11/16/2021

Want Better Member Engagement?

Start by thinking small

While no one has yet to invent a truly magical crystal ball, there is a key data metric that association professionals can count on to predict membership renewals: engagement. If members are actively participating in community boards, webinars and networking events all year long, there is a good chance they’ll not only be re-upping, but will likely take an active role in recruiting the next generation of members.

Since engagement plays a vital role in an association’s revenue and overall health, it has become a focal point for marketing pros (not to mention a source of great stress). In fact, according to the 2021 Association Communications Benchmarking Report—a survey of nearly 500 leaders of North American trade associations, professional societies and association management companies, 56 percent of respondents believe that they could get better engagement results by targeting their audiences more effectively, but feel stymied by the size of the task and the minimal resources at their disposal.

Meghan Architect, marketing and communications director at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. For the entirety of her first year, she was a one-person department in an organization devoted to supporting 9-1-1 telecommunicators and other public safety communications professionals. Her advice for other association professionals who want to improve their targeting but feel stretched too thin? “Start small and go from there.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.