Being a member of a business association or volunteering for a charity used to be the ultimate ways to network -- that is, until LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter came along! How can your membership-driven organization survive and even thrive within a landscape of always-on social networking?
Competing with social networks: Why should someone join or support your organization when they can network through Facebook?
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20. Growing Membership: North Mason Chamber of Commerce http://frankkennysblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-we-grew-our-membership-by-85-in-18.html Membership Software for Clubs, Associations and Communities Community Building Magnifiers for Non-Profits & Associations
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Notas del editor
Difficulty to recruit and retain members Youth are not engaging associations & causes Aging membershipsTime commitments Hot competition for membership and donor money. You must make sure that you provide value to your members and donors and if you’re already providing value, you must make sure you communicate that value. People are very savvy these days and certainly electronically connected, and they are looking for value. I would even urge you to hire a consultant to assess your organization with fresh eyes. What do your members/donors want in exchange for their money? Networking? Training? Discounts? Good will? To help others? To build something? A cause they believe in? For retaining - International Not For Profit Conference in Ireland determined through studies that the propensity for giving from long term donors goes down especially in a downturn As such, supporter loyalty will be everything. Focus needs to also be placed on existing supporters more so than new potentials.
Today though we have a generation gap that prevents the inter-generational transfer of wisdom. Back in the 60s the “generation gap” was a novelty. Now we take it for granted– as if it were normal. But think back if you can to the 60s when the generation gap was still new. The Hippies of that time were notable for two things: One was their rejection of the older generation and the other was their inability to pass on their values to the next.
74.4% of participants wanted to learn more about NPOs Interesting to note that combined, info sessions & info booths with word of mouth make a significant portion of their preferred means of communication. Suggests that starting with the internet, youth are interested in being engaged
Choosing networking events - from your association; why go to your event? What will they get out of it? Do members join for professional benefits or do they join to drum up new business? For either, is your organization best suited? Knowing the value they seek through polling and research is KEY Competing social networks...how keep up with them all and choose the right ones?
Issue Fatigue Arguably, awareness of causes is up but support is waning Actual dollars raised online vs. Ground swell of awareness on Twitter, etc. Facebook causes: 10% of 8,000 Causes sampled72% had zero dollarsOf 218 w/ donations, Average = $290Average # of supporters = 6,660Average donation per supporter = $1.24Median Cause members= 36Median Donations = $30 (after throwing out zeros)Mode Cause members=6Mode Cause members=$10More likely to get $0-30, not the average of $290The group w/ $25,000 had over 500,000 Friends Choosing networking events - from your association; why go to your event? What will they get out of it? Do members join for professional benefits or do they join to drum up new business? For either, is your organization best suited?
Competing social networks...how keep up with them all and choose the right ones? Pick places where……your supporters are…where you are comfortable…features match your goals
Associations can offer the face-to-face experience online communities cannot The two can and should be integrated
In the US almost half of all internet users belong to online hobby-oriented site and a similar amount are signed up to a social network. Specialized communities NPOs have to STOP mass appeals and work towards narrow castingFacebook, etc. are powerful but they are general & less cause/ professional concerned More collective knowledge Facebook, etc. don’t allow controlled discussions Associations, etc. can develop communications strategies where supporters can feel secure and receive the special benefits of membership
In the US almost half of all internet users belong to online hobby-oriented site and a similar amount are signed up to a social network. Specialized communities NPOs have to STOP mass appeals and work towards narrow castingFacebook, etc. are powerful but they are general & less cause/ professional concerned More collective knowledge Facebook, etc. don’t allow controlled discussions Associations, etc. can develop communications strategies where supporters can feel secure and receive the special benefits of membership
One of the primary benefits of a socially-enabled online community is its ability to draw together members from far-reaching geographic locations. Attendees of association special events, annual conferences and local chapter meetings approach them with fairly universal goals and typical expectations. In a simple yet profound way, members look forward to events and calendars are highlighted because events are the hallmark of a positive membership experience.The majority of members approach events with these standard goals in mind:-Gaining new insights; learning from speakers and sessions -Meeting new people, re-establishing ties with colleagues-Having productive conversations with peers -Ability to come away with value from the event and share the value with others afterward-Having fun networking and enjoying the social aspects of the gatheringThe question is, how can online social networking positively supplement and reinforce an event before, during and after it takes place? How can social media create a more valuable experience for attendees at every level?Lastly, how can nonprofits and associations leverage the interaction in their social networking to help fund the cost of major offline events?
NPOs need to act as the aggregate of the sources of networks their niche is interested in Providing a value added service Clear member and supporter communications services (promo for Action Strategies) Infrastructure required to capture interest (promo for Wild Apricot) Need to link immediate interest with the ability for immediate online action
Focused discussions is one with specialized communities. People still using broadcasting thinking for social media - an essentially narrowcasting medium
Formative research shows that young women in disadvantaged communities receive mixedmessages about dangers of drinking during pregnancy.
Andrew Keen, The Cult of the Amateur & The Digital Emperor Has No Clothes , Associations Now (Nov '07) - adding value to members! Don’t talk about the tools, talk about what you do