The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
Maggie McGary shares insights from the Community Roundtable’s 10th Annual State of Community Management report and cross-references them with findings from MGI’s Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. She’s perplexed (as am I) as to why associations are “ignoring the most obvious yet almost entirely dismissed path to a sustainable future for associations: community leadership and strategic, intentional online communities.”
Are you having a hard time convincing your association’s “old-school” classroom instructors to give online learning a chance? WBT Systems describes several reasons for subject matter expert (SME) resistance and ways you can overcome those obstacles.
Fíonta explains the value-based design approach to improving user experience. This methodology helps you identify and solve the problems that are costing your organization revenue, attention, engagement, time, and/or relevance
Tracy King, CAE, asks, “The continued growth of the contingent workforce is transforming the professions we work in, but is professional development addressing this important shift?” She raises three issues in particular that associations must address, including access to programming.
Associations must also address the impact of automation and robotics on jobs. As jobs change, career pathways and certification programs must change as well, says The Urban Institute.
Some quick hits before we get to next week’s free webinars:
- Tricky scam plants phishing links in Google Calendar invites. (Lily Hay Newman, Wired)
- “Curious is a good thing to be. It seems to pay some unexpected dividends.” I love every word of this post. (Iggy Pop talking with Anthony Bourdain, via Austin Kleon)
- A house full of books—whether they’re read or not—enhances intellectual capacity and literary habits. (Karen Hopkin, Scientific American)
Good eats:
- Wow wow wow. If you are in the midst of strawberry season—sadly, it’s over here—you must make this strawberry shortcake recipe from Bon Appétit. This is hands-down the best shortcake I’ve ever had.
- My CSA share this week and last included baby purple and red potatoes. I made garlic-herb smashed potatoes to go along with some NC-caught monkfish last weekend. Love monkfish, truly poor man’s lobster.
- Although this maple-barbecue glaze is meant for salmon, it’s one of my favorite preparations for boldly flavored fish, like mackerel. Try it on bluefish too.
Here are the educational events scheduled for next week. I had to upload this earlier than usual so I apologize if I missed anything obvious. If you have any free webinars or events coming up, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not product-centric.
Mon 6/24 at 2 p.m.* – 3 New Strategies to Boost Your Member Onboarding, Engagement, and Retention
Hear insights from over 400 member interviews that will help you boost member engagement and increase renewals. Learn what members really think about renewals, how membership organizations of all sizes are delighting their newest members, and the steps you can take to engage new members fast, in order to engage them for life. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Wild Apricot
Presenter: Amanda Kaiser, founder, Kaiser Insights LLC
*All times are Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 6/25 at 12:30 p.m. – 2019 eLearning Hype Curve Predictions: Midyear Update
Each year, Web Courseworks issues its predictions for the top learning trends of the upcoming year. In the past, we’ve plotted these predictions through dead reckoning – relying on our experience living, eating, and breathing online learning all day, every day. But for 2019, we came armed with data. Is blockchain still all the rage in the eLearning world? Where is micro-learning in the curve? Is simulation out? Find out the answers in our midyear review of our 2019 predictions of eLearning trends. More info/register.
Host: Web Courseworks
Presenters:
- Andy Hicken, Director of Quality and Strategy, Web Courseworks
- Joh Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning
Tue 6/25 at 1 p.m. – 5 Keys to Association Website Success in 2019 (and Beyond)
Association websites compete with for-profits, media, and even other associations for eyeballs, mindshare, and even revenue. Does your association have a plan to compete in this crowded, modern online environment? At the same time, new technologies and trends continue to reshape the way we use the web, transforming members’ expectations. Learn five key web strategies to help you beat out your competition, engage members and prospects, grow revenue, and build a plan for 2019 and beyond. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ACGI Software
Presenter: Ray van Hilst, Director of Client Results, Yoko Co.
Tue 6/25 at 2 p.m. – The Invisible Workload of Meeting Planning
Ask anyone who plans events about the invisible workload of their job and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about: the stress or event management, the chaos, the mental weight of it all. Discuss automating mundane and manual tasks using event tech. Learn how to ease stress to focus on creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenters:
- Myllisa Patterson, Senior Director Event Cloud Campaigns at Cvent
- Paulina Curto, Manager, Meetings & Events at Cvent
- Jen Maltba, Marketing Manager at Cvent
Tue 6/25 at 3 p.m. – Transforming Association Meetings (online and Washington DC)
Are the returns on meetings worth the intense investment of time and resources? Or, in today’s digital world, are there better ways for associations to earn while helping members engage, co-create, and connect year-round?
If meetings continue to matter, let’s examine if there are smarter ways to make them viable and valuable without being all-consuming. Let’s talk about the competition (from for-profit entities in our space that organize meetings) and whether we can stand up to or collaborate with our competitors. And let’s discuss how we can make conferences a participatory experience for attendees while extending the benefits far beyond the three days. 1 CAE credit. Locations: online and Washington DC. More info/register.
