Increasing Member Engagement Through Technology Part 2
In this two-part series, we’re discussing how any association can utilize the power of technology to increase member engagement.
As we’ve explored in the previous post, membership engagement is vital for any association that’s trying to hit its business goals and continue down the path to success.
In part two, we’ll continue our discussion on the ways associations can use technology and the online digital space to their advantage to create memorable experiences for their members.
Creating a SMS Text Marketing Plan
You might view SMS text messaging as a form of communication that is not used in a professional setting. However, many associations are using SMS text to engage with their members. Texting is a powerful marketing platform because it’s able to drive higher conversion rates — upwards of 29% — than many other marketing methods.
The process of setting up your SMS text marketing stream starts by finding a texting platform that allows for two-way communication, message scheduling, and other automation tools that can help you interact smoothly with your members.
You can use texting to set reminders for your members, share alerts for system downtime, or just additional information that you think they may need while using your platform.
Association Management Software
To create good engagement with your members, you need to provide them with a user-friendly platform that is both functional and accessible.
Association Management Software (AMS) helps you to manage all the information on your members, data, and programs in one simple location that can help you to enhance the service offering you provide. Resources, tools, directories, registrations and payments can all be stored in your AMS and are important drivers of member engagement.
You can also start to think about how you can personalize your AMS to appeal to users at different points of their journey. For example, the information that a new member may be interested in can be different from the information one of your loyal members may want to receive from you.
Create Connections Through Online Communities
Many associations understand that quality engagement is not just something that you build between you and your members, but it’s also something you facilitate between members. Building online communities is a way to help members engage with each other and create their own value within your platform — this is something that has been growing in demand ever since the start of the pandemic when we all started to work from home indefinitely.
Creating microsites, message forums, and content hubs are all ways that you can facilitate communication between your members and let them distribute relevant content between themselves.
Reaching Education and Certification Goals
Although it may not be your plan to help your members further their education and gain new qualifications, if you can offer this, it can greatly improve the experience they have with your platform and spread their positive reviews to other people they know.
By offering on-demand learning and other lecture-based learning applications, you can help your members to advance their careers and gain the additional skills they need to perfect their resumes and applications.
Unlike other ways to learn new skills, on-demand learning can be accessed at any time, from anywhere. Alternatively, with live videos, you can create interactive experiences for your members that streamline member education and participation, such as webinars, videos and virtual learning that can give your members the education they’re seeking.
Boost your Career Centers and Job Boards
Career Centers help connect your members with roles that fit their requirements and skills. However, there’s a lot more to it than simply having a static job board for members to scroll through.
Offering a career center and enhanced job board can bring great value to the member experience while increasing opportunities for your partners leading to more non-dues revenue.
Throughout this two-part series on increasing member engagement through technology, we have explored some of the most popular methods that associations are using to attract, engage, and retain their members.
The world has quickly gone digital, and members have started to expect associations to offer complex and innovative digital experiences to complement their typical service offerings. If you aren’t able to do this, you may struggle to engage your members and end up losing them to your competition.
Through methods such as social media, online communities, SMS texting, and a range of digital communication tools, any association can make engaging loyal customers a breeze.
If you’d like to learn more about the digital and technological opportunities to meet your members’ engagement needs, download our eBook today.
