Converting Guests into Members

Marketing your organization’s events to guests is always a good idea. You might, however, find that these guests continue to pay the guest price rather than ever joining the association. We have a few suggestions that could be just what your guest needs for that last push into membership.

Follow up with your guests.

Reach out to your guests via email and let them know how much you appreciate them visiting. In this email, you could include links to the website as well as a list of upcoming events. Once they are to your website, they will be able to see member benefits and more. The email will also make them feel valued and will make them more likely to sign up as a member.

Shine a light on guests through social media.

Take pictures at your event and make sure to get some photos of guests. Let them know that the pictures will be on the organization’s social media page. This might make them more inclined to visit the social media page and get more of a feel for the association. It also allows them to feel special and as if they are already a part of the organization.

Consider discounts.

If you are not opposed to docking the price of membership or events a little bit, discounts are always a strong motivator. In the email you send to guests, let them know that if they sign up for membership before the meeting, they will get a free ticket to the next event or a discounted membership price. Setting the deadline will pressure the guest to sign up. Also, who doesn’t love a nice discount?

Survey.

Along with a follow up email, you could also send or call for a survey of the event. Ask the guests what they enjoyed? What do they want to see at future events? Were they welcomed? These answers could not only help your organization in recruiting future guests, but also force the guest to consider all the positive experiences they had at the meeting. You could then invite them to join the organization and cross your fingers.

Converting non-members to members is always the goal. These guests that sign up for events are already familiar with the organization and interested in the industry. A quick moment of reaching out could make all the difference.

Saving Time with a FAQ Page

Do you find yourself answering the same questions concerning your association every other day? If so, save yourself some time by adding a FAQ page to your organization’s website. This allows your members and potential members to quickly find information. Once you have decided to add this section to your website, start to compile a list. If people are asking you how much dues are per year, add it to the FAQ page. Even if the information is on another page of your website, it will not hurt to duplicate the information. Here are some questions to get you started!

·         What does your organization do?

·         How much are membership dues?

·         How do I join?

·         How do I access my account?

·         How can I renew my membership?

·         How can I sign up for the email newsletters?

·         When are the meetings?

·         Can I attend meetings and events without being a member?

Providing a place for people to quickly get their answers will save you many emails and phone calls and will make the organization seem more established. If people cannot find the answers, they may also give up. You can always add questions or make revisions as things change in the organization. You won’t regret taking the time to set this up for your organization.

Sprucing Up Your Monthly Newsletter

Associations are always looking for different ways to reach their members. Social media posts, emails, and meetings are great ways to do so. If you are looking for another point of communication, consider email newsletters. Newsletters are a way to provide useful information and resources, as well a way to keep members up to date on upcoming events and more. Coming up with content for a monthly newsletter can be daunting at times, but we are here to help! Try using these ideas to get your newsletter up and going. 

1. Information. Make the newsletter a worthwhile read by providing important information about upcoming events, reasons to attend those events, and any costs associated.  

1. Blogs. Link to blogs you have done in the last month. Members might have missed your post about them and should be exposed more than once. If you don’t have a blog, you can always link to another blog in your industry. 

1. Get to know the board. Include a section highlighting a different board member every month. Give a little insight into who that person is and how they got involved in the association. You should also inform members when the board turnover occurs and include a picture of their new board.  

1. Review Benefits. Reminding members of why they joined is important in member retention. Review how a benefit can be utilized or introduce any new benefits. 

1. Visuals. With all of this content, make sure to include photos from events or photos that relate to the topic being discussed. This will keep readers more engaged. 

If you are looking to start a newsletter, we encourage you to check out Constant Contact. This platform is professional, yet easy to use! If you want a taste of how to put these elements together, sign up for our e-newsletter!  

Client Spotlight: Kids' Chance of Nebraska

Kids’ Chance is an organization that was founded in 1988. KCNE’s mission is “To provide financial support to further the education of the children of Nebraska workers who have been severely injured, totally disabled or killed as a result of employment related injuries or occupational diseases. It is the goal of Kids’ Chance of Nebraska to make a difference in the lives of these children by providing scholarships to help eligible students achieve both their educational goals and their families’ dreams.”  

Kids’ Chance of Nebraska has fundraisers throughout the year including their annual bowling and golf events. These events are a fun way to get the community involved and gives donors an experience to remember. Donors often include parties to the workers’ compensation industry, including law firms, medical providers, insurance companies, insurance brokers, vocational rehabilitation and case management companies and employers.  

