The weekly list of free educational events for the association community…
Ernie Smith at Associations Now provides really smart advice on SEO (search engine optimization) for your website and blog based on Google algorithm changes over the last few years. You can’t keep doing what you’ve always done because those old things may no longer work (and could hurt your rankings in some cases), and you need to comply with Google’s new demands.
Congratulations, you’ve got a great idea for a new online course. How do you know it will work? WBT Systems explains how to validate an online course idea to make sure there’s market demand for it.
“Risk aversion, weak customer focus, and siloed mind-sets have long bedeviled organizations. In a digital world, solving these cultural problems is no longer optional,” says McKinsey. They discuss each of these familiar-to-associations challenges and provide “a focused set of reinforcing practices to jump-start change.”
When choosing technology, one of the criteria is always user experience. In the case of event apps, you have two groups of users to consider, each with different needs: event attendees and event planners. Eventpedia explains what app features and functions you should have to make the planner’s life easier.
In a new series of posts, rasa.io is sharing three ways associations can easily and affordably experiment with AI. This week’s explains why AI is suddenly everywhere and how associations can use AI-powered chatbots to engage with website visitors.
Some quick hits before we get to the list of next week’s free webinars:
- My old home, Washington DC, is featured in this article: White collar workers are fleeing their desks to become artisans. (The Economist’s 1843)
- New research shows a couple of glasses of wine a day can actually help clean the mind of toxins. (University of Rochester Medical Center)
- This is the best thing you’ll look at all day: the UPS Dogs Instagram account. You must click. (Instagram)
Check out my Grabbing the Gusto blog if you’d like to see the list of recipes I’ve made this week or plan to make in the coming weeks, and my list of other recommended fiction and non-fiction ebooks on sale.
Here’s the list of free professional development events for the association community scheduled for next week. If your organization has a webinar scheduled in the near future, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.
Tue 2/13 at 12 p.m.* – Chapter Roundtable in Washington DC
Connect with fellow Component/Chapter Relations Professionals (CRPs) to network and discuss current chapter challenges, such as how to measure and increase the health of chapters; best practices for chapter operations (volunteer tools, processes, etc.); and how to get the right statistics to prevent national and chapter level members from leaving. Lunch provided. 1 CAE credit. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
*All times are Eastern Standard Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 2/13 at 12 p.m. – Employee Loyalty is Dead; Long Live Employee Loyalty
Employee loyalty isn’t dead, it just looks different, and can be infinitely more valuable to managers and companies who understand how to harness its power. Learn why we have so much inter-generational conflict in the workplace today and how to turn that conflict into a high-performing, positive dynamic that inspires longer tenures and lifetime employee loyalty. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Association Management Company (AMC) Section
Presenter: Lee Caraher, author, Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide to Making It Work at Work and The Boomerang Principle: Inspire Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees
Tue 2/13 at 1 p.m. – The 3 Keys to Successful Content Marketing
Discover the best ways to acquire new customers and improve retention and growth opportunities within your customer base. Learn what channels generate the most leads. More info/register.
