach, from communications to membership offerings. To reach new graduates, communications should be addressed specifically that group and certain membership features should be created for them. One powerful tool is to host job listings specifically for new professionals or hosting networking events for students and new graduates to meet with experienced professionals and mentors.

3. Demonstrate Membership Value Clearly

New graduates look for clearly defined associational values when selecting an organization to align themselves with. Transparency and clarity are essential throughout all communications and marketing efforts. Rather than posting a laundry list of membership benefits, new graduates need to see how a membership translates into personal value for them. When it comes to professional development, for example, clarify what career paths and/or positions might result from each professional development course/credential. By laying out a career roadmap, new graduates are able to see both the long- and short-term value in joining.

4. Focus Advertising on New Graduates

Digital advertising on social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, allows for effective targeted marketing, campaigns that can reach specific groups with specific messages. This is incredibly important when trying to address new graduates personally. The one-size-fits-all model of advertising will not prove as effective for new graduates as it is for other groups, so associations should separate this group from the rest.

One effective strategy for attracting new graduates is to reach them before they even finish schooling or shortly afterwards. This can be accomplished by offering a free or discounted annual membership for students and/or new graduates. Or consider offering a free course to new graduates. With education and professional growth high on their list of must-haves, new graduates seek associations that place emphasis on professional development, and education embedded into marketing is sure to capture interest.

5. Utilize Online Technologies

While this is a broad category, it’s important, especially for new graduates. When marketing to this group, associations must demonstrate that they are on top of emerging trends. While social media is not new, how associations use it is always changing. Simply being present on social media is not enough. Directly engaging in issues that new graduates are interested in is a must and the most effective marketing strategy for today’s associations.

According to the Elite Daily Millennial Consumer Study 2015, more than 60% of Millennials are more willing to work with a brand that directly connected with them online. Many new technologies are designed for younger and technologically savvier users by improving intuitiveness, convenience, and accessibility. Hosting virtual conferences and/or providing interactive online learning, for example, not only demonstrates that an association is progressing with the times, but it also shows new graduates that the association is looking toward the future just like them.

The post Turning New Graduates Into Your Association’s Newest Members appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

One of the primary challenges facing lawyers and other legal professions is how to remain competitive in the face of the ever-changing legal field. While continuing legal education (CLE) has been a necessity for lawyers for many years now, the traditional delivery methods for learning can be time-consuming and difficult to complete while still serving clients. This is because standard CLE often demands that lawyers complete a set number of hours in order to satisfy the annual learning requirements. While these requirements are not mandatory in every state, they are often used as a professional standard. But, not all lawyers are at the same level and not all lawyers learn within the same timeframes. There is room to improve CLE and, thankfully, the solution is already available.

The recent advancements in technology and the improvements in continuing education delivery have made it possible to give CLE a major facelift with minimal changes. The legal field is incredibly diverse, one that is filled with professionals of different educational backgrounds, experience levels, and aptitudes. That is why CLE that additionally prioritizes practical skills, prior knowledge, and individual learning abilities can be a huge asset for every legal association.

1. Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education provides exactly what is needed in today’s world: education progress tracked by competencies. That means, rather than measure student progress by the time spent in a course, the competency-based model measures student aptitude. Within the realm of CLE, competency maps are created for each specific area of law and practice. While many competency maps are already designed, many more are currently being created by legal education professionals, such as the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). These maps act as training guidelines or a checklist of mandatory coverage areas. They can be used for basic training or for experienced refresher courses and everything in between.

General Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

• Minimal time 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, no longer confined to standardized time markers
• Skill-based learning allows for quicker progress for more advanced learners
• Education is typically more affordable because learners pay only for what they require

Benefits for Continuing Legal Education: When competency-based education is combined with CLE, legal professionals stand to benefit substantially.

