Member Engagement Platform: Getting More out of Memberships

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A member engagement platform gives associations the tools they need to connect with and retain members. Discover how to leverage a member engagement platform.

Joining an association is an investment, and if your organization is experiencing high lapse rates, chances are your members aren’t seeing enough of a return. If this situation sounds similar to your association, ask yourself this question: does your membership program lack value, or are members just not engaging with your content?

If the answer is the latter, there’s a solution: invest in a member engagement platform. Member engagement platforms give your association the tools to connect with members, attract attention to your association’s offerings, and cultivate an energized community.

To teach your association about the purpose and benefits of a member engagement platform, we’ll cover:

Before diving into how to better manage your members, let’s go over a few basics about these platforms.

Member Engagement Platform FAQ

What is a member engagement platform?

A member engagement platform is a tool associations use to interact with members and guide them toward content and activities. Member engagement platforms are often called community engagement platforms, as your members make up your association’s community.

However, membership management platforms and member engagement platforms are two different things. Member management tools allow associations to keep their members organized by providing features for dues collection and association-to-member communication. In contrast, member engagement platforms have features like a community platform and member-to-member communication. There is some overlap between these types of platforms, as both will often have analytics and event management tools.

Why does member engagement matter?

Associations only exist because of their active membership bases. If members aren’t attending events, responding to your content, or interacting with one another, your association lacks purpose and direction.

When members are invested and engaging at high levels, your association will experience increased:

 

  • Retention. When members engage with your content and activities, they are more likely to see the value of their membership and want to continue being a member. This leads to increased loyalty and retention rates.
  • Value. For trade and professional associations, highly engaged members tend to spend more on event tickets, certification programs, and add-ons. As members continuously engage with your content, they’re more likely to want more content and increase their membership levels.
  • Recruitment. Active members are more likely to recommend your trade or professional association to their friends and colleagues. This leads to improved word-of-mouth marketing and easier member recruitment.

 

Engaged members understand the value of your association and want to continue accessing your unique benefits. Ensure your association leverages tools that make engagement easy.

Is an AMS a member engagement platform?

No, association management software (AMS) is not the same as a member engagement platform. While AMSs offer some of the same features as a member engagement platform—such as website builders, external marketing tools, and eCommerce setup—these tools ultimately focus on different aspects of running an association.

In general, AMSs focus on:

  • Member recruitment
  • Member analytics
  • Backend organizational tasks

In contrast, member engagement platforms prioritize:

  • Member-to-member communication
  • Content creation and sharing
  • Frontend tools for members

Due to these differences, many associations employ both an AMS and a member engagement platform. For example, you might use your AMS to set up your member application forms and collect monthly due payments. However, your association’s actual offerings, such as community opportunities and webinars, are hosted on your member engagement platform.

For a seamless experience, choose an AMS and member engagement platform that integrate with each other. That way, your two systems can work together to create a more efficient and enjoyable member experience.

How Member Engagement Platforms Benefit Associations

Improved Communication

Member engagement platforms, as the name implies, are designed to maximize member engagement. As such, associations can use these tools to improve communication by:

  • Promoting engagement opportunities. Members can only engage with content if they’re aware it exists. Member engagement platforms have marketing tools for promoting opportunities and re-engaging members, such as email and push notifications for when new content goes live.
  • Personalizing content. Take note of what types of content and activities members engage with, and use your member engagement platform to create communications that target their interests. For example, you might create a new member welcome series that promotes a variety of opportunities, such as webinars, events, and community groups. Then, for your next round of communication, you could send messages based on which content they engaged with.
  • Enabling open conversations. 71% of trade association members cite networking opportunities as one of their top reasons for purchasing a membership. As such, a platform that enables open communication between members is ideal for professional and trade associations.

Some member engagement platforms are accessible through your organization’s website and have an app. This allows members to engage with your content from anywhere without distractions.

Increased Retention

Engaged members are much easier to retain. While member engagement platforms often lack recruitment tools, they still help associations grow by providing tools for retaining the members you currently have.

Use your member engagement platform to:

  • Facilitate engagement opportunities. A member engagement platform can double as a content hosting tool. Host online events and webinars, post blog content, and share videos and photographs.
  • Improve networking. Networking is a core part of any association, and member engagement platforms allow your members to engage directly with one another. Members can create profiles, search your database, start private messages, and create public posts viewable to the rest of your community to start conversations.
  • Provide retention tools. A member engagement platform helps you create a lively community, which can help retain members. However, some community engagement platforms have tools specifically designed to improve retention, such as community notifications, engagement analytics, and membership grace periods.

Of course, remember that your engagement platform is just a tool in your retention strategy. To build a loyal community, always show appreciation, provide valuable opportunities, and listen to members’ feedback.

