Effective association marketing is an integral aspect of an association’s operations as it enables associations to connect with their target audience and achieve their membership goals. As marketing landscapes evolve, associations and their members face new challenges, such as emerging platforms, developing member preferences, and changing algorithms. This article will discuss how associations can create an effective marketing plan that caters to their audience.
1. Focus on Member Data
You must understand your target audience to develop a successful association marketing strategy. By gathering data about your current and potential members, you can create member personas and gain insights into their attitudes, motivations, communication preferences, and more. This data will allow you to tailor your marketing efforts to meet your target audience’s needs and interests.
You can collect data from surveys, feedback forms, or analytics tools. Analysing your association’s data can also provide valuable insights into your audience. For instance, demographic information like age, gender, and location can help you personalise your marketing efforts.
Related: What Is The Job Of A Modern Association?
2. Use Visual Storytelling
Visual content is essential in association marketing. High-quality photos, videos, infographics, and other visual elements can effectively showcase your association’s cause and engage your members. Visual storytelling can also improve your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts and increase your online visibility.
You can use social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to share visual content with your audience. Additionally, you can create an interactive platform to engage with your members, like video chats or virtual events.
Related: How To Use Storytelling When Marketing Your Conference
3. Understand Member Psychology
You must understand their behaviour and motivations to build long-term relationships with your members. Use giving psychology principles to identify what drives your members to engage and what factors influence their decision to show frequent interaction. This knowledge will help you create compelling marketing messages that resonate with your target audience.
You can use surveys or ask for member feedback to gain insights into member psychology. You can also analyse members’ past behaviour, such as event participation history, to understand what prompts them to engage.
4. Segment Your Association Marketing Communications
Every member has unique needs and interests. Segmenting your member lists by acquisition channel, giving frequency, donation amount, or program can help you tailor your communications to their needs. This strategy will enable you to deliver personalised, relevant messages to each member segment, improving engagement and building stronger relationships with your members.
You can use marketing automation software to segment your communication lists and deliver personalised messages at scale. The software can also help you track member behaviour and preferences to create targeted campaigns.
Related: How Omnichannel Engagement can improve Membership Retention in your Association
5. Prioritise Member Privacy
As email privacy concerns continue to rise, it’s crucial to prioritise member privacy and ensure that you collect member data ethically and transparently. Give your members the option to choose how and where their information is shared and focus on opt-in permissions that guide outreach. Also, consider collecting phone numbers to send direct text message updates around critical campaigns.
You can use a data privacy policy to inform members how their data is collected, stored, and used. Additionally, you can use email encryption software to protect members’ data and prevent unauthorised access.
6. Optimise for Mobile
With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, ensuring your association’s website and membership pages are mobile-optimised is essential. Creating a mobile-friendly page will enable members to subscribe on the go easily. You should also ensure that your conference page displays your membership pages correctly on any smartphone or tablet.
To optimise for mobile, you can use responsive design techniques that adjust page layouts to fit different device screens. You can also use a mobile app to provide a seamless experience for members.
7. Utilise Social Media for effective Association Marketing
Social media is an effective tool for engaging with your members and promoting your association’s cause. Choose the right social media platforms that align with your association’s goals.
Related: A Complete Guide To Conference Social Media Marketing
8. Measure Your Marketing Efforts
Measuring your marketing efforts is critical to understanding what works and what doesn’t. It would be best to track your metrics to see how your marketing efforts impact your association’s goals. By monitoring your marketing metrics, you can identify areas for improvement and optimise your strategies accordingly.
Some metrics to track include:
- Membership growth rate
- Member engagement rate
- Website Traffic
- Social media engagement
- Email open rates and click-through rates
- Newsletter subscribers
- Document downloads
- Event revenue
By measuring your association’s marketing efforts, you can make data-driven decisions and ensure that your association’s marketing strategies are practical and impactful.
9. Personalise Your Communications
Personalisation is the key to building strong member relationships. Delivering personalised communications can create a more meaningful connection with your members and improve engagement.
One way to personalise your communications is by using member data to tailor your messages. Use member data to send targeted emails, social media messages, and other communications to each member segment. You can also use member data to create personalised content that resonates with your target audience.
Personalisation can also extend to your association’s events and other activities. Creating personalised event experiences can make your members feel valued and engaged.
10. Leverage Influencers in effective Association Marketing
Influencer marketing is a growing trend in association marketing. By partnering with influencers, you can reach new audiences and increase your association’s visibility.
Influencers have a significant following on social media or other platforms. They can be celebrities, experts in your field, or other influential people who can promote your association’s message to their followers.
To leverage influencers, start by identifying the right influencers for your association. Look for people with a significant following in your industry or niche whose values align with your association’s mission. Then, reach out to them and propose a partnership or collaboration.
Ensuring that their promotion aligns with your association’s values and goals is essential when working with influencers. You should also track the success of your influencer marketing efforts and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Related: How to Attract Influencers to Conferences and Events
11. Emphasise the Value of Membership
Your association’s value proposition is critical to attracting and retaining members. To emphasise the value of membership, you need to clearly communicate the benefits of joining your association.
Start by identifying the unique value that your association provides to its members. This may include access to industry resources, professional development opportunities, networking events, or other benefits. Then, create marketing messages that highlight these benefits and emphasise the value of membership.
You can also use member testimonials and success stories to showcase the value of membership. By sharing real-life examples of how your association has helped its members, you can create a more compelling case for membership.
12. Prioritise Member Engagement
Member engagement is critical to the success of your association. By engaging your members, you can build stronger relationships, increase loyalty, and drive member retention.
Related: Small Changes That Can Improve Membership Acquisition And Retention In Your Association
To prioritise member engagement, focus on creating a positive member experience at every touchpoint. This may include improving your website’s user experience, promptly responding to member feedback and concerns, and creating engaging content that resonates with your members.
You can also create engagement opportunities by hosting events, webinars, and other activities that unite your members. By providing opportunities for members to connect and your association, you can create a stronger sense of community and improve member engagement.
In conclusion, effective association marketing is critical to achieving your association’s goals. Remember to track your metrics, personalise your communications, emphasise the value of membership, and prioritise member engagement to drive success for your association. Following these best practices and staying up-to-date with the latest marketing trends and strategies can create a robust association marketing plan that engages your members and delivers results.
——
Congrex Switzerland is an internationally operating agency delivering customised solutions. This encompasses the overall organisation of conferences and meetings, including the management of hotel rooms and strategic consultancy. Annually Congrex Switzerland organises approximately 33 events with over 73’000 delegates. Amongst our clients are international associations, governmental organisations and corporations.
If you wish to receive additional information about Congrex Switzerland, please get in touch with us.