• Specified learning allows legal professionals to earn certifications or credentials in specific fields
• Focused learning enables quicker mastery as well as more current and applicable material
• Competencies in the legal profession are readily defined, which makes for easier course development
• Competency-specific modules double as refreshment courses and reminders for experienced lawyers
• Final outcome tests are powerful tools for measuring in-house applicant’s or trainee’s aptitude levels

2. Next Steps For Competency-Based CLE

Competency-based CLE will steadily improve. However, competency-based learning must ensure that it meets the following requirements:

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

This is where interactive online video training comes in. Adult learners, especially those who work busy schedules like lawyers and other legal professionals, learn best when they control their learning schedule. For lawyers, some of the best learning comes at the exact time that they need it. Perhaps they are working with a new client or expanding their practice and need to develop new skills. Maybe they need to learn these new skills in the early morning while they prepare a document they are unfamiliar with, or maybe they wish to study in the evening when they come home from work. Interactive online training provides this flexibility.

Interactive Online Training

Despite being the fastest-growing form of continuing education today, interactive online video learning is still relatively new. That means that it’s still in the process of discovery. With online videos taking up about 1/3 of all internet activity, online educators are looking for the most effective ways of incorporating education into online videos. Optimal results in online video learning are found when the lessons are engaging, responsive, and, most importantly, interactive. Interactive online training often begins with a demonstration. The learner must then apply their learning into practical scenarios to demonstrate adequate understanding.

Interactive Online Training Benefits: The best way to improve the educational experience of online videos is to turn them from a passive experience into an active experience.

• Learn by practice and through the recollection of actual experience
• Learners are given real-world scenarios and situations to apply learning
• Keep learner’s engaged, attentive, and retentive, gauging comprehension levels on the go
• Multiple delivery methods, such as gamified, scenario-based, and/or story-based videos
• Intuitive videos enable learners to apply prior learning or to advance through completed sections

3. Competency-Based Online CLE and Interactive Video Training

Though interactive online CLE is still in its infancy, the relationship between these two sides is absolutely ideal. Over time, CLE programs have morphed from long on-demand videos into short modular segments that are more focused and visually enhanced. Furthermore, time waste is drastically reduced, and the study flexibility increases tenfold. Since the benefits for learners are so huge, it often reflects in higher course purchases and an increase in course attendance.

Benefits of Competency-Based Interactive Online CLE:

• Increase of course attendance and course revenue
• Realistic and challenging scenarios make learning engaging and useful
• Material learned from nano credits is gained quickly and instantly applicable
• Effective for self-assessment, training, and/or mastery of a topic
• Nano courses are quick and easy to create, allowing lawyers to earn credits in newly developed areas
• Easily created and updated videos allow for the most up-to-date and relevant information
• Enables lawyers to stay engaged while learning around very demanding schedules
• Situational-based learning and exercises helps for drafting documents, answering client questions, and many other scenarios

Interactive online video courses will eventually cover all legal areas. Right at this moment, lawyers can advance their skills in many of the areas they want, when they want, and in the order they want. With interactive online video, lawyers and legal professionals can achieve these skills in more engaging and practical ways while better retaining more applicable knowledge.

Vocalmeet’s legal education platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post The Future of Continuing Legal Education appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

The recent advancements in technology and the improvements in online education delivery, have made it possible to give those programs a major facelift with minimal change. Online programs of universities are usually incredibly diverse, they are filled with students of different educational backgrounds, experience levels, and aptitudes. This is why we have helped many educational institutions to add programs that prioritize practical skills, prior knowledge, and individual learning abilities with competency-based online programs.

1. Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education provides exactly what it suggests: education progress tracked by competencies. That means, rather than measure student progress by the time spent in a course, the competency-based model measures student aptitude.
 
General Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

• Minimal time 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, no longer confined to standardized time markers
• Skill-based learning allows for quicker progress for more advanced learners
• Education typically helps generate more revenue because enrollment rates are much higher due to the fact that learners get exactly what they are looking for

Benefits for online programs
When competency-based education is utilized in online programs, both universities and students stand to benefit substantially.

