The Key Ingredients to Your Association’s Success

As an employee of the leading B2B digital publisher in the association space, I have come across multiple inspiring association executives and thought leaders who want do what it takes to keep their associations at the forefront of their industries. I have also acquired a wealth of knowledge from each of these individuals about sustaining and growing a non-profit organization, so I find it appropriate to combine some of these keys to success to help inspire and fuel any non-profit executives out there reading this. Here are the keys to your association’s success:

Create and maintain an association blog
In this blog, write about trends, legislation, business tips and other news you know your members will want to read about. Here’s how you will benefit:
-It provides your readers with a constant flow of information. Stagnant websites tend to not have many repeat visitors. Stagnant websites reflect a stagnant organization. For associations, it is especially important to keep your members coming back to your website on a regular basis so you keep them engaged, show them the growth of their industry and provide them with another good reason as to why they pay annual dues. Make sure to put a link to your blogs on the homepage of your association’s website.
-It’s more personal. Essentially, a blog puts a face to the association’s name. One of MultiView’s association partners, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), has a blog platform that resides on the association website, which has multiple contributing authors on it. This is a GREAT example of putting a personal touch on your organization. Why wouldn’t you want to hear what members of your association have to say on a regular basis? After all, they are experts on your industry.

-It allows your members to interact with you on a regular basis. We can agree that open lines of communication are a good thing. With each new post, your members can comment and add their thoughts, which creates a dynamic and engaging conversation. This validates the importance of your members’ concerns and opinions. Added bonus: You will more than likely learn things to improve on more often; which, in turn, helps with member retention.
-It allows the association staff to be creative. Thinking outside the box is a lot of fun for the creative mind. Feel out the more creative thinkers on staff and see if they would like to be regular contributors to the blog. This will not only flatter them, but will also provide your readers with different writing styles and points of view.

Get on the social media bandwagon
In a digitally driven world, younger generations are coming out of the gate and into the corporate world with a whole wealth of knowledge on the newest digital media trends and applications. With the emergence of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ (not to mention all of the digital platforms they are available on), young adults are educated and equipped to blast out their thoughts quickly. This being said, more and more organizations are keeping up with their corporate social media accounts. Why? Because one of the first things people do when researching a company or organization is go to their Facebook page, Twitter account, etc. and follow them. Keep in mind: If your association is going to have corporate social media accounts, be sure they are being updated on a daily basis. Also, be sure that whoever is handling said social media accounts actually interacts with their connections rather than just pumping out posts.

Offer online continuing education programs
As an association, you want your members to know you are constantly offering them the tools they need to succeed in your industry. This is where online continuing education comes into play. Provide a 24-hour Live Learning Center Portal. A Live Learning Center Portal will engage your association’s membership by providing access to easy-to-use, valuable new offerings such as digital recordings of conference sessions and the ability to earn Continuing Education (CE) credits. Offer live webinars and post those videos to your Live Learning Center Portal for members to access at their convenience.

Make youth development a high priority
Young adults are the next generation of CEOs and association executives, so whether older generations in the association space want to stomach the idea or not, they are going to have to pass on the responsibility torch at some point to their younger counterparts. Both sides of the totem pole need to remember this. As a younger professional, take the time to listen to your role models and take in as much of their advice as possible. Also, take the time to be well-versed in corporate news and what will impact your future and the future of your industry. On the flip side, association executives need to make themselves available to provide guidance and other leadership input to those participating in your young member programs. Don’t have a young member program in place? Try starting with a mentorship program.