Introducing Virtual Events 2.0

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At Tradewing, we are committed to providing you with the tools and support you need to reward and engage your members.

We understand that virtual events have become a critical bridge between you, your members, and non-members alike. That’s why we are excited to announce some big improvements coming to events on the Tradewing platform.

Improved event video quality & performance

We hear you loud and clear. When it comes to virtual events, nothing is more important than video quality. Starting March 11th, you will notice substantial performance improvements when conferencing on Tradewing. We’ve also significantly raised the limits on participants and attendees for your events.

Make Tradewing the premier place for your members to meet and collaborate.

 

Virtual conferences

Currently, Tradewing supports what we call Simple Events, and you may already be using these for virtual meetings with your members. Nothing is changing with how you use Simple Events today, other than the improved video quality and increased limits on participants and attendees. But coming next week, Tradewing will also support a second event type: Conferences.

Conferences allow you to deliver multiple sessions, a dedicated expo hall for sponsors, and even a “main stage,” enabling a keynote speaker to broadcast their speech to thousands of attendees.

Why do we think you’ll be excited about this new feature?

  1. Streamlined Event Experience: Conferences allow you to easily create multiple different sessions, control access to some or all sessions based on ticket type, and receive attendance reports for each session.
  2. More Benefits for Sponsors: We know you value your sponsors and the support they provide your organization. Tradewing Conferences allow you to showcase different tiers of sponsors, add multiple session-specific sponsors, and have a dedicated virtual expo hall so you can continue to deliver demonstrable value to your partners.
  3. Historical Record for Attendees: Conferences can be recorded and made available directly on the Tradewing platform. This allows members who couldn’t attend live as well as those that are interested in re-watching sessions to refer to them at a later date.

The attendee experience using Tradewing’s Conferences

 

We hope you’re as excited as we are about these changes! If you have an upcoming conference and are interested in accessing conferences right away, please contact your customer success representative or email support@tradewing.com today.

Why Driving Renewals Will Be More Difficult Going Forward

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2020 was a challenging year for associations. That’s hardly news, but what may surprise you is the pandemic’s long-term impact on your association’s ability to drive membership renewals.

While the worst is, hopefully, behind us, the last year has cast a bright and unflattering light on the cracks in the foundations of organizations everywhere. Nowhere has this been more visible than when it comes to benefits and the member experience.

You might think this doesn’t apply to you. Maybe you managed to transition to Zoom just in time for that big event, or perhaps you think post-COVID everything will return to normal, but the story here isn’t about how you and your members dealt with, and survived, these inconveniences in 2020, it’s about why these inconveniences arose in the first place, and what that says about being a member of your association.

What’s the Point of Association Membership in 2021?

Unless association membership is a requirement in your industry, you understand how critical it is for members to understand the value they’re receiving from your organization when it’s time to renew. If they’re not getting much out of it, why should they share their hard-won dollars with you?

This year’s renewal conversation is about to get a lot more challenging.

 

How you navigated 2020 will make or break how members answer the question above, but there’s more to it. For many of your members, this is more than just a question of if they want to stick with you this year, but if you’re even still relevant.

Let’s look at a few common areas most associations struggled with this year, and how those struggles could translate into a decline in renewals.

Challenges Faced by Associations in 2020 

Events – This is the big one, any association that relied on in-person events and meetings to facilitate member networking and provide other benefits (like training), faced a major crisis this year. Some successfully moved events online while others cut events all together.

Yet, even those that managed to get everyone together on Zoom noticed the shortcomings of this response. Many virtual events platforms, especially the free ones, aren’t built to support the unique needs and services associations require to serve their members. Breakout sessions, training workshops, hallway conversations, and even expo halls fell short of expectations for almost everybody. These lackluster experiences really pushed members to ask, were these events even worth it to begin with?

In-person events will never be the same. Are you ready?

 

Collaboration – Cross-member collaborative efforts also took a hit. Networking opportunities were few and far between, and for many associations, the online tools provided to members to connect started to show their age.

Listservs and ancient forum software were barely hanging on before, but they should be dead and buried after this year. Unfortunately, many associations learned the hard way how ill-prepared they were when these avenues became the only real lifeline for their members in the midst of the pandemic. Difficult to navigate interfaces that lacked the capabilities necessary to foster meaningful and effective communication between members had users throwing up their hands and walking away. Even worse, some associations saw their members leave and start their own industry-focused LinkedIn and Facebook groups.

The Sponsor Experience – Got sponsors? Maybe not anymore. The loss of events has highlighted for many sponsors just how little they’re getting out of their associations beyond a booth or signage at the yearly conference.

While this won’t impact member renewals, sponsor renewals can be just as critical, and are just as at risk after this year. Not only have sponsors likely had to pull back on their own promotional budgets due to COVID, but a lack of events or other meaningful sponsorship avenues in 2020 saw sponsors committing their advertising dollars elsewhere, and it could prove a challenge to coax that investment back – especially if the results of those new investments look promising.

 

Locking In Renewals for 2021 and Beyond

Obviously 2020 was bad, but what can we do about it?

The answer is a lot, and you’ve likely already made moves to address the challenges above and other deficiencies that came to light last year. Still, here are three things you should give some thought to right now that will not only help you patch the holes made by COVID, but give your members a stronger incentive to renew now and in the future.

Three tips for driving membership renewals this year.