• Specified learning allows students to earn certifications or credentials in specific fields
• Focused learning enables quicker mastery as well as more current and applicable material
• 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
• Final outcome tests are powerful tools for measuring in-house applicant’s or trainee’s aptitude levels

Next Steps For Competency-Based Online Programs
As universities continue to define and build competency maps, competency-based online programs will steadily improve. However, online programs must ensure that it meets the following requirements:

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

This is where interactive online video comes in.
 

2. Interactive Online Video Learning

Despite being the fastest-growing form of continuing education today, interactive online learning is still relatively new. That means that it’s still in the process of discovery. With online videos taking up about 1/3 of all internet activity, online educators are looking for the most effective ways of incorporating education into online videos. Optimal results in online video learning are found when the lessons are engaging, responsive, and, most importantly, interactive. Interactive online training often begins with a demonstration. The learner must then apply their learning into practical scenarios to demonstrate adequate understanding – all within the video content itself.

Benefits of Interactive Online Video Learning
The best way to improve the educational experience of online videos is to turn them from a passive experience into an active experience.

• Learn by practice and through the recollection of actual experience
• Learners are given real-world scenarios and situations to apply learning
• Keep learners engaged, attentive, and retentive, gauging comprehension levels on the go
• Multiple delivery methods, such as gamified, scenario-based, and/or story-based videos
• Intuitive videos enable learners to apply prior learning or to advance through completed sections

3. Competency-Based Interactive Online Learning for Universities

Though interactive online video learning for higher education is still new, the relationship between these two sides is absolutely ideal. Over time, online programs have morphed from long on-demand videos into short modular segments that are more focused and visually enhanced. These micro-lessons are often called nano courses or nano credits. With interactive online video added to these nano credits, students are able to earn credit for learning quicker and through the application of practical skills. Furthermore, time waste is drastically reduced, and the study flexibility increases tenfold.

Overall Benefits

• Education typically helps generate more revenue because enrollment rates a much higher due to the fact that learners get exactly what they are looking for
• Realistic and challenging scenarios make learning engaging and useful
• Material learned from nano credits is gained quickly and instantly applicable
• Effective for self-assessment, training, and/or mastery of a topic
• Nano courses are quick and easy to create, allowing lawyers to earn credits in newly developed areas
• Easily created and updated videos allow for the most up-to-date and relevant information
• Enables students to stay engaged while learning around very demanding schedules
• Situational-based learning and exercises helps for drafting documents, responding to real life questions, and many other scenarios

Adding interactive online training courses helps universities to drastically improve their reach online. Right at this moment, potential students can advance their skills in the areas they want, where they want, and in the order they want. With interactive online video, universities remain competitive while helping potential learners to achieve these skills in more engaging and practical ways while better retaining more applicable knowledge.
 
Vocalmeet’s higher education platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post Improving University Programs Online appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Video learning has quickly become the gold standard for Continuing Education online. Not only can online video training for areas like Continuing Legal Education, Continuing Medical Education or Continuing Professional Education be more effective than in-person training for the purposes of on-demand training with reduced travel and training costs, but it is also more effective than textual learning in learner retention and engagement. According to Forrester Research, workplace learners engage with videos 75% more than text-based learning. Furthermore, after six months of the lesson, text-based learners forget up to 90% of the material learned, but video learners show an improvement of 83% in retention and comprehension over time.

Videos are an integral part of our world. That is why YouTube has more than 1 billion users, about 1/3 of all internet users. That’s also why about 1/3 of all online activity is now dedicated to videos. But video learning is said to be a passive activity. If videos are too long, users tune out. If they are too detailed, learners lose focus.
Interactive videos, however, can counteract these effects. By following these tips, your interactive CLE, CME or CPE can keep learners more attentive and responsive.

