Think of your website as the central hub for all association news, information, and resources. The homepage should quickly convey what you offer and how your group can help professionals. Internal pages can provide additional content on getting involved or accessing member-only benefits. Because your website serves two distinct customers, it can be challenging to know how much time, energy and resources to devote to a member versus a prospect. In addition to your marketing content and member resources, it’s also important that your site be visually appealing.
It can be overwhelming to create a site that’s modern, informational, resourceful, and in line with two buyers journeys (prospects vs. members). To help, we’re breaking down the most important components of each journey below.
How to engage with prospects on your website
Fresh content
Prospects have hundreds of associations to choose from. What makes yours stand out? It can be challenging to break through the noise. Start by evaluating your content. Is it fresh, interesting, and helpful? Think about the type of content you’d want to see as a prospect. Use material that can draw them in like a clever tagline or engaging video. Use analytics to measure your success and always consult the numbers before making any changes.
Engaging Design
It’s not enough to have great content – you must also have an interactive design. That means calls to action, videos, images, and an overall thoughtful user experience. Along with that, it’s essential that your site is mobile-responsive. Considering the fact that over 80% of our population owns a smartphone and over half of all web traffic stems from mobile devices, updating your design to respond is imperative to stand out in the market.
Optimizing for mobile (if not creating a dedicated mobile marketing strategy) is something you should’ve done by now, but if you haven’t, it needs to be done in 2018. No excuses. – Ramona Sukhraj, Content Marketing Manager at Impact
Social Media
Now that a prospect knows what you do and the benefits you offer, they want to learn more about you – your culture, values and energy. One of the best place for authentic interactions (besides IRL, of course)? Social media! Post staff photos on Instagram, tweet out information about a giveaway for new members or show your enthusiasm for dogs on Facebook with a bring your dog to work day video. No matter what platform you use, just make sure that your messaging is consistent and honest.
How to engage with members on your website
Friendly sign-in button
Now that they’ve officially joined your association, help members access the member-only portal by highlighting the sign-in button. Remember, the worst onboarding experience usually starts with confusion – if it takes a member more than 7 seconds to find the login, they’re less likely to fully utilize the online member benefits. Help members easily navigate the website by calling out your sign-in button with a pop of color or bolded text.
Personalize
Besides the fact that you have all of their data at your fingertips, personalization is expected nowadays. With all the tools accessible to us, it’s really a no-brainer. Whether it’s in a member email, a welcome message in the portal, or even an invoice, make sure to personalize by adding their name or company. Even something as small as personalization can help a member feel included and not just another number on the member roster.
Modern Interface
As technology continues to improve and expand, members are increasingly more expectant of modern design and functionality in the member portal. Impress members with clean modules, friendly user experience, and robust workflows.
Last year, we did a complete overhaul of our own member portal to make our design more modern. Check it out below:
Increasing engagement on your website for both members and prospects doesn’t have to be rocket science. With consistent messaging, a modern yet friendly design, and helpful resources, you can easily serve both members and prospects on your website.
