Social Media Redux

If you haven’t had a chance to read my previous post on social media Is it Just White Noise you should give it a quick read.

As stated before, it’s making noise.  We all need to continue to pay attention to what your members want and the channels they're using to communicate.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the fact that tomorrow will bring a new gadget, app, social media trinket with shining stars for you to engage in and potentially use as your new shiny tool to attract members.

I find myself chasing the elusive “next best thing” from time to time.  At the end of the day, you could probably keep up with all the different social media tools out there (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Ning/proprietary site, Wiki’s, blog, etc.), but you’d be exhausted and I’m not sure all your members are on all of these platforms.

My advice, pick the two or three that make the most sense for your chamber and focus on tying them together and communicate a succinct message while maintaining a consistent brand.

Communicate that brand using all communication vehicles you’re used to working with (i.e., website, newsletter, magazine) and add the two or three social media tools you’ve decided to focus your resources on to communicate with your members.

Social media is just one more avenue we can use to communicate effectively with our members.

Let’s not make it the only way we’re communicating with our members!

For additional resources on social media go HERE, HERE and HERE.

Do You Have a Membership Renewal Sales Plan?

Or do you just send that auto invoice and hope for the best?

Use this renewal process as an opportunity to further engage your member.

Most chambers I know have the customary 90, 60 or 30-day auto-invoice.

Do you call your members 120 days out to give them an update on the chamber’s accomplishments and how their dues contributed to that success?

Maybe this is the time to ask for an increase in their support of the organization!  If you give them a reason they just might do it.

BTW, who makes that call?  Here’s a great opportunity for your membership committee volunteers to do some real work.  Create a script for them.  Keep it simple.  Communicate what the chamber has done over the past year:

• Thank them for being a member;
• List three accomplishments on behalf of the business community; and
• Tell them why their financial support is so important.

…and then finish with “The Ask.”

Get a commitment for an upgrade to the next level of membership support and get that updated invoice in the mail.

For more information on membership retention visit ACCE’s website HERE.

What's Your Most Effective New Member Recruitment Channel?

If you’ve been in this business any length of time, I’m sure you’ve tried them all:

• Direct mail
• Member-get-a-member campaigns
• Personal visits
• Phone call campaigns
• Chamber sponsored events
• Email
• Social media

The first thing that you need to do is apply some metrics to your results. It’s important to segment your audience and stay focused, and set a frequency (number of times a year you’re going to communicate/pitch) that prospective member, which ever vehicle you to choose to communicate.

In my experience, the first four bullets represent the methods that most chambers historically have used in recruiting new members.

It’s important to find out what works best for you and your chamber.

Measure your efforts!

For more information on membership recruitment visit the Marketing General Inc. website HERE.

The New Chamber CEO

There have been many articles and blog posts on a new chamber CEO’s first 100 days. 

Some chambers may have a formal onboarding program for the new CEO with an official plan of action for the new chief staff over their first 100 days.

If they don’t, and knowing while there’s no one list that fits all, here’s a few suggestions that should help you get started in creating your to-do-list when you start that new job.

• Meet with every board member in their office;
• Review staff resumes and job descriptions;
• Meet with each staff person individually and as a group;
• Ask specific questions and listen to everybody;
• Don’t make any changes overnight; and
• Communicate your vision to all (staff, volunteers and the community).

Remember, you’ve heard the saying, if you’ve met one chamber, you’ve met one chamber.  Tailor the above suggestions to the needs of your specific opportunity.

Create your list today for your next opportunity.

Good luck!

For additional resources go HERE and HERE.

New Member Welcome Kits: What's in Your Box?

Ok, you’ve signed up that new member.  Now it’s time to engage that new member.

It’s time for the “new member” kit.  First impressions are very important.  Take the time to put some thought into your first new member communication.

Many new member kits include the following:

• Thank you letter and membership card;
• Certificate of membership;
• List of upcoming events; and
• A volunteer form.

Use this communication to ask the new member to become active.  Ask them to do three things:

• Register on your website for an upcoming program;
• Put their new member certificate in a prominent place for their customers to see; and
• Tell us what issues are important to you as a small business owner.

Now it’s your turn to continue that dialogue throughout the year.  First year retention is your goal.

Engage that member.  Retain that member!

Are You a Connector?

As chamber executives we wear many hats!

We’re advocates for our small business members, we educate our members through our programming, and let’s not forget that networking thing we do. 

Being a connector is the business of today’s chamber executive.

We connect people for many different reasons.  We connect people to:

• Solve problems
• Generate business
• Create a better community
• Educate/influence our government officials

I wrote about it in a previous blog post HERE - the statement that your network is your net worth.  If you have a strong network, you’ll be a great connector. 

The more people in your network, the more people you can connect.  That’s the position you want to be in as a chamber executive. 

Position yourself as the go to person in the business community!

What's The Top Reason Your Members Join?

We’re all busy running our chambers in an effort to deliver value to our members.

What’s your priority?

What do your members want?

I suspect new business opportunities and a friendly business environment.

As reported in a September 2012 toolkit by Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.), there are five main areas where chambers focus their resources:

• Advocacy
• Networking
• Business education
• Support the local community
• Economic development

I talked recently about staying focused when recruiting new members. You should equally stay focused on determining what your member’s want.

Ask them what they want, what they’re willing to pay for and then deliver on their answers.

Don’t be afraid to drop a program or two!

For more information on how to conduct a needs assessment and links to survey tools go to this previous blog post HERE.