1. Gamification

Games are not only for kids. Gamification, the process of turning a learning module into a game, can vary in countless ways, but the basic idea is simply to entertain the learner and encourage friendly competition. Gamification often incorporates a reward system, a playable storyline of some sort, and various challenges that are overcome with a thorough understanding of the material. Level-based modules allow learners to accumulate points and advance through learning modules and the game’s storyline at the same time. A public leaderboard may encourage learners to exert more effort and be more attentive. At its core, gamification is a motivational tactic, but the result is often better learning retention and, consequently, better training.

2. Microlearning

The optimal length of online videos has been a topic of discussion in almost every field since online videos first became popular. A large-scale MIT study suggests that videos should be less than six minutes to retain maximum audience attentiveness. Many associations are taking this even further, breaking down videos into even smaller segments. This can be as simple as stopping the video after a short period of time and asking the learner a question or having them perform a learning-related task. This teaching method not only keeps learners more aware and engaged, but it allows them to accomplish their learning in bite-sized chunks, rather than put aside a large and restrictive block of time.

3. Mobile Learning

With 91% of smartphone users turning to their mobile devices to complete tasks these days, mobile learning is a necessity. As learning modules become smaller and more task-like, the ability for learners to complete video learning on their phones is essential. Moreover, as online video learning and gamification expands, mobile learning will become even more important as those two fields are intimately connected to smartphones. By designing interactive learning videos meant for mobile devices, associations should see improved access and engagement from learners.

4. Scenario-Based Learning

Scenario-based learning is nothing new. In fact, most learning is scenario-based in some form or another. When this learning tactic is applied to online video, however, it transforms into something more modern and exciting. When combined, video and scenario-based learning becomes an experience. Learners are better able to visualize and transport themselves into the scenario when it is visual.

Completing tasks or problems feel more authentic and enriching. Users are better able to apply their knowledge, logic and reasoning skills to video scenarios because they often feel more connected to the situation. In the end, these visual scenarios are easier to recall as well, leading to better knowledge retention and long-term understanding.

5. Story-Based Learning

Storytelling and the ability to understand a story is something deeply entrenched in everyone. Since time immemorial, stories have been used to pass along learning. So, of course, it works with online video learning. Story-based learning is an interesting and flowing method of learning. For understanding, learners are able to transport themselves into the narrative and comprehend the message better, not unlike scenario-based learning. In terms of retention, learners are able to easily remember and connect important concepts to the story. Tell a good story and the learner will always remember it

Vocalmeet’s CE platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post Five Ways To Use Interactive Videos To Supercharge Your Continuing Education Online appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Video learning has quickly become the gold standard in online CLE training. Not only can online video training for Continuing Legal Education be more effective than in-person training for the purposes of on-demand training with reduced travel and training costs, but it is also more effective than textual learning in learner retention and engagement. According to Forrester Research, workplace learners engage with videos 75% more than text-based learning. Furthermore, after six months of the lesson, text-based learners forget up to 90% of the material learned, but video learners show an improvement of 83% in retention and comprehension over time.

Videos are an integral part of our world. That is why YouTube has more than 1 billion users, about 1/3 of all internet users. That’s also why about 1/3 of all online activity is now dedicated to videos. But video learning is said to be a passive activity. If videos are too long, users tune out. If they are too detailed, learners lose focus.
Interactive videos, however, can counteract these effects. By following these tips, your interactive CLE can keep learners more attentive and responsive.

1. Gamification

Games are not only for kids. Gamification, the process of turning a learning module into a game, can vary in countless ways, but the basic idea is simply to entertain the learner and encourage friendly competition. Gamification often incorporates a reward system, a playable storyline of some sort, and various challenges that are overcome with a thorough understanding of the material. Level-based modules allow learners to accumulate points and advance through learning modules and the game’s storyline at the same time. A public leaderboard may encourage learners to exert more effort and be more attentive. At its core, gamification is a motivational tactic, but the result is often better learning retention and, consequently, better training.