Here at Impact, we happily support this entirely volunteer based organization. We provide marketing, email management, website updates, member communication, and more. Ashley and Tammy are the Executive Administrators for Kids’ Chance of Nebraska. These two keep everything running smoothly and have a full understanding of the organization’s goals and mission. They look forward to continuing this partnership and making KCNE the best it can possibly be.

Click to learn more about Kids’ Chance of Nebraska 

Lisa Demmi’s “How To Be a Bad A$$ at Social Media” Review

Impact’s team member, Kristen, attended MPI Wisconsin’s event on social media. Kristen has a strong interest in marketing and social media and thought this would be an informative session. She was right. Lisa Demmi is a Professional Speaker and Social Media Expert. She started the session off with lively stories, jokes, and a magic trick. After the crowd was engaged, Lisa delivered a presentation that left guests with a breakdown on how to improve their organization’s social media by explaining what your audience wants to see, explaining how social media should be used as a tool, and pointing out where you can find your content.

Lisa defined content as anything you share that explains your company. She then asked the audience what they did not like to see on social media. She was answered with shouts of politics, ads, negativity, too many posts, and repetitive content. Lisa emphasized the importance of keeping in mind what you do not like to see on social media when posting for your organization. This will keep your audience happier and show your organization in a better light. It will also prevent your followers from quickly scrolling past your posts.

The importance of using your social media outlets as a relationship tool versus a sales tool was also discussed. It is often easy to fall into the habit of posting your organization’s services, however, this is not what your audience wants to see. It is important to show your personality, educate, and entertain your followers.

The speech also covered where to find your content. No matter what industry you are in, you will find yourself answering the same 10 questions repeatedly. Lisa suggested that you should take those questions and create content out of them. If your association finds themselves answering questions about upcoming meetings every month, provide the answers ahead of time. This ensures you are providing your audience with useful information. To further engage your followers, announce ahead of time that you will be giving this information out. This will give you multiple posts and will keep your audience of the lookout for the information.

Overall, the event was incredibly helpful. Kristen came away knowing how to better add to the conversation on social media, creating relationships and engaging the audience. We suggest you take some of these tips and apply it to your organization. One change might make all the difference.

Say Hello to The Meeting Professionals International-Connecticut River Valley Chapter

February 12, 2019, Madison, Wisconsin –Impact is proud to announce the signing of Meeting Professionals International-Connecticut River Valley Chapter (MPI CRV) as their newest client.     

“Our team at Impact is beyond thrilled to get to know the team at MPI CRV and work hard to support their goals. This organization empowers their members and works to create development opportunities for their members making it something awesome to be a part of. I know MPI CRV’s designated Executive Administrators will have a great time working with this group!, states Jodi Fisher, CEO, Impact Services  

About Meeting Professionals International-Connecticut River Valley Chapter 

MPI Connecticut River Valley has over 100 members and is made up of local colleagues that specialize in meeting and event planning as well as supplier members. The organization provides networking opportunities, educational programs, leadership development, and professional recognition. MPI CRV understands the needs and wants of their members and ensures delivery. Their mission is, “To provide MPI members, chapters and the global meeting and event community with innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities and business exchanges, and to act as a prominent voice for the promotion and growth of the industry.” 

Contact: 

Amanda Guerard-Sequeira, MPI CRV President 

 774-420-1305 

https://www.mpiweb.org/chapters/connecticut-river-valley 

About Impact  

Impact was founded in 2006 by Jodi Fisher, and since then they have successfully supported many Associations in growing and increasing profits and memberships. Now expanded into a robust team, Impact consists of Social Media experts, Non-Profit Administrators and Executive Administrative Assistants with impressive backgrounds in Association support, small business operations and international corporations.  Their mission is to provide customized, efficient, and forward-thinking association management services to small and medium sized Associations with a highly skilled, dedicated team of Executive Administrators.  

Contact:  

Impact Association Management  

608.210.3120  

info@ImpactAMC.com  

www.ImpactAMC.com  

Content Calendars: Your New Best Friend

We all know that social media and being present online is crucial. It is recommended to post 2-3 times a week or more. Some days, however, you might find your self struggling for new content or repeating past content. Content calendars can be a life saver on days where your inspiration is lacking. Whether you use Hootsuite, Google Calendars, or a plain Jane paper calendar, you will thank yourself in the long run.

