There is one constant in the association world. One thing that no matter what the industry, how big or small or where they're located; associations are constantly trying to grow their membership base. Associations have come to a point where there is a generational shift happening and associations have realized that they have to start recruiting a brand new, tech savvy generation.

Attracting new members and retaining current ones is vital to the success of your association.  Your association's abilty to keep it's members and visitors coming back leads to higher conversion rates and higher retention rates.  But getting them to return on a regular basis can be difficult.  The key to accomplishing this is to create a great online user experience.  

An association's ability to attract new members is essential for it's continued growth and success.  As association marketers, you spend a great deal of time and effort promoting your association and what it has to offer.  What you may not spend nearly enough time on is member engagement and retention.  It's important to note that the cost to an organization to aquire a new member is 7 times greater than the cost to retain one.  Membership retention is just as vital to your organization's continued success as member aquisition. Does your association have a documented strategy for member retention?  If your answer is no or not really, we have found an article at Aptify that can help.  Written by Jennifer Barrell, this article contains 4 strategies to keep your members engaged and satisfied with their membership.  Engaged and satisfied members are far more likely to remain members.

Membership is the life blood of associations.  Keeping membership levels up is imperative in order to remain successful.  Each year members leave, due to retirement, job change, or  any number of other reasons.  So associations must continue to recruit new ones. Membership recruitment tactics of the past no longer work.  It is now a digital world and so associations must employ digital recruitment tactics in order to keep membership levels high.  We have found an article at Aptify, written by Jennifer Barrell, that lists 5 tactics for growing association membership.  Using these recruitment tactics will increase membership and improve member experience.

The professional education and certification programs that associations offer have long been an effective tool for recruiting new members and increasing revenue.  This year these educational offerings may become the most effective tool an association has to accomplish these goals.  The value placed on these benefits of membership has been on the rise in recent years.  According to a study on member engagement by Abila, professional education and certification is identified by all age groups as one of the most important benefits obtained from association membership.  An article, written by Jessica Lane at Abila, explains in more detail why associations should focus on education this year and what the benefits of doing so are.

Once upon a time social media was primarily used as a way to connect with friends and family.  While it is certainly still used for that purpose, it has also evolved into a platform that organizations now use as a business tool.  The number of networks that one can engage on is constantly increasing.  With all the choices now available, it can be overwhelming having to decide which social channels would be the best fit for your organization.  It probably would nor be an effective allocation of time or money to attempt to be active on all the social channels now available.  So how do you know which ones to choose?  Knowing your membership is key.  Chandra Chakravarthi at Aptify has written an article explaining the 3 questions to ask before deciding which social networks are right for your organization.