 

  1. Evaluate Your Collaboration Tools – Your membership experience is only going to become more virtual, 2020 only sped up the timetable. Ask yourself, are you ready? Can a virtual member get as much value as a member that can engage with others regularly face to face? If not, why? If you’re still working with just a website or a listserv, it’s time for a change. Start thinking about ways you can expand your digital resources. For some, a LinkedIn group or regular virtual happy hours might be a good first step, but ultimately you’ll want something more scalable and tailored to your association’s specific member needs.
  2. Expand Your Sponsor Benefits – If you think events, website banners, and newsletter links are the only tools at your disposal for rewarding your sponsors, think again! New technologies abound when it comes to tools that allow you to provide sponsors closer access to your members in a controlled way. Your membership platforms may already have these capabilities, and if not, it’s time to look for solutions that do.
  3. Modernize Your Event Strategy – Like it or not, virtual events are here to stay. Even if you plan to move back to in-person events, there are many folks who may now prefer the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of attending virtually. Consider a hybrid event plan, and understand what resources you might be missing to create a seamless experience for both in-person and virtual attendees.

 

2020 was a tough year, but 2021 doesn’t have to be. Associations are in a great position to revitalize their industries and provide critical and immediate value to their members. COVID was a wakeup call to everybody; use this moment to help your members and sponsors understand that one of the best investments in their future is membership with your association.

Is Your Association Ready for the Next Generation of Members?

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Here’s a scary thought. At some point in the future, 100% of your association’s current members will have turned over.

This is guaranteed.

But you face this reality every day. As time goes by, your members will grow older, they will change jobs, and retire. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to prevent this, but there are things you can do to prepare for it.

Your Next Generation of Members: Millennials and Generation Z

The good thing about generations is that there’s always a new one on the way. In fact, you probably have several generations participating in your association today.

While you should value all of your members, it’s your Millennial and Generation Z (Gen-Z) members that you should be paying attention to when it comes to building your organization’s roadmap.

A new generation of members presents opportunities but also challenges.

 

Like any good steward for your association, you know that not all member generations are created equal, and in order to resonate with this new generation of members, you’ll need to update your recruitment and retention playbook. Here are some things to consider.

Millennial and Generation Z Membership Care-Abouts

Virtual Experience – Millennials and Gen-Z have grown up in the greatest time in history for digital user experiences. Hassle-free online resources are table stakes for them –  providing anything less and you risk looking outdated. Potential members may wonder how you can help them get ahead if you’re so far behind.

This extends to every part of your membership funnel. From first time website visitors trying to learn about you, all the way down to how veteran members pay their dues. Like it or not, you’re participating in the attention economy, and if your members find it too difficult to work with you, they’ll find something else to do with their time.

Collaboration – This is a double-edged sword. Millennials and Gen-Z value collaboration and the opportunity to be a part of something larger than themselves. This aligns well with the purpose of many associations, but beware. That desire to get involved requires the ability to get involved. Members won’t stick around if they join up only to find that it’s an uphill battle to get a seat at the table.

Consider the opportunities you extend to your members to collaborate today and how inclusive they are. Roundtables may sound approachable, but maybe they’re dominated by senior members. Mailing lists may be easy to get started with, but they can get out of hand if members’ email habits aren’t on similar levels. For many, modern member platforms are a great solution here.

For Millennials and Gen-Z, having an equal voice is critical.

 

Costs – Money will always be an issue, but for Millennial’s and Gen-Z, who are on average poorer than previous generations, you’ll need to find new ways to give them more for their membership investment.

This is not to say you need to simply lower membership dues, cost is just one factor. This is really a conversation about value, and how you communicate your value to potential members. The truth is, you’re going to meet increasing resistance when it comes to getting people to sign up and renew unless you can help them justify the spend. To succeed here, offering more ways to engage with your association and experience its benefits will be critical.

How to Win Over Millennials and Generation Z

If you’re starting to realize how underprepared your association is for the next generation, you’re not alone. While most people have some idea already of how to address the needs above, there’s no silver bullet. The only way forward is to consider all reasonable courses of actions and take the path the best aligns with your association and its goals.

Here are some ideas to consider:

  1. Evaluate Your Membership Tiers and Benefits – Dues can be the first major roadblock to membership. In today’s business environment, free trials and subscriptions abound, and your next generation of members may expect an easier way to ease into your association. Giving potential members a way to try before they buy can help you get a foot in the door with them and showcase the benefits of membership.
  2. Adopt a Hybrid Event Model – You don’t have to give up on in-person events, but you should make virtual attendance a part of your conference strategy. This is also a great way to ensure event success in our post-COVID world. Hybrid events allow all of your members to participate from anywhere and avoid unnecessary travel costs.
  3. Embrace Modern Collaboration Tools – If you’re still working off mailing lists or forum software, now is a great time to upgrade to more interactive tools. Dedicated Facebook and LinkedIn groups are a quick and easy way to test the waters, but keep in mind that it’s harder to keep your members engaged when you don’t own the platform. Member engagement platforms, like Tradewing, allow for an easy transition that lets you retain ownership of your members.

Capabilities like mobile-friendly ways for members to connect are expected now.

 

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to start thinking a bit more about your plans for the future. This next generation of members presents a ton of exciting opportunities for growth and impact for the associations that embrace them.

With a little preparation, you’ll be able to keep your association at the center of your industry, and not become a relic of a bygone era.