2. Microlearning

The optimal length of online videos has been a topic of discussion in almost every field since online videos first became popular. A large-scale MIT study suggests that videos should be less than six minutes to retain maximum audience attentiveness. Many associations are taking this even further, breaking down videos into even smaller segments. This can be as simple as stopping the video after a short period of time and asking the learner a question or having them perform a learning-related task. This teaching method not only keeps learners more aware and engaged, but it allows them to accomplish their learning in bite-sized chunks, rather than put aside a large and restrictive block of time.

3. Mobile Learning

With 91% of smartphone users turning to their mobile devices to complete tasks these days, mobile learning is a necessity. As learning modules become smaller and more task-like, the ability for learners to complete video learning on their phones is essential. Moreover, as online video learning and gamification expands, mobile learning will become even more important as those two fields are intimately connected to smartphones. By designing interactive learning videos meant for mobile devices, associations should see improved access and engagement from learners.

4. Scenario-Based Learning

Scenario-based learning is nothing new. In fact, most learning is scenario-based in some form or another. When this learning tactic is applied to online video, however, it transforms into something more modern and exciting. When combined, video and scenario-based learning becomes an experience. Learners are better able to visualize and transport themselves into the scenario when it is visual.

Completing tasks or problems feel more authentic and enriching. Users are better able to apply their knowledge, logic and reasoning skills to video scenarios because they often feel more connected to the situation. In the end, these visual scenarios are easier to recall as well, leading to better knowledge retention and long-term understanding.

5. Story-Based Learning

Storytelling and the ability to understand a story is something deeply entrenched in everyone. Since time immemorial, stories have been used to pass along learning. So, of course, it works with online video learning. Story-based learning is an interesting and flowing method of learning. For understanding, learners are able to transport themselves into the narrative and comprehend the message better, not unlike scenario-based learning. In terms of retention, learners are able to easily remember and connect important concepts to the story. Tell a good story and the learner will always remember it

Vocalmeet’s CLE platform comes with a customizable interactive video player that creates an engaging learning experience for your members. Here are a few examples that can be used for all of the strategies outlined above:

a) Hotspots

b) Multiple Choice

c) Smart Chapters & Single Choice

d) Fill in the blanks & Slide Carousel

The post Five Ways To Use Interactive Videos To Supercharge Your Online CLE appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

Most Associations strive to bring in more new members and keep existing members, but many don’t know how to accomplish this.

By observing the trends in The 2017 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, I created a best practices list based on the actions of the highest-performing associations with over 80% member retention yearly. The following list highlights what the most successful associations are doing to keep members interested and provides a helpful map of what others can do to follow.

1. Have a Strategic Engagement Plan

The most basic and perhaps the most important principle to increasing member retention is to have a plan in place. Of the associations with more than 80% retention rates, 68% have a strategic engagement plan laid out. The best of these plans start from the very first contact. Once a member joins, call them personally or send them a welcome kit.

2. Provide Benefits Right Away

A significant number of successful associations offer members a free trial membership to start. This helps build member loyalty right away. From there, many associations in the highest category offer membership discounts for the remainder of the year. Many even discount membership dues for the second year, keeping in mind that securing member commitments for first and second years are the most challenging obstacles.

3. Utilize Continuing Education Online

Associations reporting renewal rates of 80% or higher indicate that specialized information, continuing education (online) and advocacy are significant member drivers. This is compared to associations with less than 60% renewal rates that consider publications and supporting the mission of the association to be the reasons members join the association.

4. Embrace Mobility and Social Media

Associations in the top retention bracket also have the largest membership base of millennials. This could be because these associations put a substantially larger emphasis on connecting with members through social networking websites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Mobile access and ease of connectivity is also a major contributor to these associations improving their digital footprint and increasing the number of millennial members. It should also be noted that those that use digital marketing techniques for recruitment and retention, see more members retained year after year.

5. Provide More Membership Incentives

According to the Marketing Benchmark Report, associations with greater than 80% renewal rates find that granting members access to specialized content is a powerful driver for retention. For example, of these associations, 41% offer certifications as part of the membership package. Some simply package content or offer multiple years of membership at discounted rates.

