#Engageassn is around the corner - register NOW!

For the second consecutive year, the Engaging Associations Forum will create an environment where association executives have the opportunity for a true dialogue on the issues that keeps them up at night, foster learning and the exchange of ideas for the next generation of association, the association of the future.

Why?  Because things need to change.

If you have not yet registered, take a look at the program outline.  It will be an event not to be missed!

Technology: How are you keeping up with the technological advancements that impact your association?  Have you joined the #mobilesocial revolution? Or do you find that you’re barely able to keep pace?  Join former association exec and self-described geek Jim Spellos as he reviews what’s new and way cool in technology – from websites to critical augmented reality tools.

Sponsorship: Association business models are shifting and some see membership dues as an obsolete practice.  Where does this leave sponsorship?  Beyond the traditional "metal levels" what do sponsors want before they open their wallets? Hear directly from sponsors such as Porter Airlines’ Lori Wagner, Travel Alberta’s Jenn Holly and Sponsorship Consultant Ted Wagstaff; ask questions and see how your sponsorship program measures up!

Ubers of Associations: In less than three years, Uber – the car-hailing start-up – went from 0 to 160,000+ drivers and a valuation of $41 billion. Regardless of whether we view it a threat or an opportunity, this company is a disruptor. So what are the Ubers of the association world? It’s a question that Dr. Susan Phillips of Carleton University has asked in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Get ready for a lively discussion!

Meetings & Events: Associations view meetings and events as prime opportunities to engage members, sponsors and other stakeholders. How can an association build anticipation and grow their event attendance all while harnessing the power of face-to-face engagement once onsite in order to enhance and prolong the event experience year-round? Rachel Stephan of sensov / event marketing shares proven engagement techniques from her work with national meetings like CIM Convention and international congresses such as the World Congress of Biomaterials and World Congress of Food Science and Technology.

The Association of the Future: The world is changing so quickly, who can predict the future anymore?  Success in the future may be less about prediction and more about sharing and capitalizing on information now to be clear on what the future may hold. Mark Thompson of McKinley Solutions leads us through an innovative group exercise: edgecrafting, where the power of what we know now collectively can help us prepare individually for the future.

Join us July 23-24 at the Ottawa Marriott!

9 Marketing Remedies for Event Registration Success

Over the years, our Greenfield team has "rescued" numerous programs because event registrations
were not coming in as expected. Here is our prescription for a successful event marketing campaign:

1. Get permission first: It is important to obtain and track permissions for your stakeholders -your prospects. Members are OK; they have opted in to your communications through their renewals. However, your prospective list is a different story: with CASL in play, it is important to build a list that won't get you in trouble later.
2. Maintain your database: With CASL, if there is a complaint, the burden will be on you to provide that permission was obtained. Don't risk the fine! Keep your database clean.
3. Make it about ME: Who cares if your event has a record-breaking number of exhibitors, sponsors or break-out sessions? If your communication isn't articulating WIIFM (what's-in-it-for me) for the potential attendee, they likely won't register.
4. Twitterize your message: Don't send long emails telling me ALL there is to know about your event. Since your message is most likely to be viewed on a mobile device, keep your message short and to the point. If there's more to the story, give links where the recipient can go for more.
5. Make it shareable: An increasing number of business event attendees are active on social media. Make it easy for attendees to share your event with peers by using ShareThis or other social media sharing platforms. That way they can tweet, post to Facebook or LinkedIn, or whatever social medium they prefer.
6. Tell them who else will be there: Not just speakers or sponsors/exhibitors; people want to know about their peers. So upon a registration, gain permission to publicize the fact that an attendee will be there. Those who agree will have their name posted on your event website. It's a simple way to create FOMO (fear-of-missing-out).
7. Show them: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then video is worth a million. Use this powerful tool to show clips of speakers, testimonials from attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. Score double points by showcasing a video of someone with similar attributes to your prospect.
8. Vary your channels: Unless recipients have white-listed your email address, anytime you are using email deployment software, there is a 30-40% chance that your message will be caught in spam filters. Your audience may be interested but may never see your message! Pay special attention to where your prospects hang out on LinkedIn. Get the influential people in your industry to tweet about your event. Or even send something by mail - something that will pique curiosity, and will drive traffic to your website.
9. Don't be so business like: Learn from what gets shared online; people enjoy funny or touching stories. Your promotion will rise above the clutter if you show emotion humour, or an edge. Don't be so serious!

For meeting, conference and event planners, covering each tactic can be a daunting task.  But a well-rounded event marketing plan will drive attendance & engagement.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 Tips for Creating a Rock Star Social Media Plan

Social media can be a daunting process, especially if you do not know where to start. But for your conference or event, it can be an extremely powerful tool to maximize engagement from your attendees before, during and after the event. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Appoint a Leader – Every successful plan needs someone to spearhead the program. Do not
just assign the task – find the right person. Plan on conducting an “interview” with the person
you have in mind. They must have knowledge on how the social media sites work (or at least
be capable of ramping up quickly).

