Building and growing an association can be rewarding yet challenging. Success often hinges on attracting new members, retaining current members, and increasing engagement. With these simple tactics, you’ll be well on your way to creating an association that attracts members.
Member Referrals
Referrals are still among the best and most effective ways to grow your association. After all, your existing members are the best advocates. They can provide social proof for your association, encouraging others to join. Here are a few ways to increase your member referrals.
- Referral Program: Create a referral program in which members receive discounts, access to events, or other perks for referring new members.
- Ambassador Roles: Identify highly engaged members and invite them to be ambassadors for your association. These individuals can also serve as member leaders.
- Shareable Resources: Make it easy for your members to spread the word by providing shareable content.
Digital Presence
Having a solid online presence is crucial when looking to grow your association. It is an effective way for members to communicate with each other and be interested in what the association is currently doing. Members will first engage with you in these places, so a good impression is vital.
- Social Media Engagement: Increase your presence on social media to create a sense of community and enable group conversations and interactions.
- Optimized Website: A clean, optimized website helps convert website visitors to members. Use clear calls to action to encourage users to find out more about your association.
- Email Campaigns: Build an email list of potential members and send them valuable information, event invitations, or special promotions. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build leads and keep members informed.
Events & Partnerships
Hosting networking events and maintaining partnerships and/or relationships with aligned organization is a great way to introduce a larger audience to your association, driving growth. Build strong relationships and collaborate with other organizations to grow your reach. Hosting networking events and social gatherings can serve multiple purposes: they create a sense of community, allow members to learn from each other, and provide an opportunity for prospects to see the value of being a part of your association.
- In-Person or Virtual Events: Depending on your industry, organize in-person conferences, happy hours, or meetups. For global or remote audiences, consider hosting virtual networking events.
- Fun and Relaxed Gatherings: Casual social events like picnics, learn and lunches, game nights, or themed parties help build camaraderie, making your association more appealing to a broader audience.
- Co-Host Events: Work with other organizations to host joint events that unite different networks and communities.
- Cross-Promotions: Cross-promote with organizations that share similar values or serve a shared audience.
Member Engagement
A heavy focus on member engagement and retention ensures that members are happy and values their membership. Furthermore, solid member engagement leads to more leads and higher satisfaction among members. Member engagement can occur through events, surveys, and polls, creating group discussions. Recognize top members: Recognizing your members keeps them engaged and reinforces the value of being a part of your association.
Final Thoughts
Growing your association can be challenging. Still, through consistent effort and the practice of these strategies above, you can build a thriving association that grows and flourishes.
