This week’s Membership Join & Retention Tips are all about testing new ideas. One of the great success stories of 2020 is associations and businesses have discovered new ways of engaging and building value for their members/customers.
If you find yourself struggling when it comes to member acquisition and retention, check out the tips below. Hope they will inspire you to take action!
Monday Membership Retention Tip
Several associations have had success with “renew now, pay later” renewals where a member signs up and inputs their credit card information but they may not get charged for 60-90 days. The grace period allows them to enjoy the benefits of membership while also building a positive perception of the association, showing its care and concern during these difficult times.
Tuesday Membership Recruitment Tip
Open up your online communities for a set period of time to membership prospects. Invite them to join the discussion by encouraging participation so they see the value of connections. After the trial period is over, follow up with a nurturing email sequence or drip campaign to invite them to join. If your communities are active and engaging, your prospects will see the value of belonging and not want to give up their access.
Wednesday Membership Retention Tip
To bridge the gap of in-person communications, consider building connections with your members through virtual roundtables. The Council on Undergraduate Research developed a low-cost, video-calling platform where its members could engage with other members by scheduling a call on a particular topic. By using video calling, it created an easy way to foster connections with other members to ask questions and troubleshoot problems while getting the benefits of a roundtable discussion virtually.
Thursday Membership Recruitment Tip
Trying to reach younger generations with your content? Include information on career guidance, networking and mentoring-related topics. In a Personify Corporation survey of 1,000 Gen Y and Zers, it found that practical, educational content is crucial in getting young members to finally come on board. Career-focused messaging is especially effective in getting them to join as they look to organizations to provide content that can help them learn.
Friday Membership Retention Tip
Rethink your content for bite-size pieces when people are strapped for time and attention. The Council on Undergraduate Research launched a Five on Five video series where it provides five tips, solutions or answers to member questions in five minutes and uploads those videos to its YouTube Channel. It used Animoto to create polished videos inexpensively but another great (and free) tool is Lumen5. By posting videos to YouTube, it extends its reach and value to a broader audience. YouTube is the second most popular search engine behind Google.
Don’t forget: You can always schedule a free, no obligation content strategy session HERE to help implement some of these great ideas
Find these tips helpful? Don’t forget to share.
