Getting new members is hard. But, according to Samantha Lake at Association Marketer, using marketing automation can make things a whole lot easier.

Lake makes the case that thoughtfully installing automation into your member marketing efforts can help ensure brand consistency, boost engagement, and maintain relationships with current members. And for member prospects you’re trying to reach, she says, it helps to send them down the sales funnel in a more personalized way.

“Most associations have one overall goal: Gain and retain members,” she writes. “Using marketing automation software allows not only maximum reach to prospects, but also constant personalized content to current members.”

Have you tried such a strategy at your association? If so, how has it worked for you? Share your thoughts below.

Instagram Gets More Secure

We’re introducing 2 new ways to keep Instagram welcoming and safe https://t.co/VKMionSFZq pic.twitter.com/RfaSiBumQx

— Instagram (@instagram) December 6, 2016

Instagram hasn’t had the level of granular privacy features of its parent company Facebook, but that’s starting to change. On Tuesday, the company announced two features designed to create more positive user experiences.

The first is a way to turn off comments on any post. The second allows users with private accounts to remove rather than block unwanted followers. The features will be rolling out in a few weeks.

Other Links of Note

Meeting designer and facilitator Adrian Segar wonders whether it’s time to borrow a page from the Van Halen book of event contracts—i.e., no brown M&Ms.

Interesting new tool of the day. Gomix, a new app from Fog Creek software (the company that created Trello) is designed to help new programmers get their hands messy in some code. The Next Web has the full scoop.

Creating new content is challenging. But repurposing what you already have is a great way to stretch your resources. Chris Scavo, digital marketing strategist at Informz, explains over at Social Fish.

(iStock/Thinkstock)