Find an expert to help you – When you are looking to get things started, finding the right
person (or company) can really help when it comes to developing the right profile, planning
which messages should be delivered on what sites, etc. Determine what messages you want
delivered to the general public (including your membership) – which could be delivered through
various channels (such as Facebook or Twitter), and which messages are for members-only
(where create a “Members Only” group on LinkedIn, for example), and plan your marketing
accordingly.

Be timely – the purpose of social media is to disseminate information as it is released. If you
are going to post something, make sure it is relevant to what is happening now.

Use your Influence – as an association, you should be considered a leader in your respective
industry. Aim to be the “one-stop shop” for information and position your presence that way on
social media sites.

Keep Working It – this is a task that cannot be managed properly for about 10 minutes a day.
Ideally a few hours a day should be dedicated to maintaining your presence on social media
sites, so as not to be lost in the shuffle.

Need more?  Click here to download the full document.

#Association Social Media Tips

Need some tips to assist your team to raise your social media presence?

Twitter Tips:

• Tweet as your group or brand. And the tone of your tweets should showcase your brand personality – i.e. avoid using “I” or “Me”; instead, use plural verbiage such as “Our” or “We”.
• Using graphics for your profile image and background? Customize it. Keep it close to your brand (such as, if your association represents doctors, try finding stock images of a doctor treating a patient, or of a stethoscope, etc).
• Get out there. Ask a question, start a discussion using an already established hashtag (or, create one of your own), make a Twitter-only special offer. The point is to get involved.

LinkedIn Tips: Have you created a Company Page yet? If not, start one and use it!

• Be sure to populate with your logo, locations, products, services etc. in the various areas that are applicable to you.
• Update your status regularly. Update your followers with news, info on new products to benefit your members, new services or certifications offered, welcoming new members, reminding members of renewal timeframes, job openings, conference info, etc.

Facebook Tips:

• When is the best time to post? You will likely receive the most engagement from your Facebook posts between the hours of 8:00 PM and 7:00 AM (when people are not at work or in workmode). Try scheduling most of your posts during that timeframe to determine if it is the right timeframe for you.
• When are the best days to post? It can be different for every organization. However, I have found that engagement is highest on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Want more?  Click here to download the full tips sheet.

Associations' Presence on Social Media [Infographic]

Six Tips to Magnetize Your Association’s Website

This post was co-authored by Doreen Ashton Wagner, Chief Strategist and Jeff Chabot, Web & E-Marketing Programmer with Greenfield Services.

In a previous post we discussed the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure prospective members, sponsors and other stakeholders easily can find your organization online.

With search engines now including social media into their algorithms, how your users feel about your website is increasingly important to how it’s found.  The more users like and recommend your website on social media, the more popular (and higher-ranked) your site will be. 

The user experience is becoming paramount to how your site will be found.  Here are six tips to guide your journey as you improve your website’s appeal;

1. Be the client: The easiest way to improve a user’s experience is to become the user. Put yourself in the shoes of the particular clientele you are trying to attract.  If you serve different markets, you should divide your website according to those segments, using language and imagery that appeal to each stakeholder group.  This might mean addressing your different membership categories, buyers vs. sellers, or professionals vs. the general public.
2. “Survey” the land: One of the biggest tools you have at your disposal when determining what makes your site tick is your existing clientele/membership. Why not ask them what they like and don’t like?  Send them a quick survey asking them questions about their experience on your site.  Better yet, interview them and find out which sites they love and why.
3. Keeping your website copy direct and to the point: Too many words on a page will discourage visitors, many of whom are now using mobile devices to look up information.  What looks reasonable on a desktop computer often is too lengthy on an iPhone or tablet.  Keep copy to 250 words or less, with shorter sentences and at least one paragraph break.  Provide more information in downloadable resources, allowing users to pick and choose their desired level of detail. 
4. Calls to action: Calls to action are attention-getting buttons and response boxes that allow users, at a glance, to download, sign up or shop without having to navigate the whole site.  Such mechanisms also enable you to “gate” content.  This is when you require a visitor to provide their name, company, email and any other information before they can download the resource.  Typically you do this only for those resources that are truly “higher value” pieces, such as white papers, case studies and educational checklists.  And remember to ask permission to continue sending information by email, if that is what you intend to do.
5. Help, I need a compass!  Navigation is one of the easiest ways to improve your user’s experience.  Ensure visitors always know where they are on your site by: 
• Providing clear top-level navigation, and keeping sub-levels to a maximum of two;
• Having sub-level pages open in a new browser window or tab so the visitor can always see where they came from;
• Adding a site map;
• Having your contact information on every single page so visitors can easily reach out with any questions.
6. Be a Fashionista: Improve your site’s user experience by applying what you liked on other websites.  We’re not suggesting outright copying of entire pages, but adapting some elements of design or navigation from popular sites can be a great way to upgrade yours.  It’s like reading a popular magazine and noticing what are the dominantfashions; it helps you stay current!

Magnetizing your website so that prospects find you and decide to do business with you is an ongoing business requirement.  Gone are the days when you could put up a website and forget about it for a few months or years.  If your site isn’t being continually updated and tweaked, it will quickly lose its luster.  

Event #Marketing: Your Message in Search of a Platform

Last week, we talked about the treasure trove of content that you can use to build an event marketing campaign, largely by working with the key takeaways from your previous event.

