Amid changing times and the constant flow of new technology, staying relevant is no easy feat. To maintain value to members, organizations must embrace new platforms and innovations.

“If you think about it as the ‘unknown’ and concentrate on the potential for disruption, then, yeah, the idea of ever-changing technology will be scary,” Colleen Bottorff says on the MemberClicks blog. “But instead, try thinking about it as an opportunity. To better serve your members, to drive your mission, to make work-life easier on your staff. What new doors are opened to accomplish those things, with a new social media platform or piece of technology?”

The second key to staying relevant: homing in on your association’s messaging.

“By strengthening your messaging, you won’t even have to try very hard to prove your relevance because you’ll be constantly communicating it, driving it into your audience’s subconscious,” Bottorff says.

Focus on the human element of your organization’s mission to drive connection, and put it in context with what’s going on in the world so that you’re always part of the conversation.

A Special Performance at ASAE’s Annual Meeting

Music brings people together, it fills the heart, it moves us, it helps us heal. Thank you ⁦@johnlegend⁩ and #ASAE19 for this special evening. pic.twitter.com/72NXkyzIn9

— Leanora Minai (@LeanoraMinai) August 13, 2019

The hits from the 2019 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Columbus, Ohio, just keep coming. Last night, singer John Legend joined attendees for a performance at The Classic, the annual fundraiser for the ASAE Foundation. In between belting out hits like “All of Me,” Legend preached a message of love—something that was felt in every corner of the room.

Other Links of Note

Is your brand’s relationship with social media—well, dysfunctional? Content Marketing Institute examines what it would take to make the relationship better, even if it means a breakup.

ICYMI: “Likes” are on the way out at Instagram. The next big metric: attention, says Kevan Lee on the Buffer blog.

Sometimes data systems fail, and without backups, the success of your meeting could be in jeopardy, according to the Endless Events podcast.

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