Leveraging the Power of AI for Chamber Communications

This is the third in a series of blog posts on using Artificial intelligence (AI) at our chamber to enhance your program of work in communicating with your members and non-members alike.

AI can be leveraged by chambers of commerce to improve their communications in a number of ways.

Here are a few examples:

• Personalize communications: AI can be used to personalize communications with members, such as email newsletters and event invitations. This can help to keep members engaged and informed about the chamber's activities.
• Automate communications tasks: AI can be used to automate a variety of communications tasks, such as sending email newsletters, creating social media posts, and managing ad campaigns. This can free up staff time to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Analyze data to improve communications decisions: AI can be used to analyze data about communications campaigns, such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and website traffic. This information can be used to make better decisions about how to allocate communications resources and improve the effectiveness of communications campaigns.
• Create and deliver content: AI can be used to create and deliver content that is relevant and engaging to members. This can include articles, blog posts, videos, and other types of content.

Overall, AI has the potential to be a powerful tool for chambers of commerce to improve their communications. By leveraging AI, chambers can save time, improve efficiency, and reach a wider audience.

Here are some additional ways that chambers of commerce can leverage AI for communications:

• Use AI to create chatbots that can answer member questions and provide support.
• Use AI to track member engagement with chamber content and events.
• Use AI to predict which members are most likely to renew their memberships.
• Use AI to identify new opportunities for collaboration between chamber members.

By leveraging AI, chambers of commerce can improve their communications efforts and reach their target audiences more effectively. This can help chambers to grow their membership base, attract new businesses to the community, and support the economic development of their region.

Here are some specific examples of how AI can be used for chamber communications:

• Personalized email newsletters: AI can be used to segment email lists and send personalized newsletters to members based on their interests and demographics. This can help to ensure that members only receive content that is relevant to them, which can improve engagement and click-through rates.
• Automated social media posts: AI can be used to schedule and post social media content automatically. This can free up staff time to focus on other tasks, and it can help to ensure that the chamber is consistently active on social media.
• Chatbots: AI chatbots can be used to answer member questions and provide support 24/7. This can help to improve member satisfaction and reduce the workload on staff.
• Content analysis: AI can be used to analyze content that is being shared on social media and in the news. This can help the chamber to identify trends and opportunities, and to create content that is more likely to resonate with its target audience.
• Predictive analytics: AI can be used to predict which members are most likely to renew their memberships, or which businesses are most likely to relocate to the community. This information can be used to target marketing and outreach efforts more effectively.

By leveraging AI, chambers of commerce can improve their communications and reach their target audiences more effectively. This can help chambers to grow their membership base, attract new businesses to the community, and support the economic development of their region.

Ten Tips to Prepare You When Disaster Strikes Your Community

The following post are my notes from a webinar this past Fall held by Institute for Organization Management faculty member Diane Probst, IOM, CCE on the title of this blog. 

She started out by stating the disaster can be anything from a major storm, their experience, to an active shooter, etc.

She talked about the two stages that come with every disaster:

The Crisis Phase

• Your community is flooded with people to help.  Government and volunteers from across the country will show up.  It’s all about cleanup, money, and getting the community going again.

The Long-term Recovery Phase

• You will probably need to hire people who can help you, identify sources of funding, develop a plan and communicate what you’re doing with your community, just to name a few.

She went on to talk about the 10 tips or “Lessons Learned” from their experience.

1. Leaders stepping up to lead - stay in your lane.  Do what you’re good at.
2. Unified “one voice” communication – stick to the facts and communicate on a regular basis.
3. GoFundMe – in their case, they went from $2K to $1.4 million in 60 days in unsolicited funds.  The key is to have a process in place to receive and disburse those funds.  And who will decide where those funds go.
4. The Chamber – stay laser focused on your role and you will persevere.  They also celebrated business re-openings to build support in the community.
5. Social Media Whirlwind – the key here is to have a running list of what you’re doing so you can track what you’re saying.  It’s also key to put together a great communications team that can execute your plan.  This is how you will tell you story on how your community is opening up for business.
6. The Disaster after the Disaster – you need to identify where you will house all the donation items that are sent your way (think truckloads of water, etc.).  Diane talked about how the faith-based organizations are a good resource for you to tap into and help in the phase of your recovery.
7. Economic Revitalization Must be Quick – identify and promote the economic activity that’s going on in your community.  They focused on back to business activities (concert, TV and radio appearances, etc.).
8. Failure to plan is a plan for failure – a long-term recovery plan is so important.  This plan needs to identify who will do what when it comes to implementation.
9. Find Healthy Happiness – take care of yourself, physically, spiritually, and mentally.  Embrace the process of getting your community back to business.  She couldn’t emphasize enough, “Take Care of Yourself.”
10. Mistakes & Move On – be confident on your work even when others might doubt you, don’t let that affect you, you will weather the storm.

