The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
The Atlantic takes a look at the death of higher education due to declining enrollment. As a result, many colleges are turning their attention to the adult/lifelong learning market—the same market associations serve. A few years ago I came up with some crazy ideas about how associations could transform higher education. They don’t seem so crazy now.
Another smarty pants who says GDPR has a silver lining—this time it’s Robert Rose from the Content Marketing Institute. He says, “It is the biggest opportunity in more than a decade for content marketers to become strategic.” Makes sense.
WBT Systems explains why the traditional way of collecting online student feedback using evaluation forms isn’t doing the job. They share seven ways to get more useful feedback about online courses, including advice from Dr. Will Thalheimer about better questions to ask on those evaluations.
Although I’m getting tired of all the hoo-hah surrounding failure, I do understand the need to talk about it. We can’t be afraid to experiment (and perhaps fail) and, most importantly, we must learn (and be able to apply what we learn) from failure. Check out Google’s practice of using “postmortems to carefully document and disseminate learnings from any mistakes.”
Some quick hits before we get to the list of free webinars:
- Nine simple ways to optimize your website for lead generation. (HubSpot)
- The six things you need to know from Social Media Examiner’s latest social marketing report. (Convince & Convert)
- 18 Gmail settings that will change how you think about your inbox. I haven’t tried any of these yet. Simple needs. Have you? (Fast Company)
- The ten most critical Google SEO success factors. (Zyppy)
Off-topic: Check out my Grabbing the Gusto blog for my post about the list of recipes I’ve made or plan to make in the coming week.
Now, the main event: free professional development events for the association community. If your organization has a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not product-centric.
Tue 6/19 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 6/19 at 12 p.m. – Point. Click. Predict.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are changing the way we interact with technology in our everyday lives. With more data now being generated than ever before, members expect personalized experiences. Learn how AI and Machine Learning can enable associations to automate this process and predict member behaviors. More info/register.
Host: Community Brands
Presenters:
- Sig VanDamme, Membership Software Evangelist, Community Brands
- Rob Banwar, Account Executive, Community Brands
Tue 6/19 at 1 p.m. – The Modern Event Marketer’s Toolkit
Learn which technologies actually translate into results for event marketers, when and where to apply the best tools for your job, how to implement digital tools at your organization quickly and effectively, and which emerging tech you need to be on the lookout for. More info/register.
Host: Feathr
Presenter: Aidan Augustin, co-founder and President, Feathr
Tue 6/19 at 2 p.m. – Trends in Gaming: Harnessing eSports to Lure a Younger Generation of Attendees
Learn how technology is changing the event industry by offering new ways to engage attendees, particularly a new generation. Video games have become a big business and the spaces being built to house tournaments are an opportunity to incorporate more interactive elements in meetings. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenter: Robert Rippee, Director of the Hospitality Lab at International Gaming Institute, UNLV
Tue 6/19 at 2:30 p.m. – Killer Strategies to Get New Sponsors through the Door
The hottest growth opportunity in the association space is sponsorship sales – but, the prevailing question remains, “How do we get new ones through the door?” Learn what attracts today’s sponsors, hear about a fantastic sales methodology, and discuss building partnerships that last. More info/register.
Host: The Moery Company
Presenter: J.P. Moery, founder and president, The Moery Company
Wed 6/20 at 9:30 a.m. – The GDPR Deadline Has Passed, Have You Done Enough? (Washington DC)
Whether you are already GDPR compliant, GDPR doesn’t affect you (for now), or somewhere in between, you can learn from the companies currently scrambling to put requirements and systems in place to become compliant. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.
Host: ATS
Presenter: William (Bill) Rankin, Compliance Manager, ATS
Wed 6/20 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 6/20 at 1 p.m. – Gamification for Events: How You Can Use Games to Increase Motivation, Learning and Networking
Learn why are games so motivating and addictive; how games can break down silos, drive engagement and build trust; the most common mistakes when creating a business game; examples of successful business games used in events; and some simple game ideas for your next event. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Event Manager Blog
Presenter: Bo Krüger, meeting designer and management consultant at Implement Consulting Group
Wed 6/20 at 1 p.m. – How to Rock Your Event Marketing
Learn how to decide what mix of email, social media, public relations, and other types of promotions can help your conference or tradeshow drive attendee registration and excitement. Find out how to compile a team that will execute great ideas. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Pathable
Wed 6/20 at 2 p.m. – PowerBI Special Interest Group for Associations and NonProfits
Full agenda to come, but we will do a show and tell of two or three valuable association/nonprofit visualizations and talk about the strategy and implementation behind them. More info/register.
Hosts: Julie Sciullo, CEO, Association Analytics, and Christin Berry, CAE, Senior Director, Business Analytics, ASAE
Wed 6/20 at 4 p.m. – Encryption 101 for Nonprofits
Encryption is rapidly becoming the preferred method for securing information. Learn the basics of how encryption works, how it’s currently used in web and email, and simple tools for using encryption to secure your devices and information. More info/register.
