The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
Tim Ebner at Associations Now talked to the American Society for Quality about some of the things they did to turn around declining membership. The first two tactics will definitely reap results—the third is a nice-to-have but you can live without it.
In the “great minds think alike” department, first we have Mitch Joel who says, “The future never comes when you can’t nail the present.” Get your data and systems in order first before you take on bigger initiatives—the old “you can’t build a house on a shaky foundation” principle.
And then, Wes Trochlil applies the “broken windows” policing theory to data management: “If you take care of the small things, the bigger problems are less likely to occur.” I’m painfully familiar with the tedious and time-consuming task of data cleansing, but it has to be done.
What does it take to be an association CIO in 2018? DelCor looks at how the CIO job is evolving in the association industry and elsewhere.
Is your LMS evolving? WBT Systems explains why your LMS provider (and other tech vendors) should have a product roadmap.
Rasa.io shares some of Dale Carnegie’s advice for personalizing membership. Well, okay, he didn’t exactly speak to membership but he did talk and write about communication tactics that should be applied to membership.
And a few more quick hits before we get to this week’s list of free webinars:
- 7 things lucky people do to succeed—aimed at writers but applies to anyone. Now you know my secrets. (Writing and Wellness)
- It’s time to speed up your website. Google’s new speed update works on a gradual scale, so small improvements matter. (Search Engine Roundtable)
- 5 critical components of fantastic lead-capture website forms. Yes, there is a right way to do these things. (HubSpot)
Off-topic: Check out my Grabbing the Gusto blog for my posts about the recipes I’ve made recently or plan to make in the coming week.
Here are the educational events scheduled for next week plus a few extras. 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 7/24 at 1 p.m.* – How Does Your Association Compare? The 2018 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report
Hear about the findings from the 10th anniversary edition of the Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Marketing General, Inc.
Presenters: Tony Rossell, Senior Vice President, and Matt Kerr, Research Manager, Marketing General, Inc.
*All times are Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 7/24 at 2 p.m. – Promote Your Content Effectively to Drive Member Engagement
So you’ve published a blog—now what? We see firsthand that members have extremely high interest in their association’s blogs, articles, and journal publications, but how can they engage with your news and articles if they don’t even know you have published content? Learn all about some effective methods to promote your internal content. More info/register.
Host: rasa.io
Tue 7/24 at 2 p.m. – Taking the In-Person Experience Online
In-person courses and conferences continue to be the top two learning formats for members. But according to research from Community Brands, preferences and opportunities to participate in live streaming and virtual conferences are on the rise—especially for younger members. Learn ways to translate the unique qualities and benefits of the in-person experience to a virtual audience, best practices and ideas to drive an engaging and interactive online experience, tips on delivering content and considering pricing (before, during, and after your onsite event), and key levers toward driving success and recognizing ROI. More info/register.
Host: Community Brands
Presenter: Jessica Lane, Director of Client Success, Community Brands
Tue 7/24 at 2 p.m. – How Small Organizations Win: How to do Big Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Learn how to assess your current marketing strategy, asset map your way to growth, how organizations like yours are winning with clear and focused marketing and how you can too. More info/register.
Host: Wild Apricot
Presenter: nonprofit marketing expert Kishshana Palmer
Tue 7/24 at 2 p.m. – What Planners Need to Know About the Growing eSports Trend & How It Can Elevate Your Meetings
Many major gaming properties now own large stadiums dedicated to eSports and are actively incorporating this meeting trend into their own events—it’s time for planners to get in on the action. Learn how e-gaming is impacting the meetings industry and how planners have the unique opportunity to maximize event attendance and engagement through new team-building ideas, interactive features and more, and appeal to a new, younger generation of event attendees and enhance the life of your events from start to finish. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenter: Robert Rippee, Director of the Hospitality Lab at International Gaming Institute, UNLV
Wed 7/25 at 12 p.m. – Mentoring for Associations in 2018 (Washington DC Idea Swap)
Learn about the benefits of being a mentor, the advantages of being a mentee, and how to create a win-win relationship. Hear how a mentor program can benefit your organization and how to launch a mentor program at your association. 1 CAE credit. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.
Organizer: ASAE Greater Washington / National Capital Community
Presenters: Ana Reyes, Special Initiatives Manager, and Selvon Malcom Waldron, Director of Student Services, Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School
Wed 7/25 at 1 p.m. – Ultimate Member Engagement: The Power of Data-Driven Decision Making
If you’re like most associations, your AMS contains a seemingly endless amount of historical, financial, social and demographic data on members, former members, prospects and more. But this data is useless unless it tells a story and enhances your ability to drive desired results. Learn how to analyze and visualize your existing data, execute winning member-facing strategies, improve your member’s experience by mining the right data, and determine a successful ROI on your collection and analysis of member data. More info/register.