6. Improve Engagement Opportunities

The more a member is engaged with an association the more likely they are to renew their membership. Therefore, the most effective associations focus on improving associational engagement opportunities. Associations that see increases in event and webinar attendance and/or growth in member website visits and service purchases are the associations that see the best retention rates.

7. Increase Non-Dues Revenues From Members

Members that rely on their associations for things like industry training, certifications, products, networking events, and subscriptions are much more likely to renew their memberships. This is fairly straightforward. To engage members in associational initiatives, the most successful associations find new ways of offering value to members and this often results in non-dues revenues increasing.

8. Offer Members a Sliding Membership Scale and More

For the associations that offer many different levels of services, the most successful see extremely positive responses to offering a sliding membership scale, giving members the choice of what benefits they wish to pay for and receive. Find out what members truly want through member research. Try different things and gauge the response.

9. Start Renewing Members Months in Advance

One of the things that most of the best-performing associations have in common is they almost all start the renewal process months before the membership expiration date. Most begin the process within two to three months before the membership is up, allowing members time to consider their options without going past the deadline.

10. Don’t Be Afraid To Call Members When It Comes Time to Renew

The vast majority of the most successful associations find between three and four contact attempts is the sweet spot when trying to get members to renew. They use different types of contact as well. This blend is important. While email is the most common starting point and the most successful touch point, only 15% of the associations with over 80% retention do NOT use the phone. In other words, 85% find that a phone call is a very useful, personal and necessary renewal tool for retention.

11. Call Your Members More Often For Improvements All Over

While 49% of the most successful associations feel that the phone is best renewal tool, the phone is also useful in other ways. Phone calls are the best way to create brand awareness in members as well. It adds a personal element to the association. The phone is also a powerful resource when trying to call members to action for a new association initiative, such as a conference, a webinar, or for a networking event.

12. Improve Your Email Touch Points

Though this may seem obvious, associations looking to improve retention rates should place a larger focus on the content and quality of emails. This is because the associations with great retention rates see much better open rates for emails than the others. It is integral that associations find a way to ensure members see a benefit to each email touch point and have a desire to open them.

13. Offer Renewal Payment Plans in Installments

Within the most successful group of associations, grace and flexibility are extremely common. The majority of these associations offer members the chance to pay dues as part of an installment plan (a percentage almost twice as high as those that require a lump sum).

14. Allow a Grace Period After Memberships Expire

One of the largest majorities within the successful associations in the Benchmark Report is witnessed in the grace period allowed after a membership expires. An astounding 83% of these associations allow members to receive member benefits for a significant period of time after their membership has run its course. Of that group, 70% give three months of grace. This is important because it allows members more time to reconsider letting their membership expire.

15. Don’t Give Up On Expired Memberships

Many successful associations find calling former members six months after the membership expired is a good time to attempt to recover former members. Offering these expired memberships discounts on the next year’s dues proves to be an effective strategy to inspire members to renew their membership.

Conclusion

Even though the focus of this best practices list is on member retention, there is a far-reaching and significant ripple effect demonstrated within the report. For instance, the associations that reported more than 80% renewals also experienced the greatest growth in both new memberships and overall five-year memberships. Interestingly, their growth isn’t the result of higher operating budgets, as the 80%+ group actually had a lower median operating than the associations with 60% retention or less. Another positive is that most of these successful associations found that raising member dues year over year (typically 10% or less) was completely acceptable for members.

Sources: The 2017 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report

The post Best Practices for Associations to Maintain Higher Membership Retention Rates appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

The digital world offers associations the ability to connect with members in ways that were never possible before. Memberships have improved and associations everywhere are benefitting, but many are still barely scratching the surface of what they have access to. While technology has given rise to more efficient member management, the true strength of the digital machine lies with the information being gathered beneath the surface. Associations have access to an incredible wealth of data. Every click and page view is tracked and is ready for analysis. Associations that use this information best are able to understand the why, where, what and how provided by members. Effective analysis leads to more effective action and that bodes well for everyone involved.
Here are five ways your association can take advantage of analytics.