Host: Community IT
Presenter: Matt Eshleman, CTO, Community IT Innovators
Thu 6/21 at 11:30 a.m. – Intentional Leadership: Organizational Success through Aligning Your Aspirations with Your Operations (Alexandria VA Brown Bag)
Learn about the role of the leader in identifying and deploying purpose, the importance of culture, and on the responsibility of the leader to find the right balance between being a leader that suits both the organization and the individual leader. Hear about the difference between the operational and aspirational needs of an organization and the impacts of each on a leader’s pursuit of organizational outcomes. 1 CAE credit. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.
Organizer: Talisa Thomas-Hall
Presenter: Christopher Smith, Certified Change Management Professional, ChangeSmith
Thu 6/21 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 6/21 at 12 p.m. – DC-Area Partnership Professionals Network Idea Exchange (Washington DC)
It’s happened to many associations. A major corporate sponsor or partner announces at renewal time “we’re outta here”. Or, “your association isn’t in our budget for next year.” What happened? The company had been a supporter for many years and serves many of you members. More importantly, how can you fill this hole of tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars in the revenue budget? Join a discussion on how to help your corporate partners derive value, i.e., how to successfully recruit and retain corporate partners. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.
Organizer: Bruce Rosenthal, founder, Bruce Rosenthal Associates, LLC, and Partnership Professionals Network
Thu 6/21 at 12:30 p.m. – The Case for Leadership: Five Essential Practices
Learn about five essential leadership practices that have emerged based on thirty years of data from over 2 million global respondents. Data will be presented from a small cohort of leaders demonstrating how the group significantly improved their ability to get productive results using these five techniques. Evidence suggests that organizations whose leaders invest in understanding and utilizing these methods can outperform organizations whose leaders do not. 0.5 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: .orgCommunity
Presenter: John Forbes, Leadership and Business Improvement Consultant
Thu 6/21 at 2 p.m. – Successfully Navigating International Meetings
Learn the essentials of international meeting management and how to maneuver through the ever-changing landscape to achieve meeting goals and enhance the attendee experience. Understand trends that impact international meeting management. Review key questions to include on your RFP process and specific negotiations and contract tips. Learn strategies for shipping, custom brokers, technology, and attendee pre-planning information. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: MeetingsNet
Presenter: Terri Woodin, CMP, VP Marketing and Global Meeting Services, Meeting Sites Resources
Thu 6/21 at 2 p.m. – Generating Year-Round Revenue with Video
Learn about the strategies you’ll need to generate revenue year-round with video. Find out how to establish an online presence with your video content, identify ways to re-purpose your video content into continuing education opportunities, and design a plan on how to monetize live and on-demand content year round. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Shane Tracy, Director of Event Services, Sonic Foundry
Thu 6/21 at 2 p.m. – How to Make Your Event a Professional Matchmaking Hub with Mobile
People become repeat attendees when they see value in your event. What better value than meeting with a like-minded individual who is either interested in what they have to say, sell or helping them further their career? Get actionable tips on how matchmaking can help your attendees make stronger and longer lasting connections. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenter: Kristen Carvalho, Director of Events & Content Marketing
Tue 6/26 at 12:30 p.m. – GDPR and Associations …a Month Later
Host: KiKi L’Italien, founder, Amplified Growth
Guest: The Trust Bridge
Tue 6/26 at 2 p.m. – Member Engagement or Old Baggage?
There’s a member engagement channel that too many associations aren’t leveraging. In fact, this channel is more often referred to as baggage. There are a number of associations who have turned the baggage into asset. The baggage we’re referring to? Hint: it is your components. Call them chapters, affiliates, sections or any other name and the potential is member engagement, awareness, sales and growth. Hear a few stories, plus research culled from a survey of association CEOs and association benchmarking study. More info/register.
Host: KiKi L’Italien, founder, Amplified Growth
Guests:
- Charlotte Muylaert, Billhighway
- Peggy Hoffman, FASAE, CAE, Mariner Management
- Dresden Farrand, MPA, MPP, CAE, Vice President of Chapter Development,Independent Electrical Contractors
Wed 6/27 at 1 p.m. – How to Capture Lifelong Learners: A Holistic Approach to Continuing Education
How can continuing education providers make it easier for professionals to connect with the right resources and navigate through the lifelong learning process? Learn why and how to create a lifelong competency model, how to support self-guided and directed content paths, how AI helps enhance content recommendations and analyze results, the value of digital badges and credentialing, and pricing methods that lock-in long-term subscribers. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Talented Learning
Presenters:
- John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning
- Tamer Ali, SVP Education, Community Brands
- Jacob B. Gold, CAE, Director, Education Development, Community Associations Institute
- Kevin Pierce, MAT, Manager, Digital Learning, American Academy of Dermatology
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 free professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter.
Creative Commons licensed photo by Vincent van Zalinge via Unsplash.
Association Brain Food 