Tuesday Buzz: Use Your Website to Boost Member Engagement

Almost all associations are interested in keeping their members engaged. After all, high engagement means greater retention.

One of the best ways to increase member engagement is through your website. A blog post from digital agency Pedalo shares a few ways to use your website to keep members invested and involved  (opens in a new tab).

First, make sure that your website is telling your organization’s story in a powerful and evocative way. “Engagement begins with emotion, and your story should evoke the right emotion within your membership base,” says the post. “It should be easy for them to identify with the narrative and feel a part of it.” This story should be delivered right on your homepage.

A solid content strategy is another great way to increase member engagement. One reason your members joined your group in the first place is to receive expert content they can’t get elsewhere. Create content in different formats—including webinars, podcasts, infographics, videos, and more—and be sure it is easily accessible on your site, including through search and content-distribution channels like emails and social media.

The post also recommends building an online community, using your site as an onboarding tool for new members, and encouraging interaction between staff and members.

Reward Blowback

The Psychology Behind Superiorityhttps://t.co/f0lL1za54F  (opens in a new tab) #cmgr  (opens in a new tab) #esn  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab)

— Richard Millington (@RichMillington) May 16, 2017  (opens in a new tab)

You may think that rewarding top contributors in your online communities is a good way to incentivize more members to participate, but that may not be the case.

According to a post from Feverbee  (opens in a new tab), rewarding highly active members could actually decrease your community’s overall engagement.

“Top contributors believe their own praise and act condescendingly toward other members. They verbally shut down discussions they disagree with and assume their arguments are beyond reproach of regular members,” the post explains.

In turn, other members may become less inclined to participate.

Other Links of Note

Inspire your volunteers with a new style. Engaging Volunteers reveals how to be an effective leader rather than just a manager  (opens in a new tab).

Thinking about bringing on a fundraising consultant? SocialFish shares guidelines to follow to make sure you hire the right person.  (opens in a new tab)

Instagram copies Snapchat again. According to Techcrunch, Instagram is adding new selfie filters  (opens in a new tab).

(iStock/Thinkstock)