Membership Hack: Collect Member News Online
Associations can use an online form to gather updates and announcements from members that can be turned into content for the magazine, website, or future professional development programming.
How to hack it? NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association, collects member news—awards received, new hires, sales announcements, and other updates—with an easy-to-use online form. Members submit a news release or announcement, then NAIOP’s marketing and communications team fact-checks, curates, and publishes the news in a magazine column called “Dealmakers.”
“Previously, members could fax us releases,” says Kathryn George Hamilton, vice president for marketing and communications at NAIOP. “Moving it online and building a form where members could simply fill in the fields and hit submit really streamlined the process and allowed us to create a news stream.”
Why does it work? The online form makes it easy for members to stay in touch and share news with NAIOP more frequently. “At the same time that we moved the submission process online, we expanded the coverage beyond only transactions and deals to now showcase hirings, promotions, and company news,” Hamilton says.
What’s the bonus? Many of the news items turn into longer-form stories, blog content, or topics for professional development programming. “Future education programs are frequently gleaned by scrolling through the submissions,” Hamilton says.
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