But the next question is: Now that you’ve got the content in hand, what do you do with it?

Go Where Your Audience Gathers

One of the first rules of content marketing is to find your audience where they already gather, so the right mix of media for your campaign will depend on the groups you’re trying to reach. But for more and more organizations, all roads (or, at least, more roads) lead to one or more social platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

If your organization has a limited presence on social media, or no presence at all, there are still some basic steps you can take to give your event some visibility online. Social media thrive on smart, targeted content, and you’ve got compelling material in search of a platform. Here are some steps you can take to build a perfect match:

• Create a Twitter hashtag for your event. If it’s an annual conference, or part of a recurring series, leave the year out of the tag, so you can reuse it and build a larger audience over time.
• Find the LinkedIn groups that match the profile of the audiences you’re trying to reach.
• As your conference website takes shape, featuring the types of material we talked about last week, produce LinkedIn stories and Twitter tweets that talk about the specific pieces of content that are most likely to draw each audience.

Keep the Conversation Real

To make this event marketing strategy work, you have to remember the fine distinction between conversation and selling.

If more than about 10% of your messaging has to do with the conference itself, you’ll be seen as a spammer and treated accordingly.

But if you genuinely set out to open conversations about your conference content, your online audience will begin to respond. Many of your speakers will appreciate the input. You’ll gradually widen your circles and reach prospective participants who’ve never heard of your event, or never considered attending.

And by the time participants get onsite, many of them will have already been a part of a gripping online dialogue that they’re eager to continue during the face-to-face event, then carry on via social media in the weeks and months after they get home. That’s when the conversations around your conference program become a starting point for building a stronger, more connected and member-centred organization.

Want more information?  Come check out the Greenfield Services booth (number 137) at iBE 2013 this June in Toronto!

Effective Associations: Your Online Brand is Your Magnet

The association world is at the centre of a shift in marketing philosophies that works in favour of organizations that genuinely want to listen to their members, learn from what they hear, and deliver better, more targeted services.

The trend is called inbound marketing, and it’s creating new expectations for the way organizations of all kinds communicate with their members, customers, and stakeholders. The new marketing approach is about magnets, not darts: Rather than hunting key contacts down, you attract them by offering irresistible value.

Building an Online Profile

Nowhere is this change more visible than in the communication tools associations use to attract, engage, and retain their members.

• Optimize Your Presence: Your website and mobile platform have to be optimized to draw members’ attention and stand out against a din of competing content and messaging. Your sites should be easy to find and a pleasure to navigate. And you have to use the right analytics to understand who’s visiting your site and what information they find most useful once they get there.
• Get Social: While the large majority of Canadian associations are engaged with social media, and most of them are satisfied with their results so far, the majority reported last year that 10% of their members or fewer were participating in their social sites. To boost your presence on social media, you’ll want to build a campaign that uses compelling content to draw them to your website.
• Keep Asking Questions: The most effective associations conduct regular surveys to take the pulse of their members, spot emerging trends and issues, and show that they genuinely want to deliver the best possible services and value.

Make the First Move

Inbound marketing is about making the first move. When you reach out with something your members need and value, it needn't and shouldn't carry an obvious sales message: your immediate goal is to earn their trust, confidence, and appreciation. For most of us, time is the scarcest commodity of all, and if we find a reliable, convenient path to the information and resources we need, we aren't likely to forget it.

As my colleague Doreen Ashton Wagner told hospitality executives in a blog post last year: “With inbound marketing, you get back the attention and engagement of your target audience—and, eventually, their buying power - by giving away something they need and want in place of a standard, outbound sales pitch. Offer them knowledge. Point them to resources. And make it clear that you ask nothing in return, that the conversation is its own reward.”

For associations that really have their members’ best interests at heart, that strategy shouldn't be a hard sell. But it can and should be a gateway to stronger, more meaningful member relationships that make everyone more resilient at a time of rapid change.

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Using Twitter for Events – Part 3: Engagement

This post was written by Gwynydd Murray, Client Care Specialist with Greenfield Services

Social media and mobile solutions continue to change the way people communicate and how organizations engage with patrons and draw in new interest. Twitter provides endless opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, innovation, and promotion. Used effectively, social media and mobile technology can significantly improve productivity, as well as enhance audience awareness and participation.


About a year ago I took great interest in The June/July 2012 edition of CSAE’s Association Magazine (http://www.csae.com/Resources/Magazine.aspx), which discusses at length how to optimize the use of a number of social media channels for events. Everything from LinkedIn and Facebook to SlideShare and YouTube will help organizations disseminate key messages to a plethora of followers and potential attendees. The Feature Article, The Role of Social Media at your Next Conference outlines perfectly how “The proliferation of social media has made it possible for us to capture meaningful information and respond to it – in real-time.” (page 28). Nothing is better in real-time than Twitter.

In my previous blogs, I’ve already explained the importance of Preparation and Tools. When thinking about Twitter for events, there is nothing more important than Engagement. The great thing about Social Media is the back and forth between originator and audience. The message does not exist in a vacuum, but is expected to foster conversation and encourage sharing of the message outside its original sphere.