Using a content calendar, allows you to spread out your material. Say that you have 5-6 topics you want to cover on social media: membership benefits, upcoming events, industry related news, website content, and member spotlights. Once you decide on these topics, you can look at a calendar and easily space them out to ensure content will not be redundant. You can post about one membership benefit every Monday. Dive into how that benefit can change the viewer’s experience. Tuesdays could be to update members on upcoming meetings or conferences, and so on. Having it organized will create a better flow for your content and keep your audience coming back for more.

Content calendars also keep you prepared. If there is a day you are lacking creativity, you will be appreciative that you planned ahead. It is best to sit down towards the end of the month and plan out the content you want to use in the next month. The amount of detail is up to your own preference. Maybe you want to write out exactly what you will say in each post or perhaps you prefer writing a topic in the calendar to give you something to work with later. Either way, the preparedness you will have from planning out your content will reduce your stress and make your significantly easier.

Of course when it comes to planning anything, there is always the possibility that things will change. A new event might pop up, something major might have occurred in your industry that you should cover, a transition in the Board of Directors might take place. These are all things that can be improvised into the calendar. It is not something you have to follow faithfully, simply there to ease the process of marketing your organization!

3 Ways to Encourage Meeting Attendance

Have you noticed lower attendance at your regularly scheduled meetings? Maybe it is time to make some changes and get your members more involved. Involving members can be cheap and effective if done correctly. Here are a few of the routes you can take.

• Be present online. Whether it is Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, or Twitter, your meeting information needs to be easily found online. This is often the first place that your members are going to check for meeting information. If they do not find it there, they might not keep looking. Posting about the meeting is also a great way to create excitement for the event. Include information about the agenda, photos from the last meeting, whether there will be food or not. It is also a great place for members to comment or share that they will be attending which might encourage others to do the same.

• Personalize your invites. The person who attends every meeting religiously should not be getting the same message that a potential member is getting. Categorize your email list and make sure to personalize the message depending on who you are reaching out to. This will make current members feel appreciated and will make potential members feel welcomed.

• Provide incentives. Incentives do not always have to be gifts. Explain to members what they will get out of the meeting. This could be resources, an interesting speaker, or everyone’s favorite, pizza! Let them know what they are missing out on if they do not attend the meeting.

Utilizing these marketing methods, can increase meeting attendance and engage members on deeper level. It is also a great way to bring in new members, which is always a goal.

Meet our New Client: The Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association

Impact Association Management welcomes the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association

February 4, 2019, Madison, Wisconsin –Impact Association Management (Impact) is pleased and proud to announce the signing of the Wisconsin Funeral Directors (WFDA) as one of their newest clients.   

Impact’s new partnership with WFDA is thrilling! After meeting with a group from the board, I knew this would be a great fit. At Impact, we understand the needs of WFDA and know how to fulfill those needs. This is a great group of people that we have already enjoyed working with so far. I know we will be able to get this organization where they would like to see it and that will be such a rewarding process, states Jodi Fisher, CEO, Impact Association Management 

About Wisconsin Funeral Directors 

WFDA is an organization comprised of funeral professionals in the state of Wisconsin. The association provides education, information, and advocacy for those in the industry. WFDA also provides biennial licensing requirements, networking opportunities, and an annual convention for its members. WFDA is a part of the National Funeral Directors Association whose mission is, “The worldwide source of expertise and professional resources for all facets of funeral service. Through education, information and advocacy, NFDA is dedicated to supporting members in their mission to provide families with meaningful end-of-life services at the highest levels of excellence and integrity.” 

Contact:   

James Olson, WFDA President  

920.452.1418 

Jim@olsonfuneralhome.info 

https://www.wfda.info/ 

About Impact Association Management 

Impact was founded in 2006 by Jodi Fisher, and since then they have successfully supported many Associations in growing and increasing profits and memberships. Now expanded into a robust team, Impact consists of Social Media experts, Non-Profit Administrators and Executive Administrative Assistants with impressive backgrounds in Association support, small business operations and international corporations.  Their mission is to provide customized, efficient, and forward-thinking association management services to small and medium sized Associations with a highly skilled, dedicated team of Executive Administrators.  

Contact:  

Impact Association Management  

608.210.3120  

info@impactamc.com  

www.impactamc.com  

Conference Location Must Haves

The task of planning your association’s conference can be daunting. The overwhelming amount of details and decisions can often be more than a board can handle. When it comes to picking your conference location, you have two options: call everyone’s favorite AMC, Impact to help you out :) OR follow these guidelines! 

1. Location. Location is one of the crucial factors that determines the level of attendance from association members. Keeping the location somewhere easily accessible and relatively central for chapters will up the number of attendees. If the place that happens to be both centrally located and easily accessible, is also a larger tourist location, you are in luck! 