Enhanced Membership Value

66% of prospective members don’t join an association because they fail to see the value of a membership. With a member engagement platform, you can contact members with association offerings, encourage user-generated content, and turn a membership into a community.

In the membership funnel, member engagement platforms power the retention and re-engagement stages of membership marketing.

 

In these stages, associations continue to market content and provide members with engagement opportunities. However, don’t think of your member engagement platform as just one more marketing channel to post the same content that you would on social media.

Instead, member engagement platforms create members-only areas that are dedicated to providing gated content. By ensuring this content is valuable and members can engage with it, you reinforce your membership program’s value and increase retention.

Member Engagement Platform Features

While various member engagement platforms will have different tools based on their audience and vendor’s focus, most platforms for trade and professional associations should provide the following features.

Online Community

Member engagement platforms with a community engagement element give associations the ability to create an online space where members can interact with one another like they would on social media. This includes being able to:

  • Post content
  • Comment on other members’ posts
  • Scroll through posted content chronologically
  • Use a search tool to find specific posts
  • Browse notifications
  • Message members directly

 

Additionally, some member engagement platforms allow your association’s staff or members to create groups. For example, a professional association might create a group for board members, encouraging board members to interact with the rest of your community. Their member engagement platform may also double as a board meeting planning and communication tool.

Communication Tools

To encourage members to use the platform, many solutions provide communication tools designed to foster engagement. For instance, email marketing features give associations the ability to:

  • Alert members to new content
  • Send reminders, such as to attend upcoming events
  • Maintain a regular newsletter
  • Invite members to join their online community

 

While your member engagement platform should keep members on your website, your email strategy should bring them back to your website after they log off from your membership portal the day. Use insights gathered by your member engagement platform to determine what kinds of content spark engagement, and highlight those posts in your next email newsletter.

Event Management

Many associations invest in separate event management and member engagement tools. For complex events, it makes sense to have dedicated event management software, but for smaller trade and professional associations, a community management platform with event hosting features can be a cost-effective alternative.

Your member engagement platform should allow you to alert members to upcoming events, whether in-person or online, and host virtual events through your website. Look for software that comes with the following features:

  • Virtual conferencing
  • Event chat
  • Sponsor promotion options
  • Event alerts

 

When investing in event management software, consider your association’s entire technology budget. In some cases, purchasing a more expensive member engagement platform with event hosting tools makes more sense than buying subscriptions to separate community engagement and event management tools.

Plus, by hosting your events in the same place your members already go to engage with your community, you can easily alert them to upcoming events and boost attendance.

Analytics

Ensure your engagement strategies are work using your member engagement platform to monitor your community. These tools should allow you to view:

  • How many posts members are making
  • Whether members are interacting with each other’s content
  • How active each member is

 

With these tools, you can determine what content resonates with your members, when members are active, and which members are at risk of lapsing due to a lack of engagement.

Top Member Engagement Platform: Tradewing

When it comes to member engagement platforms, we recommend our very own community engagement solution: Tradewing.

Tradewing is an out-of-the-box community engagement platform for trade and professional associations. It offers competitive features and robust customization options, rivaling popular leaders in the space such as Higher Logic and Mighty Networks, all while maintaining affordability.

With our tools, small and medium-sized associations have a convenient, cost-effective way to connect with their members, encourage community engagement, and promote their association’s offerings. Here’s an overview of a few of Tradewing’s top benefits:

  • Centralized member engagement. If your association’s community currently operates on third-party platforms like Facebook, chances are that you’re not adequately capturing their attention. On external sites, like social media, your association constantly fights for your members’ focus. But when you host your community on Tradewing, all of your association’s members are brought to one place to engage with your offerings.
  • Quick setup. Tradewing has customizable features, but its real strength is its out-of-the-box functionality. Rather than spending hours customizing your solution or requiring developer assistance, associations can set up Tradewing quickly and leverage its automation tools to save time and keep everything running smoothly.
  • AMS integrations. For associations already using an AMS, Tradewing doesn’t have to replace their current system. In fact, Tradewing integrates with many top AMS solutions, allowing you to plug its community engagement platform into your current system.

For trade and professional associations looking to engage members, build communities, and increase their offerings’ value, Tradewing is the go-to cost-effective solution on the market.

More Member Engagement Resources

Member engagement platforms give your association a toolbox for interacting with members and increasing your membership program’s value. When researching platforms, look for solutions that offer the tools your association needs and also align with your size and budget.

For more information on effective member engagement, check out the following resources:

A Website Shouldn’t Be Your Member Engagement Strategy

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Member engagement is critical for your association’s success, but a website is no longer enough. Here’s your playbook for today’s digital-first world.

There’s a difference between your website being useful and being used.

