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The MemberClicks Blog

You’ve heard it (and probably seen it) time and time again: Video content is growing in popularity.

Now that may either excite you or terrify you, depending on your comfort level with filming video. But the good news is, you really don’t have to have ANY videography experience to put together a top-notch video. All you need is your phone, a vision, and a few best practices in hand.

In fact, here are five key reminders for shooting high-quality videos on your phone:

Are webinars a part of your organization’s offerings? If so, how successful would you say they currently are? Are registrations and attendance high?

For many, there’s always room for improvement. To make your webinars more valuable (and thus, draw more returning visitors), try experimenting with the following pre-webinar tactics:

How many people do you know who’ve cut the cord on cable? Maybe you’re one of those people. You got tired of paying for channels you never watched, and so you dropped cable for Netflix. (Or Hulu. Or both.)

The point is, you didn’t want to pay for things you weren’t using. Many people feel this way, and many MORE people (more than ever before, at least) are starting to act upon it.

What does that mean for your organization? Well, just as people don’t want to pay for channels they don’t watch, they also don’t want to pay for benefits they won’t use. They want somewhat of a “custom membership,” and that’s where membership levels come into play.

Having a soon-to-be member fill out a member application on your organization’s website is exciting. More interest! More growth!

But in addition to it being an exciting process, it’s also a great opportunity for your organization to gather information that can help with engagement and retention, as well as future recruitment efforts...as long as you ask the right questions.

In fact, here are four questions you may want to consider adding to your online member application moving forward:  

Let’s say you’ve done your job as an association marketer and convinced a professional that membership in your organization is worthwhile. They want to join. (Woo hoo!)

But...dues are a bit of an issue. They either don’t have the funds right now or would simply rather their employer pay (since many companies out there do).

Consider this your organization’s first opportunity to provide them with value. Help them ask their employer to pay for a professional membership by passing along the following tips:

If you read our blog regularly, you’ve probably heard me talk about my love for lists before. And bucket lists are certainly no exception. In fact, I’ve been pretty enthralled by bucket lists lately. There are all kinds of them! For travel, there are international bucket lists, domestic bucket lists, and even city-specific bucket lists. (Yes, I have all three.) Then, there’s the more recognized lifetime bucket list. (This is where you’ll usually find some of those more extreme to-dos, such as “Go skydiving” or “Ride in a hot air balloon.”)

All of that got me thinking...could your association or chamber benefit from a bucket list? Part of the fun of having a bucket list is the satisfaction you get from checking items off. Not to mention, there’s a little bit of a competitive element about them. “I’ve done 15 of these. How many have you’ve done?” Combine those two things, and that could be a great way to boost member engagement at your association or chamber.

Words matter. If you’ve ever done any kind of marketing, you know that. And even as a consumer, you know that. Certain phrases just compel you to make a purchase.

So how can you tap into some of that psychology when “selling” your organization’s membership? Below are a few words and phrases you may want to consider utilizing:

We live in a highly advanced, highly personalized world. Voice assistants, same-day delivery, and on-demand content are becoming the norm. And while that’s great for us as consumers, it can be a challenge for those in the business of customer service (your association or chamber included).

Your members are expecting instant service. They’re comparing your organization to companies like Amazon and eBay. And while none of us can directly compete with retail giants like that, there are several things you can do to meet - and even exceed - rising member expectations in 2019:

Online social communities have been around for a while now. But it’s no secret they’re often underutilized. Many people think, “We have a Facebook page. Why would we need an online social community too?”

Well, there are several reasons, but perhaps one of the biggest (right now, at least) is this: A few weeks ago, Associations Now published an article about 2019 technology trends that associations should watch. And do you know what trend #2 was? 2019 is going to be a good year for private communities.

Reporting is one of the most valuable tools you have in your association’s toolbox. With reports, you can gain the insights needed to better your organization - and who doesn’t want that?!

But are you fully leveraging the power of reporting? Are you pulling the right reports to garner the right data? Below are three reports we believe ALL associations need: