The Member Engagement Show

This episode, we talk with speaker and thought leader Reggie Henry, Chief Information and Performance Excellence officer at ASAE about what associations should be thinking about in 2023. We cover ground such as: Are we planning too much based on last year’s data and technology? Why you can't go back to how things were pre-pandemic. The importance of continuing to support the new and diverse people brought into the fold via virtual meetings. Preparing to attract and retain the next generation of members and staff. The importance of having listening posts in communities. How communities become critical in both pandemics and recessions.  The new contract needed with members to get to personalization. Being mindful of the RONI, Return on NOT Investing. The importance of technology infrastructure and a smooth user experience. Best of Need vs. Best of Breed. The dangers of chasing the wrong metrics. Meeting people based on their interests, not on what we have to sell. Learn more about ASAE and their upcoming events at ASAEcenter.org Registration is now open for the 13th annual Super Forum, April 10-12 in Washington DC! You won’t want to miss this comprehensive conference for association professionals. There will be a whole host of sessions dedicated to helping you enhance your member experience, and you’ll have the opportunity to share ideas, strategies, and challenges with your peers in the field.   In a challenging economy, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of trends and tactics to keep your members renewing and to help your association thrive - and that's easier to do with a community of colleagues beside you. We hope to see you there! 

In this episode of Higher Logic's Member Engagement Show, Kelly talks with Marianne Fray, CEO of the Maternity Care Coalition, an organization that works to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women and parenting families, and enhance school readiness for children 0-3. With a 30+ year career inspiring diverse teams to do more together than they could alone to strengthen communities, Marianne has stablished two successful cross company industry communities that drive business innovation in the project management and life sciences industries. She has advised F100 companies on diversity and inclusion practices and is a founding member of a 501c6 non-profit organization called Women of Color in the Pharmaceutical Industry. This episode explores: The meaning of being a servant leader The power of asking people what they need The need to check our assumptions and recognize how misperceptions can put people into reductive boxes and cause missed opportunities The importance of looking out for individual and systemic bias so that we can be prepared to examine and sometimes dismantle the conscious and unconscious judgments that shape and define our world What it means to truly represent your constituents The magic question that can kick off any relationship positively To learn more about Marianne Fray and about black maternal mortality and morbidity, check out her article in Women's Way. To learn more about Maternity Care Coalition's work, check out their 2022 Annual Report: Advocating for Parental Autonomy. You can also download Higher Logic's 2022 Association Member Experience Report to learn more about what members value most from their associations.

Our guest on this episode is Dominick Mondi, President of the MidAtlantic Society of Association Executives and Executive Director of the NE Spa and Pool Association. In it, our host Beth and Dominick discuss:  Why you should consider volunteering at an association What is “micro-volunteering”? Keeping a volunteer base engaged and energetic The many ways people come to work for associations The challenges associations are facing and ways to deal with them Preparing your association for the future of member engagement The benefits of having regional chapters How to convince leadership of the benefits of attending gatherings beyond the big annual conference The kind of experiences that keep members really happy The power of personally asking prospects to attend get-togethers How to decide whether to volunteer at the local/regional level or national level Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

This week's guest, Jim Catts, explores how technology has presented both challenges and opportunities for association marketers. Jim is a career technologist who's currently co-funder and CTO of Rhythm Software. He's been working with associations to smartly apply technology to the work they do for around 20 years. In the episode, we cover: How we’ve moved beyond running member experiences manually and physically The costs and lost opportunities of doing so  The paradigm shifts of email and dynamic web  How tech allows for personalized, on demand member content How associations are like Netflix (hint: is your association a content or technology company?) How associations are NOT like Amazon (hint: are your member driven by search?) How the pandemic changed member experience expectations How soon VR and AR will or won't become part of the member experience What’s the right way for associations to start using machine learning and AI? How newer generations are changing the member experience The tactical steps to take with your technology right now Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

This week, our guest is Annie Henderson, who made the change this year from membership marketing to corporate marketing at her association, ASBO International. Annie and Beth talk through how to navigate the differences of marketing to corporates, particularly at an association, and what techniques you can use to try to bring in sponsors and exhibitors at every level. In this episode, you'll discover: Moving from the member marketing to partners marketing mindset Why you need to what your corporate partners’ timelines for activities The challenges faced in winning partners and getting them engaged and involved further Competing against bigger competitors Moving partners beyond exhibiting The tools and tactics you can use in corporate partnerships The power of personas What a treat deal “sweeteners” can be Treating your partner like member, not a bank Taking on your challenges and opportunities in the right order Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

According to our guest, Kiki L'Italien, trust is an indispensable commodity. Gaining it takes both time and ongoing proof that trust in your association is well deserved. KiKi has honed her approach to communications and strategy for many organizations – nonprofits and corporate alike – including Optica, American Red Cross National Headquarters, QVC, and the American Institute of Architects. Now a senior consultant with Tecker International, she speaks regularly about management strategy and cultivating communities of trust. KiKi is also creator and host of Association Chat, an online community, blog, and podcast reaching 72k individuals monthly.  In this episode, you'll discover: Why trust is a commodity that’s hard to come by What associations are doing to both win and lose trust The dangers of conflict of interest and how it hurts trust Why who you have running partnerships is key to maintaining trust How to build trust at scale The need to be an effective trust-builder both digitally and in person How overcomplicating things in order to sound smart can lose trust The key to authenticity – genuine curiosity The right communication channels for the right group Why you should commit to delivering what you say you’re going to deliver Why it pays to be mindful of your digital body language Why you should create environments where members aren’t afraid to participate because they aren’t “perfect” enough Character and competency, a winning combination Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

This year, ASAE's Marketing Membership & Communications Conference in Washington, DC was back in person and in full effect. Higher Logic's association evangelist and podcast host Beth Arritt and Product Marketing Manager Sarah Spinosa were in attendance, and summarize this grand event where over 700 marcom and membership professionals and experts gathered to learn and network. If you couldn't make it, hear Beth and Sarah cover some of the main points and takeaways in this episode of the Member Engagement Show, including: What's the difference between an "idea monkey" and "ringleaders"? Email tips that radically improve marketing performance, as well as some email myth-busting Creative integrations and providing journeys for members Distinguishing your mission and vision through storytelling Reaching members with omnichannel strategies The importance of member experience and personalization Cool ways the conference was able to get back to doing an in-person event We always invite you to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any tips on how to get better member engagement for your association. And also don't forget to subscribe to Beth's AMP newsletter.   

How can you reach your diverse member segments in a personalized way? Why aren’t "best practices" always the best for your audience? How can you use mute campaigns to prevent unsubscribes? Hear three association marketing professionals discuss these topics and more with Beth Arritt. You’ll come away with marketing plays you can adapt for your own association. Andrea Huggins, Senior Marketing Manager at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Annie Henderson, Corporate Marketing Manager at ASBO International Debbie Segor, Marketing & Communications Manager at the American Society for Nondestructive Testing

How can a solo marketer reach members in a personal way? How can you reduce member email fatigue? What happens when your marketing software doesn’t integrate? See how our fantastic panel of association marketing professionals solves these challenges, and more. You'll hear from: Ashley Baker, Executive Events Director at NiUG Brad Hon, Digital Content Coordinator at the Australian College of Nursing Amanda Dollman, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Resolution Institute Along with Beth Arritt, your host and former marketing association VP. 

Do you want to make a difference at your association? Get members engaged and excited about all you have to offer? Listen to how Joe Delisle, Director of Council Relations at the American Medical Group Association (AMGA), makes this happen at his association. In this episode, he walks through examples of where he’s innovated with AMGA’s online community, events, membership benefits, and how it’s creating great results (to the tune of happier members, improved retention, higher NPS scores).

Did you hear the news? Higher Logic Thrive just launched! Our new platform makes it easy for associations to create powerful member experiences. Listen in to Beth's conversation with Chief Product Officer James Willey about how Higher Logic Thrive came to be. They’ll share everything it means for your association and your members. Here’s a sneak peek of what Higher Logic Thrive Platform enables you to do: engage members meaningfully throughout their lifecycle while saving time on key processes.

What drives your members to join and participate in your association? Do you really understand their motivators? Listen to speaker, author, and advisor Todd Henry discuss the approach he lays out in his book, The Motivation Code, and how it applies to association professionals. Understand that your members’ motivators will be different from yours, and learn what motivates them, and you’ll be much closer to creating programs, content, and member benefits that meet their needs.

Like many associations, the Public Affairs Council used to give new members everything at once. A big onboarding meeting, an emailed packet of information, a list of benefits – this process took a lot of time for the membership team. So they got together with Helen Taylor, digital marketing manager at the Public Affairs Council and today’s podcast guest, to create a new process: a series of emails to onboard new members, each with a video from a different staff member introducing a benefit. And it’s working! They’re saving time and doubling email engagement. Join us on the episode to learn more.

All communities need strategies, but every online community needs its own unique strategy. Hear how the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) approaches getting their audience engaged. Kim FitzSimmons, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at AAE, and Natalie Hughes, Integrated Marketing Manager at AAE, join host Beth Arritt to share about their goals, how collaboration between marketing and community works, and challenges they’re overcoming.

Every association has issues it needs to champion – how do you mobilize your members around those issues? Chief Membership Officer Hans Weichhart joined us on the show to share the Educational Theatre Association’s approach to doing this. Join us to hear how EdTA has built a strong member network that mobilizes to support advocacy initiatives at a grassroots level – and how they’re rallying momentum to build advocacy efforts back up after the pandemic.

Join us on the show for a conversation between host Beth Arritt and transformational business leader Dawn Sweeney. Dawn shares executive level ideas that association leaders can apply to grow their businesses, such as the importance of continuous improvement in all areas of your association, and how to build and keep a great team. As the longest serving president of the National Restaurant Association, the president of AARP Services, and twice-named Trade Association CEO of the year, Dawn has built a reputation for operational excellence and innovative strategic thinking. Her advice in this episode is can’t-miss.

Your members are burnt out. You’re burnt out. How can you stay engaged, engage them, and reset in 2022 to stay fresh? Show host Beth Arritt and NiUG Asia Pacific’s Executive Event Director Ashley Baker got together to discuss some tactics associations can adopt to keep members and staff engaged. It might look like revamping benefits, introducing technology for member engagement, or something as simple as new formats for webinars. Listen to the episode to learn how you can bring some excitement to your member engagement strategy.

This week on The Member Engagement Show, Beth talks with Todd Hauptli, who she used to work with at AAAE(American Association of Airport Executives). Todd is now President and CEO of AAAE with previous experience in multiple areas at the White House and Capitol Hill. Today, he and Beth talk about what associations can be doing and thinking about as we go into 2022, including the challenges ahead and what you need to be doing for your members.

With staff turnover, does your association have the right processes in place? "The Great Resignation" isn't slowing down and greatly impacts our companies and our associations. Today, Beth Arritt and Josh Slyman discuss how to keep things moving for our members. They discuss how you can ensure continuity in your pipeline, help your members through your job board, and leverage automation to maintain renewals, onboarding, and prospect nurturing. Listen now!

This week on The Member Engagement Show, our host Beth Arritt sits down with Catherine Hackney to discuss how to keep your members engaged in a time where everyone is facing unique challenges. Catherine is Principal at Confident Communities Consulting, and today she brings her expertise to share ways we can increase member engagement and launch new communities. Tune in now!