1. Budget. Set a budget before you begin your process and stick to it. Doing this early allows you to have an understanding on how much you are going to allocate to the venue, food, and other services. 

1. Services. When looking for the facilities you would like to hold your conference in, look for a main meeting room, smaller rooms for breakout sessions, and the proper equipment.  

1. Space. Take a look at last year’s numbers and estimate how many attendees you are planning on for the current year. On your site visit, ask how many people can fit in meeting rooms and ensure that the space will be comfortable for guests. 

1. Site Visits. Impact has done a plethora of site visits and there are a few major things to look out for. Cleanliness, friendliness, catering options, and parking are all factors to consider. 

If you keep these things in mind, the search for your next conference space will be a breeze. 

Venue hunting in Salt Lake City.

Venue search in Memphis, TN.

Introducing The International Personnel Assessment Council

January 30, 2019, Madison, Wisconsin –Impact Services (Impact) is pleased and proud to announce the signing of The International Personnel Assessment Council (IPAC) as their newest client.     

“IPAC aspires to be the first stop for assessment professionals seeking a network of expertise and applied resources. Our partnership with Impact Services will help us live our core values of Community, Learning, and Practice while we work to foster member growth and increase our membership value and engagement by maximizing operational efficiencies.”  shares IPAC’s Past President, Matisha Montgomery    

“Impact is rapidly growing and we are excited about each individual new client. We are eager to share and support IPAC’s mission to serve personnel assessment practitioners. The organization provides practical and useful tools for their industry. Our team is ready to support this unique group and help them reach their goals”, adds Jodi Fisher, CEO, Impact Services  

 About International Personnel Assessment Council 

The International Personnel Assessment Council is a nonprofit organization made up of HR directors and managers, specialists in staffing, recruiting, and organizational performance management, and more. These professionals have interest and expertise in development and effective use of HR selection and assessment methods. IPAC’s mission states, “To serve personnel assessment practitioners and scientists by facilitating interaction with a community  of  peers  and  experts  and  delivering  the  practical  tools  they  need  to  achieve  professional success.”  

Contact:   

Marty Alber, IPAC President  

402.290.8662 

President@ipacweb.org 

https://www.ipacweb.org/ 

About Impact Services   

Impact Services was founded in 2006 by Jodi Fisher, and since then they have successfully supported many Associations in growing and increasing profits and memberships. Now expanded into a robust team, Impact consists of Social Media experts, Non-Profit Administrators and Executive Administrative Assistants with impressive backgrounds in Association support, small business operations and international corporations.  Their mission is to provide customized, efficient, and forward-thinking association management services to small and medium sized Associations with a highly skilled, dedicated team of Executive Administrators.  

Contact:  

Impact Services  

608.210.3120  

info@impactvs.com  

www.impactvs.com  

Client Spotlight: Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Happy Tuesday! We are starting off the week by sharing a little on another one of our clients. The Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists or OSHP, is a client we have the joy of supporting. OSHP is an organization made up of pharmacists, students, technicians, and associates with an interest in health-system pharmacy practice. The mission of OSHP is, “To optimize patient health by advocating for the advancement of pharmacy practice to promote comprehensive, quality care across the health-care continuum.”   

OSHP offers members a large set of benefits. Membership comes with networking opportunities, newsletters, education programs, workshops, legislation tracking, testimony, and updates, social events, and more! This organization understands the needs of their members and makes sure to deliver. 

Impact supports OSHP through their two Executive Administrators, Heather Kramer and Ashley Cortino. This successful duo provides OSHP with email management, financial support, website updates, event management, and member communication. The two have a system that has helped OSHP with their success and have built a strong partnership with the organization. 

Click to learn more about OSHP!

What Makes Impact, Impact

2019 marks Impact’s 13th year of business. It has been an exciting ride full of changes and growth. This year, we decided it was important to define what is unique about Impact. Talking over everything that is unique to Impact, our team narrowed it down to 3 defining factors.

1.  We love what we do, and it shows. Our team is passionate about supporting Associations and becoming partners in order to surpass goals and achieve milestones. As partners, we find great value in developing relationships with our Clients. We are real people with different personalities, skill-sets and strengths. We celebrate this diversity and believe in having FUN while providing top level professional services to our Clients. 

2. We specialize in small-medium sized Associations. We understand the unique challenges and benefits that align with these Organizations. While each Client is unique, we believe in sharing the strategies and successes we’ve experienced in the past rather than reinventing the wheel. Regardless of how long our Clients have been established or what phase they are in as an Organization, we believe they deserve the best customer service, support and resources.
   

