Membership

Daily Buzz: Make It Easy for New Members to Engage

Give new members short, high-value content that takes little time to absorb. Also: Incorporate health and wellness into your next event.

We’re all pressed for time, and the new members of your association are likely no exception. Don’t lose their attention with dense, time-consuming programs.

“I like to tell clients to make their early interactions with members frictionless,” says Amanda Kaiser from the Smooth the Path blog. “Stack some quick, free, and valuable messaging early in your new-member onboarding program to get new members primed for greater engagement later.”

If new members are confronted with hours-long seminars and online conferences right off the bat, they might not interact with future communications.

“Because we are all so time-starved, we notice how long things take and may decide to steer clear of things that take too much time even if they are good for us,” she says.

Your first communications with new members should link to short-form content that’s high in value and easily understood, Kaiser says. For example, link to a short article that takes four minutes to read. Once you have them hooked, you can ease them into your long-form content.

“In four minutes, they get a bit of value, and that makes them interested in the next email that comes along. This time they spend seven minutes scanning a white paper. Perhaps within the first three weeks, they also watch an hour-long webinar,” she says.

Healthy Events

Want to keep your attendees energized? Give them a chance to relax or get active with rentable fitness equipment, eco-friendly furnishings, and stations with healthy food options, says Claire Hoffman on BizBash.

For example, set up hydration stations for guests to use during session breaks. Provide fresh fruit and herbs such as orange, mint, and lemon for an immunity boost; blueberry, apple, and raspberry for an antioxidant boost; and cinnamon and strawberry for a metabolism boost.

Other Links of Note

For a new marketing approach, try bringing together your email and social media strategies, says Kayla Carmicheal on HubSpot.

Need a boost at work? Incorporate mindfulness into your day, says Beth Kanter of Beth’s Blog.

How can your organization use data analytics? Take inspiration from higher education institutions, says Joe Starofsky on the CDW Solutions Blog.

(TommL/E+/Getty Images Plus)

Michael Hickey

By Michael Hickey

Michael Hickey is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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