Get the Most Out Your Association

Members are the key to any association’s success, but understanding what makes members tick can be a challenge. This is where analytics comes in. Member analytic tools take tracked member information such as member activity, demographics, page views, communication engagement, membership lifespans, and much more, and help associations put that information to use. This data can be monitored and observed for trends. Not only does the information allow associations to better understand their members and improve the membership by reinvesting in the things that work best and correcting or abandoning those that do not, but analytics also create a better understanding of the association as a whole.
Analytics provide associations with basic information that allows for the personalization and maximization of future sales materials, communications, and membership offerings, but they also help visualize and break down the various components of the association. Information is available on the percentages of turning website visits into leads, leads into customers, and/or communications into sales. Over time, each of these percentages can be turned into predictive scores, which help determine current and future success. Now, the association knows what their members truly want and knows what to expect from future efforts. Benefitting from analytics requires time, adaptation and reaction, but generating and responding to periodical reports and member trends enables associations to fine-tune their plan for success.

Expand Marketing Capabilities

Effective digital marketing is typically discovered through trial and error, but, with marketing analytic tools in tow, the errors are smaller and fewer. This is because the effectiveness of marketing efforts can be tracked and analyzed in significant detail. Analytic tools provide information on where website hits come from, what attracted them, and what did not work. Tools like these enable the association to communicate to leads and/or members appropriately. Based on the results of the association’s marketing efforts, leads and/or members are able to be grouped with other like-minded individuals. Grouping can be determined by the types of marketing they respond to, what they are interested in, and/or what stage in the membership or lead process they are currently in. This level of personalization eliminates redundancies in marketing and helps associations establish a more direct connection with the target. More importantly, predictive reports can then be generated to establish what is needed to reach associational goals or targets.

Improve Member Retention

Similar to marketing, member retention is aided by analytics in presenting associations with a clear picture of what works, what does not, in what way it works or doesn’t work, and why. By having detailed knowledge of how members react to retention communications, who left the association, and why, associations can adapt and respond appropriately, correcting issues early on. Once again, analytic tools are extremely useful for member retention. Over time, you can create an accurate visualization of membership trends. This helps associations to identify members that are on the path to unsubscribing well before they ever get to that point, all based on patterned activity that follows members who went that route in the past. Associations can also determine how long members will stay in the organization and even have an idea of how active members will be based on their current level of activity. With such detailed information, associations can act rather than react.

Enhance Your Events

With all this information available regarding the association, members, leads, and renewals, it is inevitable that an association’s events also benefit from analytics. The information provided by marketing campaign analytics, for example, is likely every bit as useful in an event setting. Now, considering the face-to-face component, there is bound to be some differences, but the content that turned leads into members online should still be effective in person. But analytics play a much larger role in events than this. With access to the information provided by mobile event apps and trackers, social media information, attendee polls and digital response forums, event planning is turning into a precise art. Simply put, associations have access to what attendees respond to and want to see and can personalize the event specifically for the guests. Throughout the event, all present attendee data is gathered and analyzed and event exhibitors can even adapt and react on the fly.

Understand Associational Growth

At this point, it may seem obvious that analytics helps increase associational growth. After all, knowing completely the strengths and weaknesses of an association, improving marketing and retention strategies, and enhancing events are bound to help an association grow, but there is more to it than that. While, at the most basic level, member analytics can identify what areas are an association’s worst and why. They can also determine what level of commitment an association should place on certain efforts based on the return on investment. Even more importantly, growth is almost never linear and endless. As with anything, there are peaks, valleys, and plateaus with membership and associational expansion. Analytics help associations understand the growth it experiences and predicts where it will lead.

The post How Your Association Can Take Advantage of Website and Member Analytics appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.