3. We believe in transparency. We hold ourselves to extremely high standards when it comes to ethical business practice. From day one we are working hard to establish trust with our Clients. We often pick up the pieces from previous broken partnerships and this has given us the knowledge of how to do things right, right from the start. From our contracts to our invoices and everything in between, we respect our Clients too much to keep anything in the dark. 

Although logos, employees, and clients may have changed over the last 13 years, these 3 unique selling points never will. Happy 13 years of Impact!

Member Retention: Your Membership Webinar Review

Impact’s team member, Heather, recently watched a webinar on Member Retention by YourMembership. Heather reported back to the team with many creative ideas and suggestions that she learned from this webinar.  

The video mentioned that a member is going to decide whether they will renew in the first 3 months. This proves how crucial communication is when welcoming a member.  It is important to show the new member their importance to the association and inform them of all benefits and resources the membership includes. This increased communication, however, cannot stop after the initial welcome. It is crucial to maintain a consistent line of communication between the board and members. The members need to be reminded of why they chose to become a member in the first place. This can be as simple as sharing industry related news or updating them on changes within the board.  

At the end of the day, however, you are still going to lose some members. One option that YourMembership suggested is conducting an exit survey. This should include something positive such as, “What did you gain from being a member?” Questions like this can remind the member of the perks before exiting and could influence their decision. The exit survey should also include questions that give further insight into why members are leaving. Questions can include “Why do you not want to renew?”, “What would have made you want to renew?”, or “When did you decide not to renew?” Information like this can help the board understand what steps to take next.  

Next steps could include adding more benefits, implementing better communication, or recognizing when members make their decision. It is a lot easier to retain a member than to recruit a new one. Putting time an energy into your current members can show a large payoff.

https://www.yourmembership.com/resource-library/webinars/

Setting Professional Development Requirements

Here at Impact Services, we believe it is important to continue learning and growing. Because learning and development are so important to Impact’s mission, it is required that each member participate in 6 professional developments a year. These development opportunities can include skills a team member would like to work on developing, networking events, or a chance to develop a goal or project a client needs or wants.  

This has lead to our team experiencing forums, webinars, and more that have developed them into the hard-working professionals they are. After participating, team members must share with the team what was learned, what challenges or skills they still need to learn more about, and ideas or lessons learned that they feel other staff members could benefit from. 

Setting these requirements sets a culture of continuous education. It reminds everyone on the team that there is always more to be informed about and more room for improvement. The requirements ensure that our team is always increasing their value to our clients. It also provides an opportunity for Impact to take on new responsibilities within our company, because although we may not have experience in a subject, it does not mean we are not willing to learn and conquer it. 

Setting standards for professional development could be a great way to improve your company or association. It will provide new perspectives and open the mind of your team. Seeing things in a new light or learning more about something can only grow your organizations.

Client Spotlight: The Association for Collaborative Leadership

We are having so much fun sharing our clients with the world! This week we are directing our focus to The Association for Collaborative Leadership (ACL). This organization got its start in 1965 and has been going strong ever since. The foundation of the organization was to establish an organization for consortia to share ideas, resources, services, projects, and more. ACL’s vision is to, “Serve as the recognized authority on consortial leadership and collaboration in higher education, providing its members with access to specialized expertise, knowledge, and training so they can successfully develop, lead, and manage consortia or other higher education partnerships.” Over the years, ACL has worked to strengthen the networking opportunities and create more benefits for their members. 

Members are given many opportunities and advantages. ACL’s membership benefits include annual conferences, professional development. E-mail discussion lists, a guide for consortia, research bibliography, salary survey, and networking.  

Impact has been supporting ACL since 2017. Our team members, Jill and Heather, work hard to provide ACL with the best possible service. These two provide email management, financial support, run social media, and maintain membership communication. ACL also has an annual conference that Impact’s CEO/Event Specialist, Jodi Fisher, manages. This organization is a pleasure to work with and has grown into a strong partnership.

Impact’s Executive Administrators and Event Specialist for ACL.

Learn more about ACL

Fueling Member Involvement

It is easy for members of an association to feel as though they are just another face in the crowd. Connecting with members and involving them in decisions is the best way to provide most members with what they want out of the association. The following steps will provide you with a few quick ways to further engage members.

Start a discussion. Involve your members by asking questions whether it is about industry related subjects or what the members want to see with upcoming events, resources, etc. This is a great way to kick off conversation among members and open a line of communication between the board and members. This could be done through social media at an event or wherever it seems fit.