When considering using Twitter for events, the first thing to remember is it is not solely for the day-of, on-site reporting. You need to draw in potential attendees’ right from the beginning. The event ads, program, website and emails should all publicize the Twitter @handle and #hashtag. You can then reach out to potential attendees and engage those who have already registered.

Tweeting before an event is not only about advertising. Content about speakers, schedules, exhibitors, accommodations, and deadlines is important to keep people informed. Keeping up a conversation will get them interested. Ask questions about what people are looking forward to and encourage them to ask questions themselves. Do not forget to keep up with those posts, and always respond to those who have taken the time to reach out to you.

While at the event, talk to and take photos of exhibitors, attendees, and presenters to get “nuggets” to post. Explain what you’re doing and encourage them to do the same. Even if someone does not use Twitter, gauge their interest and encourage them to look into it.  Recently, we planned Caesars Windsor’s Meeting Planner Symposium, and our friend and colleague @JeniseFryatt joined us as a virtual panelist for social media.  Jenise suggested having a “social media concierge” booth for newcomers to social media, and the concierge’s purpose would be to walk them through the set up and how to search for specific hashtags to tweet and re-tweet what is happening.  What better way to engage them in the social media process than in person and on-site?  It was a GREAT idea, and well supported by the other panelists and the audience of meeting & event planners, and association executives! Talking to visitors ensures better engagement next time. Draw people to an interesting booth or Tweet a speaker’s line that made you LOL.

Again, constantly check for re-Tweets and mentions, to keep the conversation going and let people know it was not a one-way medium. Even from off-site, the right Tweets can make you feel like you’re there.

Finally, remember the Twitter feed exists after the event. It’s a great way to measure people’s opinion after the fact. How did they like the sessions? Who were their favourite speakers?  How many people got to the early morning breakfast?  This will not only keep people engaged, but ensure future great events. Think of it as an instant survey.

The adage of quality over quantity could not be truer for Twitter. It’s not about a 140 character “info dump”, but having a conversation. It’s not only about making information accessible on the day of, but engaging with people who want to participate long after the booths are down.

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Using Twitter for Events – Part 2: Mastering your Tools

This post was written by Gwynydd Murray, Client Care Specialist with Greenfield Services.

Social media is an inexpensive tool for sharing information before, during, and following an event. With the right plan and the right message, organizations can bring in more patrons and keep those already on board informed.

As reported by eMarketer Inc, showed American nonprofits are spending more time using social media to get their message out than they did in the previous year.  While there are a number of useful and popular sites - from experience - Twitter is the most efficient tool in communicating a very specific message to a desired audience. The study also outlined that Twitter is used by nearly three-quarters of American nonprofits and is used most for multiple posts per day.  Despite these numbers being from a US-based survey, social media trends are comparable north of the border.

In addition to my previous article about Preparation, to aid in the best possible use of Twitter for events, the next aspect to consider is the available Tools and what you should consider having on hand.
The most basic tool that anyone can use while Tweeting about an event on site is a smartphone (with a camera and internet access). I’m not going specify any brand or model, because you just need to be comfortable with it and know how to use what you’ve got to its full potential. There is no question though, there is a difference between camera quality and internet connectivity – an improvement on the basics could be necessary.

In my original post, I said that practice and preparation make perfect. Know what your phone is capable of and get familiar with any useful apps available. You can use Twitter within the browser, or you can find the Twitter app, which allows you to post photos and connect with other Twitter users. Hopefully, you have already connected with associated Followers and should have an already assembled collection of correct @handles and #hashtags. If you cannot pre-program the app you’re using, this is where a hardcopy list would come in handy.

Once you’ve got your mobile companion in-hand, the charger should never be far away.  Some of you may be saying “Of course.” Others may figure “I can usually go days without charging, a few hours in the Trade Show should be a breeze.” You may have the best battery, but I would err on the side of caution because Tweeting from an event is one of the biggest workouts your phone is going to get. Merely using the camera and browsing the internet will use a substantial amount of energy. Switching apps and using multiple media is almost guaranteed to drain the battery before the day is even done (believe me; I didn’t think it would, and it happened to me a few months ago!). You really do not want to watch those little bars depleting and have to rush, which means not doing due-diligence to the whole process.

In addition to the phone, a laptop or iPad can make things easier and provide access to different programs and resources. I realize this can be a tall order and may be overkill, depending on your circumstances.   A bigger screen will make it easier to see the quality of the photos and will also allow for editing. A laptop would also allow using a digital camera to download better photos. With these types of tools, it also helps to be able to use Wi-Fi (don’t forget to get the password for the venue) to check the Twitter feed and do internet searches with ease.

All-in-all, Twitter itself is a great tool for promoting and presenting events. Familiarizing yourself with the basic tools available to access this app, will make the process easy for anyone who is interested.

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Where to Look for Member Engagement

If you’ve been curious about how to gather begin measuring the impact of your organization’s social media presence, you’re not alone.

We’ve been looking at a series of three white papers on social media marketing and measurement produced by Avectra, a software vendor based in the United States. The papers point to measurement as one of the biggest challenges in the social media programs that are becoming more and more prevalent across the association community.