Her final comment: Tell Your Story!

For resources on disaster management click HERE for how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce can help. 

Are Your Emails Really Member-focused?

I recently attended a webinar led by Bill Graham, Graham Corporate Communications and Institute for Organization Management faculty member.

He started with the concept that you need to focus on what your members are worried about and connect your email to their world.

Bill always reminds his audiences that communication is not speaking or sending emails, those are activities.  "Communication is a result; it's what you get into their head."  “Think of communication as a one-way street. Nobody has to listen.”

He went on to talk about specifics as it relates to the subject line, introduction, body and the close of your email.

Subject line: It’s the penthouse of the email real estate, the most valuable, so find a unique perspective that engages the receiver.

Introduction: Your first words matter because they see them on your phone, so be personable, respectful, friendly and helpful.  Focus on them not you.

Body: Focus like a trusted advisor, not like a salesperson.  You are taking up their time.  It should be worth their time, not worth your time.

Close: With a “Call to Action” - if they got to the end, they want an action step, so ask them to: attend a meeting, make a decision, attend a conference call, etc.

He also gave us some general email rules to follow:

• More is seldom more;
• Positives turn on, negatives turn off;
• Simple is memorable, complex is forgettable;
• Avoid cliches, they always sound like autopilot; and
• Be personable and comfortably friendly...at a respectful distance.

Some general tips throughout his presentation that he gave that I had to write down because I think they are repeatable:

• Before you speak...WAIT - ask yourself: "Why Am I Talking!
• Change your pronouns to: you/your, or even: they/their.  Using first person pronouns: I/my/we/our, is talking about your world, not their world.
• Are you a trusted advisor?

The final bullet, in my opinion, was his main message - “are you a trusted advisor?”

Bill suggests you’re a trusted advisor if you:

• Engage with your members;
• Ask questions and listen to your members;
• Are interested in your member’s needs; and
• You focus on long-term relationships...not short-term gains.

In closing, and focusing on the suggestions from Bill Graham and the title of this blog post, your emails should focus on the following:

• Subject Line - engage the receiver.
• Introduction - focus on them…they see the first few words.
• Body - be a trusted advisor and focus on their world, their results: reasons, motives and goals.
• Close - end the email with a “Call to Action.”

If it’s not about their world...it’s likely not communicated...it’s just NOISE.

Be a trusted advisor and keep your emails member-focused!

Make Your “Wow” Message Repeatable!

Bill Graham, Graham Corporate Communications, offered the following comments and suggestions at a recent seminar he led at a membership and marketing conference that I attended.

He also happens to be a faculty member at the Institute for Organization Management program.

His opening statement - communications is not speaking, writing, debating, meeting - those are activities. Communication is a result - did I get an idea in your head?

Communication is not a two way street.  It’s one way!

"Wow" messages have/are:

• New information: What’s new?
• Emotionally connected: Who cares?
• Actionable: What now?

Memorable messages - what are your six words that you use to make a memorable message?

Repeatable messages:

• If they remember what you said, they may join.
• If they repeat what you said; they are recruiting for you.

Memorable vs Repeatable - memorable is good, repeatable is better...think buy vs market for you, join/recruit.

Elements of a repeatable message:

• Sensory - help them, see, hear, taste, touch or smell
• Profound - memorable, desirable
• Engaging - tease, awaken, surprise
• Emotional - make them care
• Data-driven - use verifiably human info
• Story-based: testimonials, examples

How to create a story in 5 Steps

1. Set up the high-stakes situation
2. Know what the main character wants
3. Make your audience care
4. Have a life-changing “wow” moment
5. Explain value: How does it help?

At the end of the day, are your people remembering your messages and better yet, are they repeating your message?

Good luck in creating your memorable and repeatable messages!

Storytelling: Connect and Engage

I recently attended a seminar, on the title of this blog, conducted by Carol Buckland with The Communication Center.

This blog post are based on my notes from her presentation.

She started with the six powerful words – let me tell you a story!

Telling stories affects different parts of your brain and that’s why they are remembered.

Studies suggest 90 percent audience retention using stories

An old adage but is still true today

• Tell them what you’re going to tell them
• Tell them
• Tell them again

Crafting messages using key facts/statistics – or said a different way, proof points is a sound way to go when shaping your story.

The following "Story Formula" was handed out by Carol and is a great tool to use when constructing your STORIES.

