Marketing Trends 2017 – Keep Your Members Engaged

Posted on July 26, 2017 in Associations, Chambers, Feature Updates, Membership, Nonprofit

On this week’s Latest Buzz blog post we are covering marketing trends and why it’s important to keep your organization’s marketing strategy evolving.

Marketing is one part of you organization that should be constantly moving, evolving and measured.

Now that we are more than halfway through 2017 it’s a good time to evaluate how your marketing strategy is doing, and find ways to improve it as well as making sure the members you already have are staying engaged with their memberships.

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Top 5 Marketing Tips of 2017

After reading through some of our favorite blogs and articles we’ve put together our top 5 reminders and tips for creating a strong marketing channel. All articles will be linked below so don’t forget to check them out!

1. Don’t rely on same tactics over & over

The same tactics will not prove to be as successful year after year. It’s important to let your marketing strategies evolve and grow with the industry

2. Always put your members first

Remember what the member is there for and what is important to them. With there being more competition out there the customer has more control than ever. Keeping this in mind in all of your marketing endeavors will prove invaluable.

3. Understand your target market
Getting to know what your members want through there eyes will help you make the right decisions, not only in your marketing, but within your business.

4. Allow your strategy to evolve
Not upgrading your marketing strategy is a dangerous move. The most successful and popular marketing techniques are constantly changing so what worked for you last year may offer subpar results this year. Researching marketing trends is one of the fasted and easiest ways to make sure you’re on top of the latest and greatest techniques.
5. Set a measurable goal
Mixing up your marketing strategy means nothing if you can’t figure out if it hindered or improved it. Keeping track of changes, clicks, site visits etc. is the most important step in a marketing strategy.

Some good techniques for measuring are:

Combine Google statistics with your MailChimp statistics so you have easy access to specific campaign results including return on investment, conversion rate, revenue generated, page views resulting from the campaign, and bounce rate.

MailChimp Blog – Featured Integrations: July 2017

Encourage Members to Stay Engaged

In a recent article in Association Success, Elizabeth George shares a few different ways in which associations can keep their members getting the most they can out of their memberships:

Implement Membership Engagement Cycle:

Include opportunities to become active and involved, whether that be through volunteering, peer collaboration, or leadership opportunities.
Online platforms for engagement:

Offering an online meeting space or community for members with similar interests and goals to interact is great way for members to stay in the loop and engaged! This can be done through a Facebook group or similar platforms set up through the organization. Set up a space for your members to connect so they don’t have to.

Member volunteers or ambassadors:

Elizabeth mentions that at Shop! they have brand Ambassadors. This is where enthusiastic volunteers work personally to welcome new members, assist with member-to-member connectivity at events, and if requested, serve as a mentor within their specific area of expertise. This is an awesome way to keep those enthusiastic members involved and have their excitement rub off and influence your new members.
Don’t forget, Membee also has a Friend of the Hive program where our enthusiastic uses can refer other organizations to receive a discount on their Membee subscription! This can result in our users using Membee for free! Check it out: How to Use Membee for Free!

“It takes hours, days and weeks to recruit new members. It only takes seconds to lose one. Let your already-invested members support you in making sure nobody gets lost.” – Elizabeth George, Shop! Environments Association.