“Associations have generally struggled to measure the bottom-line results of social media marketing efforts across the immense social universe their members now participate in,” Avectra noted in the second white paper in the series, Beyond ROI: The True Value of Return on Engagement.

That’s partly because “the very nature of social media calls for different measurement methods than, say, a direct-mail campaign.” By measuring “return on engagement,” as well as conventional ROI, organizations can get at “the qualitative connections and relationships that result from social outreach,” which “can lead to quantitative results that connect directly to the association’s objectives and bottom line.”

Asking the Right Questions

With social platforms generating an ocean of data, it’s important for associations to measure the online activities that give them the best indication of members’ engagement, interests, and concerns. The Avectra paper points to some strategies that involve aggregating individual responses on social media and tracking them over the time.

• By monitoring (and responding to) online conversations and interactions, you get a sense of your profile and credibility with members and identify any gaps between what you thought you were saying or doing and what they heard.
• By mapping members’ profiles across multiple social platforms, you understand how they connect online—with you, and with each other—and get a clearer picture of the services, products, and issues that will interest them most.
• By taking a consistent, active role in members’ online discussions, you position your organization as a helpful, deeply committed resource and gain the credibility to issue calls to action when you need to mobilize the community.
• By evaluating your social media campaigns, you produce a steady stream of data that will help you sharpen your message and extend its reach.

The Resources to Do the Job

That’s the theory—and for more and more organizations, a strong social media presence will be the key to long-term survival. But for many of the Canadian associations that responded to Greenfield Services’ 2012 Pulse Report, the challenge is more basic: As we noted in an earlier blog in this series:

• Three-quarters of the organizations were treating social media management as a part-time task, assigned to a staff member with other responsibilities.
• Only 4.6% of survey respondents came from offices with full-time social media managers.

And it isn’t easy, or realistic, to try to manage and measure a full-scale social media campaign off the side of your desk.

That means the first step to social media success is for association executives to recognize the opportunity that is just beyond their reach, the allocate resources accordingly. Communication and member engagement models are changing fast, freeing up budgets that can be reassigned as established approaches lose their impact. The future belongs to the associations that can make the transition, and it’s never too soon to begin searching for the social platforms, outreach strategies, and measurement tools that best suit your needs.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are You Using Social Media to Engage Members?

If you’re a membership-based organization and you’re not using social media to listen to members, build their sense of engagement, and measure their commitment, you may be about to trip over one of the most significant trends reshaping associations.

In the second of three white papers on return on investment from social media, Beyond ROI: The True Value of Return on Engagement, U.S. software vendor Avectra points out that the whole member relationship has been turned on its head.

“In the past, member engagement was typically transactional, such as registering for the annual conference, or responding to a holiday-themed direct-mail piece, or volunteering to work on a committee,” the company stated. “Today, social media tools and technologies allow members to connect and engage when, where, and how they want to,” and that means “the rules of member engagement have changed.”

The “exciting opportunity,” as Avectra says, is for associations to listen, adapt, and build deeper, long-term relationships based on the takeaways their members find most useful. The question is whether organizations are making the transition—and if they are, how effectively they’re measuring their own progress.

Scrambling to Get it Right

Greenfield had similar questions in mind when we produced the 2012 Pulse Report. From the responses we received from Canadian associations, we saw that more than two-thirds identified member engagement as a top priority, but many of them were scrambling a bit to get on with implementation.

• Two-thirds of respondents’ organizations invested less than 10% of their operating budgets (excluding staff salaries) in membership marketing.
• Fewer than three in 10 placed strong emphasis on new product or service offerings.
• Fewer than half saw it as a top priority to demonstrate the ROI that would give members a compelling reason to renew.

Avectra’s three white papers point to social media platforms as ideal tools for building and measuring member engagement—but like any tools, they have to be used as directed.

Setting Yourself Up to Succeed

“Whether your association’s goals are higher renewal rates, better lead generation, improved member services, or meeting annual fundraising objectives, you need to optimize member engagement,” the white paper notes. And “social media offer you an opportunity to share your mission, remain relevant, solve challenges, and reach your organizational goals.”

But you won’t succeed on social media if you spend your time broadcasting your message and collecting thousands of surface contacts who have no genuine connection to your organization. “The true value of social media investment comes from figuring out how many of those followers—or fans, or connections, or private online community members—are engaged in ways that align with your association’s goals,” Avectra states. “Then, you can determine how to use these data insights to help achieve your business goals.”

In a past post, we talked about Avectra’s approach to social CRM (customer relationship management) and its philosophy of “thoughtful, strategic, authentic engagement” with members. Next week, we’ll look at how you can turn those principles into a practical plan to measure member engagement.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Social Media Marketing: So Much More Than Just the Technology

In our day-to-day conversations with clients, it’s exciting to see more and more associations recognizing the urgent need to build their presence on social media, or to build up their existing profile.

But too often, in the rush to embrace one of the hottest, most promising new tools in marketing and communications, organizations are asking the wrong questions, making poor choices, and building social media campaigns that disappoint rather than delighting them.

That’s why I was so pleased to see a series of white papers by Avectra, a U.S. software vendor that took a hard look at the strategy and return on investment (ROI) behind social media.