• Select - a compelling story from your personal or professional life
• Tailor - it for your audience
• Offer - useful content: a lesson, inspiration, etc.
• Relate - it to the main message of your presentation
• Illustrate - your point with unique details
• Edit - fiercely keep it clear and concise
• Seal - the deal with a strong takeaway

What is the purpose of your story? You must have a purpose!

You must also know your audience – their knowledge, attitudes, expectations, in order to tell a story that will connect and engage.

Expectations is key, you must deliver on this – think of the radio station we all listen to, WIIFM – what’s in it for me!

The Story - can your audience relate?  Does it reinforce your goal?

Imagine is a great word to start a story!  Fill in with details.  Talk about senses (smell, sound, etc.), sequence (start at the end) and always edit your story.

Storytelling is a performance – be engaging, be expressive, be passionate and be memorable.  Her final comment:

• Start strong;
• Finish strong; and
• Connect the dots

For a resource on storytelling go HERE.

Good luck!

Communicating with Confidence

Carol Vernon, founder and principal, Communications Matter, conducted a great seminar on the title of this blog, communicating with confidence.

Her opening statement - "communications matter!"

If you read any articles on the subject of communications you've probably come across these statistics and they are worth mentioning again.

Communication perception:

• Words - what we say - 7%
• Vocal - tone, rate, volume, pause - 38%
• Nonverbal - body language - 55%

While she talked about a number of communication principles - I want to focus on five she stressed:

1. Speak up at the right time - be strategic, don't be the first.
2. Stay on message - organize your thoughts first (what do they know, what do they want to know and then what do they need to know, and what do I want them to know).  Don’t do a data dump when communicating (think in three’s).
3. Adapt your communication style to fit the audience - a one size fits all approach will not serve you well.
4. Fine-tune your nonverbal language - what are you doing with your hands?  Are you using your eyes to make eye contact with your audience (whether it be one or many)?
5. Practice active listening skills - this is a key skill that all of us could work on.  Are you listening, understanding what is being said, and then responding in an appropriate way?

She went on to talk about the four different communication styles:

1. What - action oriented, direct and to the point, results oriented, purposeful - it’s all about the bottom line;
2. How - process-focused, detailed step by step, factual and data driven;
3. Who - people focused, relationship driven, communicative and more personal; and
4. Why - ideas-oriented, brainstorm, inquisitive, question conventional wisdom.

You need to be adaptive with all four of these styles. There is no right or wrong way.  But having a strong presence is key.  Do you move purposefully?  You need to be fully present and use your face, eyes, and body to command the room.

At the end of the day, communication skills are developed over time and we all can continue to learn and adapt as we go!

For more information about Carol go HERE.

Prospects That Have Gone Dark

I recently participated in a webinar on the title of this blog post conducted by JP Moery of The Moery Company.

For more information on JP or his company go HERE.

While he talked about a number of things you can do to re-engage that prospect that went dark, here's what I took away from the webinar.

First, are they really a good prospect or just a name of a business on a sheet of paper?

Not all businesses will be interested in the work of the local chamber.  The key is to find the ones who are.  And oh by the way, it's ok if some businesses don't want to be members.

The key I've always said in past blog posts is getting the right members to engage with your chamber.

He also talked about having a formal sales pipeline for prospects and the ability to track your interactions?  Are you tracking your communications with your prospective members in some way?  Some organizations are using salesforce or another customer management system (CMS) tools to track, keep notes and plan their outreach?

Another tip from JP, in addition to tracking your interactions, it's important to have a list of answers to the most common responses on why they are objecting to become members.

To that end, develop a set of talking points for common objections.  We've all heard them before, right?

• Too expensive - you can't afford not to be a member - show value - you have different price points to get them involved, it all depends on what level (think tiered dues) they want to engage and sell that membership.

• Too much time - don't give them too much information and overwhelm them - focus on what they want or what they would value and laser focus on that specific issue.  It's about what they need and not what you want to sell.

• Send me the information - are they just using this as a way to get you off the phone or off their premises.  Your response, I only want to send you information that you need to solve a specific problem or help you generate business.  Ask them what that might be and tell them you’ll send it right away.

Another tip mentioned as an ongoing way to stay connected to your prospects is to send teasers to your prospects - a webinar announcement, a white paper, an action item to keep your chamber on their radar screen as a potential member.  Or an invite, as a guest, to an upcoming program is another tact you can use.

As a side bar, I recently ran across an app (Slydial) that allows you to automatically leave a phone message on a prospects cell phone with membership information and ask them to call you back if interested.

Why is this exciting?