Host: American Marketing Association
Presenters:
- Rachel Anderson, Director of Content Marketing, Screen Pilot
- Justin McHeffey, Product Marketing Manager, ReadyTalk
Tue 2/13 at 2 p.m. – Building Change-Agent Events – Part 1
Whether large or small, building impactful, change-agent events starts with a defined strategy, mission and purpose as well as incorporation of the five senses. This two-part series will explore how a public-private partnership built a series of symposiums to create demand for their research and strengthen their industry leadership. Learn the importance of defining the mission and purpose, how to choose the right partners, and how the venue and format can breathe life into the event. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Jennifer D. Collins, CMP, President & CEO, JDC Event
Wed 2/14 at 12 p.m. – Chapter Roundtable in Alexandria VA
Connect with fellow Component/Chapter Relations Professionals (CRPs) to network and discuss current chapter challenges, such as how to measure and increase the health of chapters; best practices for chapter operations (volunteer tools, processes, etc.); and how to get the right statistics to prevent national and chapter level members from leaving. Lunch provided. 1 CAE credit. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Wed 2/14 at 1 p.m. – 5 Tips to Make Mobile Event App Adoption Easy As Pie
Learn how to use sustainability goals to promote app usage; how to use engagement features so that attendees get the most out of your app and your event; why behavior types are important to look at to ensure you are providing what your attendees need in order to adopt; and why social is important and how to use it to increase adoption. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Meetings Today
Presenter: Myllisa Patterson, Director of Marketing, CrowdCompass by Cvent
Thu 2/15 at 12 p.m. – Chapter Roundtable in Reston VA
Connect with fellow Component/Chapter Relations Professionals (CRPs) to network and discuss current chapter challenges, such as how to measure and increase the health of chapters; best practices for chapter operations (volunteer tools, processes, etc.); and how to get the right statistics to prevent national and chapter level members from leaving. Lunch provided. 1 CAE credit. Location: Reston VA. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Thu 2/15 at 12 p.m./12:30 p.m. – Nonprofit Mergers, Alliances, and Joint Ventures: Options, Best Practices, and Practical Tips (virtual or Washington DC)
Learn some of the primary means by which nonprofits frequently combine, affiliate, or come together: mergers, consolidations, asset transfers, dissolutions, federations, parent-subsidiary relationships, management company model, partnerships, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. Find out what each means with examples. Learn about proven negotiation strategies; how sometimes “living together before getting married” is the best approach; common pitfalls, roadblocks, and elements of success and failure; and key benefits, detriments, and primary considerations that come into play with each option. Location: virtual or Washington DC. More info/register.
Host: Venable LLP
Presenters:
- George Constantine, Esq. (moderator), Partner and Co-Chair of the Nonprofit Organizations Practice, Venable LLP
- Andrew L. Steinberg, Esq., Associate, Nonprofit Organizations Practice, Venable LLP
- Thomas Dente, President & CEO, Humentum (formerly InsideNGO)
- Scott Cotenoff, Partner, La Piana Consulting
Thu 2/15 at 1 p.m. – It’s Time to Go Full Frontal
Learn how to drive transformative thinking by effectively leveraging your frontal lobe. Find out how to train yourself to think more strategically and increase your productivity. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: CommPartners
Presenter: Jeff Hurt, Executive VP, Education & Engagement, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
Thu 2/15 at 2 p.m. – Building Change-Agent Events – Part 2
Whether large or small, building impactful, change-agent events starts with a defined strategy, mission and purpose as well as incorporation of the five senses. This two-part series will explore how a public-private partnership built a series of symposiums to create demand for their research and strengthen their industry leadership. Learn the importance of defining the mission and purpose, how to choose the right partners, and how the venue and format can breathe life into the event. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Jennifer D. Collins, CMP, President & CEO, JDC Event
Thu 2/15 at 2 p.m. – How to Find & Negotiate with the Right Speaker for Your Event
Learn eight basic ways to find the right speaker, eight ways to know that the speaker you have identified will be easy to work with and will please your audience members, and more than 30 negotiation strategies so that both you and the speaker can come to agreement. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenter: veteran speaker Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC
Fri 2/16 at 1 p.m. – AMS or CRM: What Is Best for You?
Learn about the AMS and CRM technologies, their similarities and their differences. Hear from two associations who recently went through a selection process—one selected a traditional AMS and one selected CRM. Each of these case studies will highlight the decision process they went through and why they determined that their selection was best for their organization. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Membership Section
Presenters:
- Joanne Rang, President, Information Technology Advisory Group (ITAG)
- Michael Woodward, Deputy Executive Director, American Association of Physicists of Medicine
- Charles Redding, CIO, The Internal Institute of Auditors
That’s it for now. If you can’t attend a live webinar, go ahead and register if the topic interests you. Most webinar hosts send registrants a link to the recording.
Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter.
Creative Commons licensed photo by Andrew Preble on Unsplash
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