“Many associations have invested time, energy, and budgets into building a strategy that allows them to engage both members and prospects through social media,” Avectra noted in the first of three papers, 7 Myths and Realities of Social ROI for Associations [sign-up required].

“Measuring social ROI, however, is an ongoing challenge for executives seeking to prove the channel’s value to board members and other key stakeholders within the organization.”

Starting Off on the Right Foot

But to get that value, associations have to start out with the right assumptions about social media campaigning. One of the most important, as Avectra said, is that “social CRM (customer relationship management) is a philosophy and business strategy supported by technology,” not just a technology tool.
(Before we go on, just pause and read that again. How often do you expect a software company to tell you that your next big buy isn’t primarily about the technology?)

“Certainly, Social CRM needs to be supported by the right technology platform,” the company stated, but the strategy goes much farther. “It’s about getting the entire organization onboard with the idea that Social CRM collects and uses social data to engage the member in a collaborative conversation, in a way that is mutually beneficial and trustworthy.”

The white paper urged readers to build strategies for “thoughtful, strategic, authentic engagement,” rather than leaping right in to open accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn: “A ‘throw it at the wall and see if it sticks’ attitude is not a social strategy,” but if the strategy is right, the measurable results will follow: “Social media can offer true ROI, but only with a thoughtful, data-driven strategy behind it.”

Acting As If It Matters

For many Canadian associations, the first steps are a bit more basic. In its 2012 Pulse Report, Greenfield Services discovered that three-quarters of Canadian associations were treating social media management as a part-time task, assigned to a staff member with other responsibilities. Only 4.6% of survey respondents came from organizations with full-time social media managers.

“A part-time social media manager can do great things with enough time and the right training,” Greenfield noted. “However, a general understanding of the association sector suggests that many of these ‘accidental’ or ‘occasional’ managers are still finding their way on social media while they juggle competing job priorities.”

What are your biggest challenges with social media management?

Have you had a chance to define the ROI you expect from your social platforms? How are they performing against that standard?

Using Twitter for Events – Part 1: Preparation

This post was written by Gwynydd Murray, Client Care Specialist with Greenfield Services.

The importance of social media is undeniable, and Twitter specifically can be used as an effective event promotion tool for associations. In my experience as a third-party Social Media Coordinator, there are some things I have learned that will help even the most novice Twitter user when it comes to events.

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I am not yet 30, but this does not mean anything in terms of my social media prowess. So many people use their age as a reason for not giving Twitter a try, but with the right fundamentals anyone can get what they want from social media. Two years ago, I was not familiar with Twitter at all. I have had to learn from scratch, and most often trial and error is the best teacher.  Age should not be a factor when looking for a social media expert, it should be based on knowledge and expertise.

It may have become a cliché, but the Scouts had it right – always be prepared.

In terms of using Twitter for events, the first thing to consider is preparation.

Create a following. The more people online, the better, but you need to be strategic. Use membership lists to find the appropriate people on Twitter beforehand and share pertinent information to get people involved. Looking for volunteers? Is there a change in schedule? Are there special rates? Without a growing media, the day-of work will not reach everyone it can. Keeping the association members and potential attendees in the loop is top priority.

Your event should have a hashtag (ie: #event2013) and that hashtag should be expressed in multiple sources. Of course, use it as much as possible on Twitter, but also try to get it out in event literature, such as emails to attendees, the event website and program.

Keep the lines of communication open with the host. If you have questions, you need to know who to go to for answers and you really do not want to be responsible for misinformation. Things change and come up out of the blue, so know where to get the most current and accurate information – not just the internet.  If you are doing social media for a client, you need to know what their ideal is. Do they want to see a lot of photos? Do they want a particular message out?

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a “low-tech contingency” is imperative. Technology can be fickle, so some basics need to be accessible regardless of power-shortages, worn-out ink cartridges, or password protected Wi-Fi.

• Have a hardcopy of the Program printed ahead of time. You can mark up the floor-plan with “not to miss” exhibits; as well as know the schedule, sponsors, and speakers to keep track of. 
• Compile a list of important Twitter handles. This can include sponsors, keynote speakers and facilitators, exhibitors, and suppliers.  A hardcopy list will prevent mistakes (ie: @GwynMurray can accidentally be attributed to @GwynyddMurray). You cannot always maneuver straight from Twitter, so even the preprogrammed handles from pre-event Tweets may not be right at your fingertips, unless you’ve got a list printed. This is also a great source for ensuring no one gets forgotten, in that you can tick off each necessary box as you go. The less guess-work the better.

Simply speaking, Twitter prep is very important and may take more time in the first place, but it will make the day-of more efficient at any event.

Stay tuned for some additional advice about how to optimize your use of Twitter for events.

You’re Using Social Media. Have Your Members Noticed?

Everyone’s doing it. It’s hard to find a Canadian association that doesn't have some kind of presence on social media.

But there’s a big difference between using the tools and having an impact, and it may not be long before some organizations start approaching new media with a very old question:

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, did it make a sound?

The problem isn't hard to diagnose. Over the last few years, social media has emerged as the next big thing, and everyone has been under pressure to leap onboard. New technologies and platforms are rising and falling far too fast to keep track, so it’s hardly surprising that there’s been no time to ask the two most important questions:

• Why are we going online?
• How can we adapt this fantastic new platform to serve our organization’s unique agenda?

