---
title: "Membership Hack: Teleforums"
id: "42893"
type: "post"
slug: "membership-hack-teleforums"
published_at: "2018-06-01T22:28:52+00:00"
modified_at: "2018-06-01T22:28:52+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/06/01/membership-hack-teleforums/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/06/01/membership-hack-teleforums.md"
excerpt: "If your members don’t have time for an hour-long webinar, consider an on-the-go option—teleforums—where members dial in for a phone conversation."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Member Engagement"
  - "Membership"
  - "teleforums"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Director"
  - "Manager"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

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 » Membership Hack: Teleforums

**How to hack it?**The Auto Care Association has thousands of members who are constantly on the go, which means they don’t have time to sit down in front of a computer for an hour-long webinar. Instead, members phone in for less structured conversations, called [teleforums (opens in a new tab)](https://www.autocare.org/BlogDetail.aspx?id=3844&blogid=86&gmssopc=1)
.

“We started this in 2014, and it has grown to become a value-added outreach program,” says Lia Zegeye, director of member relations. “While our members travel in the car or fly in the air, they can listen to a live or recorded conversation that feels more like talk radio than a slideshow presentation.” Each discussion has a moderator, a handful of panelists, and dial-in listeners, who can submit questions before or during the call.

**Why does it work?**The teleforum series is kind of like a fireside chat that requires only a phone number. Zegeye tries to focus on hot topics that might be controversial but are issues on every members’ mind. “What’s also important is your panel. You want to have a pre-call to structure the conversation and make sure they feel comfortable to discuss and engage with each other,” Zegeye says.

**What’s the bonus?**After four years, these teleforums are a proven way to engage members. In the last few months, Zegeye has seen record-high attendance—more than 400 participants joined her last call. “Instead of avoiding the tough topics or conversations, we address them head-on,” she says. “This allows us to continue to be a leader in the industry.”

(IPGGutenbergUKLtd/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

[Tim Ebner](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/)

Tim Ebner is communications director and press secretary at the American Forest & Paper Association in Washington, DC. He is a member of ASAE’s Communication Professionals Advisory Council and a former Associations Now senior editor.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/)

Tags: [#Member Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#teleforums](https://associationsnow.com/tag/teleforums/)

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