And when it comes to acting as a member engagement platform, wow does it leave a lot to be desired.

Across all of your association’s assets, your website is likely one of your most valuable. In fact, it’s probably hard to imagine existing without one. And while websites are amazing, this often leads us to expect too much from them – especially when it comes to member engagement.

News posts, directories, ancient forum tools, file storage, the list goes on and on. We cram all sorts of features into our site thinking it’ll bring more people to it and keep them coming back. But in reality, all of this leaves us with a complex and unmanageable website that does more to deter use than encourage it.

Why a website is not enough for member engagement

Today’s association members expect more than just a website.

 

Don’t get the wrong impression, your website, and everything you’ve invested in it, is likely money well spent. Your site is the digital face of your organization, and it’s the first thing most people will see and use to learn about you.

But your relationship with your members doesn’t end there. You know that.

You need a website to start the relationship, but you need to bring more to the table to keep it going, that’s where member engagement comes in, and where websites struggle.

Why investing in member engagement is worth it

Smart member engagement means a better ROI for you, your members, and your sponsors.

 

One of the most common reasons associations double down on their websites for engagement is due to budget. Developing and maintaining a website is costly, and so it only makes sense to work with what you’ve got before investing in another solution for member engagement.

It may sound like the financially prudent choice, but you’re actually leaving a ton of money on the table for your association with this approach. Here’s why:

  • Member engagement is the most important ingredient when it comes to members building a strong connection to your association and renewing – Keeping those renewal numbers up is key to your association’s long-term health. The more connected a member is, the more likely they’ll plan on investing their budget towards remaining a member with you.
  • Done right, it fosters an active community that people will pay just to be a part of – An active community is a valuable resource for your members. A place to find quick answers, collaborate with peers, and build their personal brand gives members an even greater ROI on their membership dues and makes membership with your association a must for anyone in the industry.
  • It creates a centralized community that is extremely attractive to sponsors – Just as events can be a great way to attract sponsors and grow non-dues revenue, an active and engaged member community provides the perfect place to promote products and services and generate new business for your sponsors year-round.

So, what’s wrong with my association’s website?

Before your next website redesign, consider this.

 

Again, nothing is wrong with your website (probably), but if you’re serious about member engagement, it’s not going to help you enjoy the growth and revenue benefits listed above. Let’s look at why.

  1. Websites are about one-way communication – They don’t offer your members an opportunity to connect and express themselves.
  2. Websites are static – Not much changes day to day. There’s not a lot to come back for.
  3. Websites put all of the engagement work on YOUR plate – Members can’t reach out to each other and collaborate easily via a website. This puts you in the middle when it comes to networking.
  4. Websites are a one-size-fits-all experience – Members can’t tailor what they see on it to their needs. This means there’s a lot of noise they’ll just tune out or be turned off by.
  5. Websites don’t offer members a ROI for their time and engagement – They rarely offer profiles, there’s no way to build connections with other members, and you can’t build your brand on someone else’s site.
  6. Speaking of that, a lot of this applies to social platforms as well – Facebook pages and LinkedIn groups put your association and its members at the mercy of someone else. You don’t control the experience which means you can’t respond to member needs effectively and a million other things are vying for their attention on the platform. This makes engagement that much harder.

Give your members more than just a website

Consider your member’s needs before you commit to your new digital strategy.

 

So, what can you do if you want to get serious about member engagement? Here are three great next steps.

  1. Identify your engagement goals – Sure, you want to drive member engagement, but why? Are you looking to make it easier for members to collaborate with others in the industry on your terms? Want to make daily engagement with your association a priority for your members? Whatever member engagement looks like to you, it’s important to clarify what that is because the tools and tactics you’ll employ may be good for getting certain results than others.
  2. Understand how much time and budget you can afford to invest – No matter how important member engagement is, time and budget will always be a factor. Limited budget but a little more time? Perhaps dipping your toes into social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn might be a good start. Able to spare a little extra and want to preserve your time? A dedicated platform like Tradewing can take on a lot of the work that comes with growing your member engagement while keeping you in control.
  3. Check in with your members – Probably the most important step, your members know best about what their needs are and where you can help them. It’s important to frame this in a way that doesn’t focus them on what they think your association can do for them, but what would make them more successful. By understanding their deeper needs, you can more easily understand that benefits and tools worth adopting.

 

Few things can provide a better dollar-for-dollar ROI for your association than investing in member engagement. If you want to ensure that your association is able to keep its place at the center of your industry, now is when you should be growing your digital toolbox beyond just having a website. There has never been a better time.

Is Your Association Ready for the Next Generation of Members?

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Learn how to prepare your association to better attract and retain Millennial and Generation Z members. Future-proof your membership efforts. Read now.

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.