The disconnect came through loud and clear in Greenfield Services’ 2012 Pulse Report. The survey results confirmed that all but about 3% of associations have some degree of interest in social media—79.3% are already active on social platforms, and another 18% will be getting online in the next year. A large proportion of respondents saw social media as a valuable tool for building general and public awareness and boosting member engagement.

But it’ll take some time to get from here to there. Less than 5% of organizations treat social media management as a full-time role for a dedicated staff member. Most of the rest rely on “accidental” or “occasional” managers who are still finding their way on social media while they juggle competing job priorities. Just under 10% of respondents said their social media management had been assigned to members or staff-volunteer committees.

So this should be no surprise: The majority of associations reported that no more than one in 10 of their members participate in their social media sites.

When an organization uses social media wisely and well, the experience can transform its relationship with members. In contrast to the transactional dealings that flow out of a traditional marketing model, social platforms are an opportunity to:

• Listen to your members
• Respond with the information and resources they need
• Build a wider community where your members can participate and support each other’s professional or organizational growth
• Deliver greater value than they ever hoped to receive from their association, and
• Position your organization as a thought leader.

In the end, everyone wins. Members are delighted with the great benefits they've received. The association builds a higher profile and a more robust member retention program. And the profession, trade, or industry sector is better and stronger as a result.

But only if your social media program is built on a deliberate strategy that ties every blog, tweet, and LinkedIn post back to your organization’s broader objectives and branding. From the 2012 Pulse Report, associations clearly know they have to do something about their social presence. The bigger challenge is to turn those great intentions into lasting impact and results.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Want to Boost Member Engagement? Launch an Online Community – Part 2

This two part guest post was provided by Annette Balgord, Vice President at Equation Technologies.  Equation assists associations to implement Social CRM, private online communities, and association management systems (AMS).  Annette is on the CSAE Trillium Chapter Communications Committee and a board member at Information Technology Alliance.  You can visit Equation Technologies at the Avectra Booth (# 178) at the CSAE National Conference & Showcase this November in Ottawa.


Groups, Reputation Scoring and Member Matching:  Foundation of Peer-to-Peer Online Collaboration

Three areas that contribute to robust online collaboration are groups, reputation scoring, and member matching.

Groups
Online collaboration provides a virtual meeting place for groups working on behalf of the association.  Group projects may include event planning committees, communication committees, member outreach, and so on.

Groups are defined segments of your community with an online space to conduct focused discussions and projects, house resources relevant to the group project, distribute surveys and announcements, and plan events.  Online collaboration tools allow you the option of making the space public for all to see or to have a variety of privacy permissions to limit the visibility of online group activity.

Groups can be managed by staff or by a member leader according to your preference.  Because information is online, it reduces inbox clutter and is readily accessible to group members whenever it is convenient for them to log in.

Reputation scoring
Who are the members who are the most active, connected and engaged?  Reputation scoring is one way your association management system can help you gather information about member engagement levels.  What are the actionable items you’d like to track and encourage among your members?  And which are the most important actions that contribute to a more energized online community?

Assign points to actions such as completing one’s member profile; answering a survey question; sharing resources; starting an online discussion; replying to an online inquiry, etc.  You can use the point value to decide which actions are the most important to fostering the online member experience.

Member matching
Easily aligning members is another benefit of online collaboration.  Through your association management solution or online community platform, you should be able to map a series of questions, responses and criteria that allows you to segment and match members.  For example, for a networking focus, set up questions such as “Would you like to be a mentor?” to match with “Would you like to be mentored?”, coupled with questions on interest and specialties to create a specific relationship between members.

A more meaningful member experience is facilitated because you can route information most relevant to the member based on their interests.

Ottawa-Gatineau CSAE Partners with Greenfield Services for Social Media Management

We are pleased to officially announce that the Ottawa Gatineau Chapter of the Canadian Society of Association Executives (OG-CSAE) has selected Greenfield Services Inc. as their strategic partner for Social Media Management, effective Monday, October 1st.

Greenfield Services will research and gather feedback from members, committees and CSAE National to produce social media guidelines, policies and procedures.  These documents will be shared with various committee members and volunteers of the chapter.

Greenfield will also manage the chapter’s social media posts and interactions, ensuring that the chapter remains positioned as the “go-to” source for association management news and best practices in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.  This will include sharing of relevant content, starting and maintaining discussions with members, prospective members, and the community at-large, and the promotion of professional development and events.

The team will be led by Meagan Rockett, Director of Client Solutions, who sits on the Membership Committee and the Communications Committee of the Chapter.  Meagan also participates in the newly developed Mentorship Program.

Greenfield Services President and Chief Strategist Doreen Ashton Wagner stated, “We look forward to this partnership, helping the CSAE Ottawa-Gatineau Chapter demonstrate the effectiveness of social media for event promotion and member engagement.