Host: Impexium
Wed 7/25 at 1 p.m. – How Political Action Committees Help Associations Reach Advocacy Goals
Political action committees (PACs) are used by associations to accomplish their advocacy goals. Explore the basic rules and functions of state and federal PACs and hear from experienced association professionals who run state-level PACs as a function of their government affairs strategy. Find out how your organization can use PACs to advance your public policy agenda. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Government Relations Section Council
Presenters:
- Kristin Nash, Political Fundraising Director, NC REALTORS®
- Christopher Vest, CAE, Director of Public Policy, ASAE
- Travis Burton, Manager of Public Affairs, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Wed 7/25 at 1 p.m. – The Multigenerational Attendee: Creating Events that Intrigue, Inspire and Engage
Discover potential points of generational preferences and how to handle them. Learn what is up and coming in the world of multigenerational event planning. Explore how to harvest each generations’ knowledge and preferences to create an amazing event. Find out how Generation Z preferences will change the world of event planning. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Meetings Today
Presenter: best-selling author and generational expert Jeff Butler
Wed 7/25 at 1 p.m. – How to Plan a User Conference: The Event Organizers’ Guide to Successfully Launching a User Conference That Will Make Waves
Learn how to delight your attendees without breaking your budget, harness the power of customer stories and word of mouth marketing about your company, educate and inspire attendees for greater loyalty, launch a new product with lessons (that fit any budget) from Apple and other mega brands, and position your user conference as a hotbed for research and development. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Event Manager Blog
Presenter: Christina Green, digital storyteller
Wed 7/25 at 2 p.m. – Selfie Culture’s Effect on Member Engagement
Taking selfies is often viewed as a common teen pursuit, but selfie culture is becoming a pervasive form of expression beyond Generation Z. Learn about the factors surrounding selfie culture and how they impact member engagement in associations and nonprofits. Hear about tips for extending your own member engagement via a variety of marketing platforms. More info/register.
Hosts: ReviewMyAMS and Altai Systems
Wed 7/25 at 2 p.m. – SNMMI’s Strategic Playbook for Winning Back Lapsed Members
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) was inspired to develop an automated campaign to rekindle and spark recruitment amongst their lapsed member base. Stepping away from traditional “we miss you” messaging, SNMMI embarked on a strategic engagement that began with a data analysis and ended with hundreds of renewed members and positive ROI. Hear the strategic steps that continue to influence and drive member engagement, ideas for creating an effective recruitment campaign, new approaches to crafting personally relevant messages, and how to identify hot prospects and deliver purposeful follow through. More info/register.
Host: Higher Logic
Presenters:
- Kaitlin Solomon, Senior Manager, Member Engagement, SNMMI
- Vivian Swertinski, Senior Manager, Strategic Services, Higher Logic
Wed 7/25 at 2 p.m. – Power Couple: The Opportunities (and Challenges) of Chatbots and Live Experiences
Artificial intelligence and emerging technology has transformed the way we consume and process information, and the way we interact and communicate with others. The rise of ChatBots for live experiences has allowed event organizers to open up a new channel to reach attendees, exhibitors, and partners. Get an inside look into the world of ChatBots from implementation to execution, including the opportunities and challenges of using ChatBots to improve experiences, tips and tactics to reduce costs and expand attendee interaction, lessons learned, and key industry trends and case studies. More info/register.
Host: BizBash
Presenter: Robert Caldwell, Founding Partner of Eventbots by Sciensio
Wed 7/25 at 2 p.m. – Designing Unforgettable Experiences with Empathy Interviews
Discover how empathy interviews can be used to better understand your participants so you can design the standout event of the year. Empathy interviews are the cornerstone of Design Thinking. Through techniques like In-Depth Interviews we can learn how participants feel about the events we are designing so we can better connect our events to potential participants, sponsors, and vendors. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Michael Glatts, Senior Director, Global Congress Lead, Pfizer
Thu 7/26 at 8:30 a.m. – Partnership Professionals Network Idea Exchange (Alexandria VA)
What is your biggest challenge in providing value for your corporate partners/sponsors and keeping them happy? Bring your challenges for a facilitated discussion and solutions. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.
Organizer: Bruce Rosenthal, founder, Bruce Rosenthal Associates, LLC, and Partnership Professionals Network
Thu 7/26 at 12 p.m. –Small Staff Association Brown Bag Lunch (Farragut/Dupont, Washington DC)
This casual lunch group of association colleagues is specifically for those who work at small staff associations. Attendees share ideas and ask questions about other associations’ best practices. Location: Washington, DC. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Small Staff Association Professionals
Thu 7/26 at 1 p.m. – Lessons From 10 Years of Growth Driven Design
The Growth Driven Design (GDD) approach to website design has gained popularity recently thanks to HubSpot. However, the lean and agile principles that help make up GDD are not new. In fact, the methodologies vital to GDD have been used for decades, especially in manufacturing and software development. Hear about our team’s insights from ten years of practicing our own growth driven approach to website design. Using client examples, see some of the successes we’ve experienced as a result of committing to the continuous improvement model. More info/register.
Host: Unleashed Technologies
Presenter: Chris Forhan, Director of Growth, Unleashed Technologies
Fri 7/27 at 1 p.m. – Make a Splash: Tips for Promoting Your LMS
Whether you are launching your first LMS, have switched to a new LMS platform, or are looking to increase the amount of traffic and engagement on your current LMS platform, hear about promotional ideas our clients have found success with over the years, and learn what to consider when it comes to your marketing message and the importance of knowing your audience. More info/register.
Host: Blue Sky eLearn
Presenter: Kara Adams, Blue Sky Client Success Manager
Fri 7/27 at 2 p.m. – The Future of Work (Virtual and In-Person Round Table)
The “gig economy” is here to stay and it’s only a matter of time until it disrupts an industry close to you. Using the ASAE ForesightWorks’ Drivers of Change as our springboard, we will explore the effects that “freelance, gig, contract and temporary work” are bringing to all industries (ours and our members’) and discuss the changes in “employment and workplace systems, educational systems, and social safety net systems” that will be demanded by a changing workforce. Locations: Washington DC and online. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Technology Section Council
Facilitator: Rebecca Achurch, PgMP, PMP, CSM, CAE, Achurch Consulting
Wed 8/1 at 12 p.m. CST – Chapter Roundtable in Chicago IL
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: Chicago IL. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Tue 8/2 at 12 p.m. CST – Chapter Roundtable in Rosemont IL
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: Rosemont IL. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Tue 8/7 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
Wed 8/8 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
Thu 8/9 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
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 Patrick Fore via Unsplash.
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