Working for an association / non-profit can be really challenging. Often times you wear many hats, have a small staff size and lack resources – it can be pretty tiring. Though this work isn’t always easy, it is very rewarding. Your efforts foster a community where individuals can connect, share and grow. You provide valuable information to professionals so their industry can function better as a whole. It’s important that these groups continue to operate.
As an administrator, it’s easy to get lost in the “day-to-day operations of your organization” (ArcStone) that we lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing. This ambiguity can be reflected in your web content if you’re not careful.
What to communicate:
There’s a lot to communicate to potential members – they’ll want to know your:
- Mission Statement
- History
- Staff
- Membership
- Events
- Resources
- Programs
The pressure to include everything and anything your association does can quickly decrease your web traffic conversions. If you’re overwhelmed thinking about all you do, think about how overwhelmed your audience will be when they see the never ending list of information on your page.
This also risks “[the] most meaningful information…[getting] lost … as you try to communicate every aspect of your work to potential donors, volunteers, and the greater community,” (ArcStone).
Strategies for better messaging:
One way to avoid this uncertainty is to gain an outsider’s perspective. “Third party interviews are an excellent way to accomplish this” (ArcStone). This technique utilizes people in your community like your co-workers, affiliate organizations and donors to construct an authentic summary of what you actually do. It ensures your messaging makes sense and resonates with different audiences.
As someone that’s so heavily involved in your organization, it’s natural to think that you have the best perspective on what your group does. However, the members who benefit from your association may actually have better messages to share. Prospective members don’t want to hear what you do, they want to see how what you do benefits them.
Another reason to conduct third party interviews is to collect candid data. An interviewee is more likely to give honest feedback if their interviewer is not directly affiliated with the association. And while we want positive evaluations, those won’t necessarily help us grow.
If you’re struggling to increase membership or increase revenue, consider asking these specific questions to gather more targeted data:
- How have the services your association provides specifically helped individual clients?
- Why do members continue to renew their dues?
- Why do vendors / sponsors choose to fund your association when there are so many others to choose from?
- What makes your association special? What attracts new members?
After establishing your stakeholders perspective, we can better convey our message to:
- Members and prospective members
- Volunteers and those who may volunteer in the future
- Current sponsors / vendors and future sponsors
What to do with information:
Now that you have this information, what do you do with it? Primarily, this specific information helps bring back your initial motivation for creating your association. That inspiration prioritizes the message that needs to be at the forefront of your site. Secondly, it’s important to understand that the message you’re communicating needs to be clear to multiple audiences. When someone hits your site, they need to be able to quickly answer:
- What does this association do? Why would it be valuable to become a member?
- How do I become a member? Are there different levels of membership? How much does it cost to be a member?
- What kind of events do they host? Are they free? Do they come included with my membership?
If you can deliver that information in a simple, clear, user friendly way that includes a personal touch, and you’ll be sure to gain more traffic, convert more members and create long lasting relationships.