For more information on the program, please contact Meagan Rockett at 613-288-4517, meagan@greenfield-services.ca, or @rockettm on Twitter.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Want to Boost Member Engagement? Launch an Online Community - Part 1

This two part guest post was provided by Annette Balgord, Vice President at Equation Technologies.  Equation assists associations to implement Social CRM, private online communities, and association management systems (AMS).  Annette is on the CSAE Trillium Chapter Communications Committee and a board member at Information Technology Alliance.  You can visit Equation Technologies at the Avectra Booth (# 178) at the CSAE National Conference & Showcase this November in Ottawa.

Imagine an energized community of members who are contributing time, resources, conversation, input and excitement to the opportunities and issues your association highlights.  This probably occurs at your events where people are able to interact face-to-face.  Now imagine this happening online.

Fueling the engine of renewals and recruitment

Increase the likelihood of renewals: increased participation of members serves to strengthen their commitment to the organization

Attract additional renewals: Their excitement is contagious and their contribution draws in more members to association discussions and activity

Improve recruitment effectiveness: The higher level of member engagement helps the association enhance existing member offerings (improved quality of conference sessions, better resources); and identify new ones

Using online collaboration to build the engine

With almost universal online access among members, the best association management systems provide an integrated online collaboration platform perfect for meeting, sharing, and commenting on the issues, events, and resources members wish to explore and utilize.

One type of online community that may work particularly well for associations with few staff is a peer-to-peer community.  A peer-to-peer community is characterized by highly motivated and involved members dedicated to populating the community with content.  The association can feature its member experts as a go to source.

Investing in a private online community

Will the investment of time and money in creating a private online member community be worth the effort and expense?  Why not simply use a free tool such as LinkedIn or Facebook?

With a private community, you can control the look, messaging, community and group access based on member data stored in your association management system database.  For example, setup custom demographics to gather attributes unique to members of your association.  Present them in your online membership directory along with the member’s profile.   This will enhance the member’s experience and accelerate member engagement.

The key is to ensure that the purpose of the private online community aligns with the mission of the association and the aspirations of the members (the reason they joined the association).  And that should not be left to chance; it needs to be a key component of your planning.

Sound planning leads to sound results

As you prepare to put technology to work for your association, plan, benchmark, educate and promote your online collaboration offering.

Ensure the success of your online collaboration by establishing SMART goals that support the purpose of the community.  SMART goals are:

• Specific – to focus the members, groups, staff (community) and your resources
• Measurable – to verify achievements and to identify which efforts are successful
• Actionable – to empower your membership to take positive steps to achieve results
• Relevant – to ensure that all stakeholders add and receive value
• Trackable – to provide the data to maintain efforts long term and course correct when needed

How will you measure success?  How do you quantify the activities that are happening in the community?  Ideally your online community software will include built in analytics and reporting.   Some common metrics to track are:

• Number of logins or page views
• Number of new and total members
• Number of member profiles created or edited
• Number of discussions started and replies posted

Keep your association relevant and attractive to members by deploying and staying abreast of technology that allows your staff and community to perform at a much more effective and fulfilling level. Online collaboration helps you accomplish this by bringing together technology, people and purpose; providing a structure and venue for a greater member experience.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Greenfield Services to Exhibit at CSAE National Conference & Showcase

For the second year in a row, Doreen Ashton Wagner, Chief Strategist and Meagan Rockett, Director, Client Solutions will be attending and exhibiting at the CSAE National Conference & Showcase.  This year, we are excited to see it come home November 1-3, 2012.

In looking at the educational lineup, there are several sessions we are looking forward to attending, and learning alongside Association Executives.

For more information on the conference, or to register, please click here.

If you are planning on attending, we invite you to stop by our booth (#153) during the Showcase on Friday, November 2nd – we will be offering to set up a free 2-hour social media assessment for conference participants.  If you would like to pre-book your appointment, please email us.

We look forward to re-connecting with old friends, and establishing new relationships!

Using Social Media to Boost Your Conference Promotions

You shouldn’t have to put the rest of your life on hold to build a strong social media presence for your next conference.

Some social media tools take more time than others, and using them all would be a full-time job (for someone else, since you’ve already got one). But with a smart social media plan that is tailored to your audience, you can hone your approach and get the results you need.

Your first step is to develop an editorial calendar that lays out the messages you want to deliver, the content and media (social or conventional) that you plan to use at different points in your campaign, and the in-house or outsourced support that you’ll need to meet your deadlines. The calendar can be as simple or complicated as you need it to be—but consider starting small, meeting your goals, then expanding the campaign as time permits.

To make the plan achievable, use simple online resources to pre-schedule your content and keep campaign administration to 20 or 30 minutes per day.

·         Twitter tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck make it easy to pre-write a cluster of tweets and preschedule them through the day.

·         WordPress, a popular blog platform, has an editorial calendar plug-in to help you manage multiple posts.

·         A Twitter hashtag is one of the easiest ways to begin building a community around your conference message. Once people begin using the hashtag to post or retweet content, they end up bringing their followers to your conversation.

·         A YouTube channel takes a little more time—to prepare good content, and to manage the uploads. But a compelling video message can add a powerful new dimension to a campaign built mainly on online text.

Like almost any other marketing tool, social media will bring better results if you plan to gradually build profile and credibility, rather than pushing for quick results. The transition from push to pull marketing makes just as much sense online as it does in any other medium.