You can tailor your pitch on a specific issue that they may be interested in and it allows them to respond to you on their timetable.  And, if they call you back, you know they're interested, or as we like to say, a hot lead!

And by the way, this is not a robo call, it's an individually left message by your membership sales staff.

A final thought - membership recruitment is an ongoing process and the more touch points you have with a prospect will only help you build a relationship that will hopefully end in a membership, if not now, in the future!

Give a Great Speech: Think EATS

Did I capture your attention?

When thinking about giving a speech, you really need to think about the fundamentals of giving a good/great speech!

I recently attended a seminar with Jeff Porro, a specialist in communications, and his talk was spot on!  For more information on Jeff go HERE.

He laid out his thoughts on giving a great speech using the EATS theory!

EATS

• Event - research the group and the specific event.  Understand what the group expects to get out of your presentation.

• Audience - who's attending and what is the demographic?  Millenneals, X, Y, or is it the Boomers?  Or is it all of the above?

• Theme - what's the theme of the event?  What is their expectation?  At the end of the day, it's what they want is what you need to deliver.  Figure out what that is and knock it out of the park!

• Speaker - that's you!  Obviously, you're experienced or they wouldn't have invited you to address the group.  Relax, create your story for this group and deliver the goods!

Now let's get to the speech.  Make your speech personal (tell a story about yourself at the beginning of your speech).

Use stories not statistics.  He said he gets a lot of push back here - but stories about statistics, is the way to go.  People remember stories, not statistics.

Repeat yourself REPEATEDLY - rule of three is another tip I gained at Jeff's presentation.  Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and finish with what you've told them.

He also talked about how conflict can be a good thing in a speech.  Most people are not comfortable with this concept, but once you've mastered it, he says it's the way to go!

He ended his presentation with a couple of odds and ends: don't tell a joke to start - tell a story about yourself instead.  And end your speech with the facts and the story that you began with.

For more information on giving great speeches go to Jeff Porro's website HERE or for a great article titled 8 Tips on Giving a presentation Like a Pro from Entrepreneur Magazine go HERE.

Communicating Your Message with Impact

Institute faculty member Tony Rubleski at Mind Capture taught the COPE theory of communications, "Create Once Publish Everywhere!"

I recently read an article on using three words to describe your business (see that previous blog post HERE).

In addition, I wrote another blog post on effective messaging that will resonate with your audience based on an interview that AssociationNow did with James Carville.  You can find that HERE.

And by the way, right or wrong, left or right, James Carville knows what he's talking about when it comes to communications.

Put another way, keep it simple, or put another way, less is more!

I totally agree that the key is to keep your message consistent over all your communication vehicles and keep it simple.

Which goes back to the opening sentence of this blog post.

COPE!

Don't recreate the wheel with the different social media platforms you may be working on to get your message out.

"Create Once Publish Everywhere."  COPE!

Communications: Set Your Chamber Apart

After being in the non-profit business for more than 20 years, if there's one thing that sets one chamber or association above the other is the way they are communicating their story.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of having a great communications team on your staff.

A consistent message on the activities of your chamber is critical to position you as the leader in the community.

You've all heard the phrase: "if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a noise?"

Well, the same is true for your chamber.  If you're not promoting what you're doing on behalf of your members they will not, nor will the community, have any idea the role your chamber is playing in the success of the community.

Remember, if it's true, it's not bragging!

Focus on what your chamber stands for (advocacy, economic development, community) and communicate that to your members and non-members alike through all of your communication vehicles.

Or as Tony Rubleski would say, use the COPE method – “create once publish everywhere!”

If that's not enough, how about Bill Graham's comment at a recent educational session I attended:

"Communication is not an activity, it's a result." It's about "what I leave in your head."

Everyone wants to be associated with a winner!  There are 7,000 chambers out there.  Don't you want to stand above the rest?

Communicate.  Communicate.  Communicate.

Communicate the winning programs of your chamber and how you're serving your members better than anyone else.

Something to think/talk about!

Chamber Board and Staff Communications

It’s important that board members and the chief staff executive communicate on a regular basis.

Only you know what works best for your organization.

Here are a few examples that have worked for successful chamber executives over the years with their volunteers:

• Weekly call
• Weekly or monthly president’s letter
• Monthly or quarterly board meeting
• Annual Report

The list could go on.  The key is that you’ve set-up a mechanism that allows for an open dialogue between the board, the members and the staff.

In order to do that, I think communication and transparency are the key elements for you to be successful.

If all three are on the same page, the chamber and the community will be the beneficiaries.

And you’ll be seen as a leader in the community.  Put another way, that’s job security!

For resources on board and staff communications go HERE and HERE.