Strategies for Driving Member & Event Engagement

The following are my notes that I thought were worth sharing from a great session on the title of this blog post I attended presented by Results Direct and their team.

First, they started out with suggesting you need to create an engagement strategy.

Understanding the needs of your members and meet them where they are is a great place to start.

Here are their 10 strategies:

Engagement Strategy 1

Multi-channel communications – email has been the main way your members have gotten information from you.  Now it’s time to think of multi platforms (think social media) where you can connect with your members or prospective members.  A large number are engaging on mobile.

Engagement Strategy 2

Personalization – get to know your members and communicate with them directly where they are (think the different generations) and how they want to receive your organizations information.  

Engagement Strategy 3

Year-round networking and community – staying connected is key in keeping your members engaged and will help your retention.  Mobile communications is a great way to keep them engaged.  Create forums where they communicate with each other (think listservs).

Engagement Strategy 4

The medium is the message – meet the member where they are.  Manage your message and how you are distributing that information.

Engagement Strategy 5

Deliver content in the format members want – is it written, video, audio?  Do you use different digital formats to reach your members and prospects?

Engagement Strategy 6

Create experiences – shared experiences with your members.  Your role is to facilitate this process.  When in person, this is where you need to take full advantage of creating an experience your members will tell their peers (think memories).

Engagement Strategy 7

Incentivize engagement – reward behavior you want your members to do on a regular basis.  You have to decide what reward you want to give out (free meeting registration, gift card, etc).

Engagement Strategy 8

Engage members before, during and after events – think about continuing to push relevant content to your members through a mobile channel.  That is the easiest way to stay connected to your member throughout the year.  Have you thought about creating an app for your meeting

Engagement Strategy 9

Capture moments of time – use technology to get you content to your members.  People’s attention spans has shrunk.  So, think about less is more in your communications.  Another way to think of it, how can your members consume your information on the go!

Engagement Strategy 10

Create an integrated engagement strategy – create a dashboard on where you are creating your content and events and make sure they are integrated.  Decide what is successful for you. Some people may call it the member journey and you’re creating the road map for them to engage.

They ended with the comment that the goal of all these strategies is to engage your members which translates into higher retention numbers.

For more information from Results Direct go HERE.

Membership Marketing Plans

What is the goal of your membership marketing plan?

As we all know, our organizations provide benefits and services to our members, such as networking, advocacy, education, and promotion.

Your goal with your membership marketing plan should be to increase your membership base and retention rate by implementing effective marketing strategies that address the needs and interests of your target audience.

Our target audience consists of small and medium-sized businesses in various industries and sectors, as well as professionals and entrepreneurs who seek to grow their businesses and careers.

Your primary products are your membership packages, which offer different levels of benefits and access to the Chamber’s resources and events.

As you’re creating your annual marketing plan, are you focusing on the market trends and opportunities in your community?  You may want to consider the following in serving your members and prospective members:

• The demand for business support and guidance in the post-pandemic economy.

• The increased use of digital and social media platforms for business communication and promotion.

• The need for local and regional collaboration and advocacy among businesses and stakeholders.

• The desire for personal and professional development and learning opportunities.

In addition, does your membership marketing plan include the following objectives:

• To increase the awareness and visibility of the Chamber and its benefits among potential and existing members, using various marketing venues, such as the Chamber’s website, social media, community events, and print advertising.

• To create and deliver value-added content and programs that showcase the Chamber’s expertise and thought leadership, such as webinars, podcasts, newsletters, blogs, and workshops.

• To engage and nurture relationships with potential and existing members, using personalized and segmented communication and outreach, such as email marketing, surveys, testimonials, and referrals.

• To incentivize and reward membership acquisition and retention, using discounts, promotions, loyalty programs, and recognition awards.

And make sure to measure your membership marketing plan goals:

• To increase the membership base by X percent in the next year, resulting in an additional revenue stream of $X.

• To increase the membership retention rate by X% in the next year, resulting in a reduced attrition rate of X%.

• To increase member satisfaction and value rate by X%.

Your membership marketing plan should be a comprehensive and strategic approach to achieving your membership goals and enhancing your reputation (think Your Brand – for two previous blog post on branding go HERE and HERE) and value proposition in the market.

Your plan should also be aligned with your mission, vision, and values, and reflects your commitment to serving your members and the community.
 
For a great resource on membership marketing visit Marketing General HERE