It’s tough enough to be a speaker or event planner when a meeting or conference is live and in-person, but how do you know if your virtual conference “attendees” are really engaged in the discussion or presentation?
Remember to start with a foundation of compelling content and excellent production quality, just as you would do with a live event. An...
One of the greatest benefits of association membership is the ability to reach out to similar types of businesses for advice on operational issues, strategies, or vendors. Online communities are a good avenue for members to share knowledge, but they may only benefit a small, narrowly defined group of members.
If your association is not large enough to support a...
It does not matter how many programs your association offers, how many discounts are in your vendor referral program, or how well produced your magazine is if member interactions with association staff are less than ideal.
Unfortunately, the challenge for all association leaders, and their member organizations as well, is the fact that it is hard to retain talented, ambitious,...
Association publication editors have a tough job. Their bosses and their members want an engaging, attractive magazine that highlights issues of concern as well as members on all pages. Unfortunately, this means the obligatory posed pictures of people receiving plaques, members presenting checks to community organizations, and rows of employees standing in front of a sign.
Photographs that show activities...
Over 50% of association executives surveyed by Association Laboratory in March 2020 predicted that they would invest more in producing virtual conferences and educational events.
Travel and other pandemic-related restrictions forced associations to switch to virtual meetings, conferences, and training classes overnight. The glitches and misses that were encountered in these efforts were accepted as part of the learning curve,...
“One of the most overlooked benefits of a trade association is the advocacy.” This quote from a Forbes article that is over six years old is still accurate.
The benefits that usually receive the most attention are conferences, educational seminars, networking opportunities, and discounts on supplies and services. Although many member benefit lists may include advocacy, the association’s lobbying and...
One of the most popular sections in a college alumni magazine is the update on alumni achievements, faculty accomplishments and classmates’ personal news. Fifty-six percent of Dickinson College alumni place news about classmates and faculty at the top of their list. Furman University alumni demonstrate the effect that reading about others who shared their experience can have with 87%...
Retention is important for all types of organizations. Retailers want to retain loyal customers, universities want to retain students beyond freshman year, employers want to retain top talent, and associations and nonprofit organizations want to retain existing members.
The reason is simple – it costs less to retain a customer, student, employee, or member than to identify, recruit, and onboard...
Member retention is usually one of the top concerns for all association executives, but 2020 has exacerbated the challenge of renewing memberships.
In a recent report, Marketing General Incorporated’s 12th annual Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, identifies the top reasons for member non-renewals and highlights some historical information that gives hope to associations.
Although the survey of 972 association executives was conducted...
A few years ago, infographics dominated social media, publication content, marketing tools, and classroom handouts. Although infographics are not the trendy “go-to” that they once were, they are still an effective way to present complex, detailed information that catches the eye and leads the audience to websites, magazines, news centers, or other forums that present full, detailed information.
In fact,...