Organizers: Associations Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and MoCo Idea Swap
Presenters:
- Jeannie Campbell, chief operating officer of the National Council for Behavioral Health
- Don Dea, co-founder of Fusion Productions
- Jeff Hurt, founder and CEO of Empowered Epiphanies
Wed 6/26 at 11 a.m. – Mobile Event App Best Practices: Boost Your Attendee Engagement
You’ve made the investment in your mobile event app, spent so much time making it functional and fantastic looking, but you’re only seeing about 45% user adoption. Or … [Ed.: That’s all she wrote!] 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Pathable
Wed 6/26 from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – PCMA EDUCON LIVE 2019
Join us online for the livestream of select sessions, thought leader interviews, and so much more, all live from Los Angeles. We will be streaming sessions from 2 of our 5 studios, along with our Wednesday and Thursday Main Stage sessions, and of course, our live interviews with numerous industry thought leaders and speakers. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Wed 6/26 at 12 p.m. – On Point with Membership Onboarding (Washington DC Idea Swap)
How do you build loyalty and demonstrate enough value-add to retain existing association members? One way is to draw them in immediately by offering a solid onboarding program showcasing all the amazing benefits your organization offers. Learn the steps to create, implement, evaluate and refine your onboarding program to build affinity with your members and, maybe even hike up your association’s member retention rate. 1 CAE credit. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.
Host: Dan Ratner, membership strategist at The Next Steps, LLC
Presenter: ASAE Greater Washington / National Capital Community
Wed 6/26 at 12 p.m. – Legal Structuring for Nonprofit Organizations: Creating Systems, Affiliates and Subsidiaries (Washington DC and online)
As nonprofit organizations grow and expand their operations, the questions arise of whether to create additional legal entities to house certain activities and whether to create a “parent” organization to supervise a system of nonprofit organizations. Issues of liability, separation of functions, and tax considerations all come into play in choosing the best legal structure to employ. Questions of governance and the proper form of entity—whether nonprofit or for-profit, and whether corporate, partnership, or LLC—must also be addressed. Locations: Washington DC and online. More info/register.
Host: Venable LLP
Presenters:
- Bob Waldman, Chair, Venable’s Business Division
- Don Blanchon, Chief Executive Officer, Whitman-Walker Health Systems
Wed 6/26 at 12:30 p.m. – How to Use Ads for Advocacy
Digital advertising is a powerful method for organizations to share their advocacy campaigns with new and existing supporters. Learn about tactics and best practices on how to effectively set up your online advertising efforts for advocacy. More info/register.
Host: Phone2Action
Presenter: Stephanie Stouffer, Director of Strategic Accounts, Phone2Action
Wed 6/26 at 1 p.m. – Best-in-Class: Big League F&B Trends from Caesars’ Michele Polci
Hear about the recent group culinary trends Polci is seeing, along with her secrets of F&B success at any scale. Discover how Caesars Entertainment plans and executes its F&B programs. Hear budget-friendly ideas you can incorporate to spice up your F&B offering. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Meetings Today
Presenter: Michele Polci, director of citywide catering sales for Caesars Entertainment
Wed 6/26 at 2 p.m. – Staff Turnover: Accepting the Inevitable and Planning for Success
Is your association experiencing staff turnover? Find out how your member-based organization can not only survive, but also thrive in spite of employee turnover. Learn how to improve knowledge transfer and expedite the onboarding process as employees come and go. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Protech
Presenters: Bryan Goldman and Abby Springer, Protech
Wed 6/26 at 2 p.m. – The Data-Driven Event: Battle-Tested Data Insights for Event Professionals
Learn how to get strategic about collecting and analyzing the *right data* to understand what efforts are working and what needs to be tweaked. Hear about simple tools to collect helpful data and data visualization tactics to communicate your findings. More info/register.
Host: Hubb
Presenter: Allie Magyar, Founder & CEO, Hubb
Wed 6/26 at 2 p.m. – How to Find and Plan the Perfect Event Space
With a world full of options, how do you find the perfect place to help you achieve your event goals? Hear about best practices to ensure your dream space works for your event and produces the outcomes you want. Learn what attendees want and how the event space and destination impacts their experience, what to do (and not do) to choose a crowd-pleasing venue that also works for the planning team, and how to develop a positive relationship with your target venues to get the perfect space for your event. More info/register.
Host: BizBash
Presenter: Lauren Puglisi, Director of Sales at Cvent
Thu 6/27 from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – PCMA EDUCON LIVE 2019
Join us online for the livestream of select sessions, thought leader interviews, and so much more, all live from Los Angeles. We will be streaming sessions from 2 of our 5 studios, along with our Wednesday and Thursday Main Stage sessions, and of course, our live interviews with numerous industry thought leaders and speakers. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Thu 6/27 at 1 p.m. – Creating and Developing Successful Magazines (Live Chat)
During this live chat with panelists from organizations that recently won awards for their print and electronic magazines, they will be available to answer any questions you have about launching a magazine. Bring questions about goals, strategy, developing metrics, or anything else related to the development of an award-winning magazine. More info/register.
Host: ASAE Communication Professionals Community
Panelists:
- Chere LaRose, Society of Actuaries
- Francess Moffett, American Student Dental Association
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 image by Phoenix Han via Unsplash
Association Brain Food 