Membership

Tuesday Buzz: Increase Your Appeal to Introverts

Don’t leave your introverted members out in the cold. Create opportunities to get them engaged by respecting their personality traits. Also: Give your boomer members a little notice.

Many associations gear participatory activities primarily toward their most extroverted members—the natural joiners who get a rush from the hustle, bustle, and collaboration of conferences and group projects.

Your introverted members want to get involved as well, but you may unwittingly be making engagement unappealing.

The MemberClicks blog provides a few tips to get your introverted members engaged in ways that are comfortable for them.

Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (and a onetime ASAE Annual Meeting general session speaker), explained to Scientific American that “introverts prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environments, while extroverts need higher levels of stimulation to feel their best.”

The hubbub of a big meeting may have your introverts looking for some solitude to recharge their batteries. MemberClicks recommends creating quiet rooms at your next conference, where people can relax and decompress between panels and networking hours.

Introverts are just as passionate about your association’s work as your more outgoing members, so don’t limit your volunteer opportunities to group activities. Give introverts opportunities to volunteer at the individual level by writing, helping with administrative tasks, planning, or strategizing.

Don’t Forget Baby Boomers

https://twitter.com/membersuite/status/836592060979363841

Associations are hungry for advice on recruiting millennials. But in the rush to sign up the younger generation, make sure you’re not leaving baby boomers in the dust.

MemberSuite makes the case for keeping baby boomers top of mind. The older generation is still a significant portion of your membership list. As boomers retire, they may not maintain their membership because employers may no longer be paying dues. Keep marketing to this group so that your revenue doesn’t take a huge hit when boomers leave their jobs.

MemberSuite advises appealing to baby boomers by helping them develop them new skills. Provide continuing education courses relevant to the industry, or keep them informed on how to use the latest tech tools and emerging platforms.

Rumor has it. According to recent Wall Street Journal speculation, Apple may replace Lightning connectors with USB-C ports in the next iPhones, reports The Verge.

Are you actually having an impact? Catchbox provides 12 different ways event professionals can measure audience engagement.

Choosing a live-stream platform. Event Manager Blog compares three popular live-streaming options.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Raegan Johnson

By Raegan Johnson

Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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