Membership

Monday Buzz: Let’s Get Newtonian With Engagement

A member engagement expert applies three fundamental laws of physics to everyone’s favorite association topic. Also: a few suggestions on how to pass the CAE exam.

Here at Associations Now, we’ve highlighted lots of ways to think about membership. But a Newtonian approach to member engagement—as in Isaac Newton? That’s a new one.

Kudos to Rhinocorn Consulting’s Ben Bisbee, writing at the Wild Apricot Blog, who has a creative take on how Newton’s three laws of motion can be applied to member engagement:

  1. “An individual tends to not engage unless acted upon by someone engaging them.”
  2. “An individual will continue to engage or grow their engagement when a nonprofit continues to engage or advances the engagement.”
  3. “When your nonprofit is matching the engagement of the stakeholder, your organization is met with equal relationship engagement.”

“Just as Newton’s laws of motion define the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it, Newtonian Engagement does the same for the [member] relationship development and design,” Bisbee writes. “Having a need, options, or an opportunity does not automatically create motion, movement, or friction. The same is true with engagement.” He adds that organizations need to “invest strategically in the design of their engagement dynamics.”

Whether or not you agree with that analysis, one thing is for sure: It’s a fresh way of thinking about one of the most important issues facing associations.

Passing the CAE Exam

Becoming a Certified Association Executive, or CAE, is considered a high-water mark for many association professionals.

At the Web Scribble blog, Audra Hopkins asks CAEs from a variety of industry groups and professional roles how they prepared for the exam and what they learned in the process. One key lesson shared across the board: The exam takes a lot of prep, so make sure you allow plenty of time to study.

Other Links of Note

Does GDPR apply to your organization? The Public Interest Registry’s director of policy and privacy, Beth Bacon, breaks down some European Union General Data Protection Regulation considerations at SocialFish.

Speaking of GDPR, Slack says that the recent changes to its platform, which allow employers to look into workers’ messages, are being driven by the new EU rules. CMS Wire explains.

A different take on personas. At the Content Marketing Institute, Robert Rose offers a deep dive into persona strategy that might differ from what you’re used to.

(bilhagolan/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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