Keep members in the know. A newsletter might not be read by all, but it is the best way to keep members up to date and informed about the association. Once a month is ideal for a newsletter and be sure to include upcoming events and resources the members can utilize. This is what they will be looking for in the letter. A newsletter can also be a good way to show members what their dues and donations are going towards. Whether it is providing a scholarship for a student or providing research for a disease, members want to see the impact their money is making.

Emphasis Exclusivity. Show your members what they are getting out of their membership. This could be done by inviting members to an event or reiterating membership benefits. This will keep them involved and content as well as prevent them from discontinuing their membership. Providing things that they enjoy and do not want to miss out on, will keep them coming back for more.

Keeping these ideas in mind, can make a significant impact on membership involvement.

Client Spotlight: American Society of Civil Engineers- Wisconsin Section

The new year is here and we are spending some time reflecting on the clients who make up Impact. Today’s client spotlight focuses on the Wisconsin Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE-WI). ASCE is one of the largest professional civil engineering networks in the world. The organization provides members with networking opportunities, learning resources, and communication. ASCE welcomes licensed engineers, students, affiliates, and associates. Everyone that is connected to the world of Civil Engineering has something to gain from this association. The organization keeps members up to date on trends and technology in the industry, provides membership discounts, and career development.

ASCE-Wisconsin Section is also heavily involved in the community. Membership dues go towards advocating for improved infrastructure, improving STEM opportunities for students, and providing resources to improve public health, safety, and welfare.

Impact’s Executive Administrator, Heather, provides support for ASCE-WI. Heather aides in managing the organization’s email, providing board support, social media management, conference planning, and more. The collaboration that goes on between Impact and ASCE is something our team appreciates. The open lines of communication allow everything to run as smoothly as possible and keep the partnership growing in the right direction.

To learn more about this organization, visit: http://sections.asce.org/wisconsin-section/home

Balancing Life as a Board Member

Associations and nonprofits are typically run by volunteers. This means that those volunteers have full lives outside of their duties within the association including their own career. Juggling both a full-time career and a position on an association’s board can be challenging. Here are a few things to remember when navigating this tricky balance. 

Membership is not all on you. The push for new members and member recruitment is a constant goal of associations. Taking on the task of recruiting new members and pushing for current members to stay is a part of being on the board. This job, however, does not fall solely on one person. It is each person’s responsibility as a part of the association to recruit and retain. Doing this, keeps the organization running and allows the organization to fulfill its mission. It is important, however, to be mindful of your interactions with current and potential members. Each interaction could be the deciding factor on whether that member joins or stays in the association. Maintaining a positive attitude and friendly demeanor could be your organization’s selling point.  

Build Relationships. Understanding your members, potential members, and community will set the groundwork for your association’s success. Building these relationships will ensure a sense of trust and will provide you with a set of resources. Connect with people on social media, reach out personally if you have built a strong enough relationship, and maintain the relationship even if it seems like it is no longer beneficial to you. 

Keep learning. As a board member, it is essential to keep learning everything you can about the industry as well as the role you are in. Learning more about the association is only going to make you more knowledgeable and successful. This allows you to run the association efficiently and the ability to teach others more about the industry as well. Keeping up on industry news or advice on how to better your association will better you as a leader. 

Reaching a Larger Audience through Blogs

Blogs are becoming more and more relevant in today’s culture. Companies and associations are using blogs as a form of marketing. By providing useful information on blogs, the target audience is interested in the material and will be more likely to find use out of the organization. If your company or association already has a blog, here are a few ways to increase your blog’s following. 

1. Use key words. In your blog title, try to include key words that will attract the people you are targeting. It is important to keep it short and possibly even indicate that the blog is short by stating something like, “3 Tips on Networking.” People will be more likely to read the blog if they feel it is something they can quickly glance over and retain. 

2. Repurpose your blogs. If your blogs have important or useful content, do not be afraid to reuse them on other platforms. Some options would be to include the information in a newsletter, social media posts, handouts, and back-linking. Reiterating the content will drive the point home, however, it is important to make sure this is not overdone. New content is necessary to keep people coming back for more. 

3. Submit your blog to industry related websites. Larger websites related to industry news produce new content regularly. By submitting your blog, you are lessening the work on their end and handing them a piece that is useful and interesting to their target audience as well as yours. 

Growing your following is an important step in growing your audience’s awareness of your organization. With that being said, hop on the blog train and reach as many people as you can!