The Value of Communities to Associations

I spent the beginning of my week surrounded by the orange army at Higher Logic Super Forum. While there was a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding Higher Logics new acquisitions, communities remained the unwavering showstopper at this year’s conference. What is it that makes these online groups so valuable to associations? Some value-adds are the ability of these channels to act as an avenue for support, feedback, and generating lasting relationships. However, the true value-adds of communities (in my opinion) is in their effectiveness for sales enablement and their ability to help with prospecting and engagement.

The first session at this week’s conference was held by keynote speaker Jonah Berger who stated, “Trust people, trust word of mouth, make members talk and sell for you.” Just like that Jonah Berger summarized the power of communities. Communities are malleable forums that associations have the power to manipulate to increase growth. Tune in next week for my blog on unlocking the science behind why people talk and how to use this to grow your company.