Member Communications and Social Media

Remember when the fax machine was the next best thing to add to your member communications toolbox instead of slow and expensive snail mail? My guess is many of you are saying “What’s a fax machine?”  It was not long before it was replaced by e-mail. Many organizations abused this low cost communication method until members started unsubscribing or worse, ignoring everything you sent to them.  Some members set their spam monitors to block our communications. We all devoted time and resources to managing this overused communication tool in an effort to get our members to open our electronic communications. In many cases the result was quite the opposite.

Some organizations developed electronic newsletters while others developed the weekly bulletin.  In any case, it was another form of e-mail. Many organizations continued to send e-mail to their members every day, or worse, more than once a day. I view this as a ‘more is better’ mentality and places greater focus on quantity over quality.  That is our dilemma isn't it? We have an obligation to provide our members with programs and services so it makes sense that we want to tell them about everything we offer.  So we resort to sending something to our members every day.

If you don’t already have one, it may be time to sit down and develop a member communications strategy. Associations are good at developing strategies. We organize member retention and new member outreach strategies. Those involved in advocacy generally have very good lobbying strategies. So why not develop a member communication strategy?  It’s not that complicated. Perform an assessment of all member communications both print and digital. Once you understand what it is you have been sending to your members, you need to decide what information is the most impactful in helping you achieve your mission and what you really want to communicate to your members.

For most organizations a multi-platform effort would serve you well. Create a user friendly web site where you can host all the information you wish to share with your members, potential members or consumers. Through a combination of e-mail, LinkedIn and Twitter you can drive those interested in what you have to offer back to your web site for more information. There is no single communication tool that will convey your message to all members.  Some will prefer e-mail, some LinkedIn networks and others Twitter.  There are many other social media outlets so you’ll need to decide how your members prefer to get their information. Here is the good part.  Unlike traditional mail and faxes, all digital communications can be tracked.  If you send out an e-mail you can track how many received your communications from your intended target audience.  Of those that received it, how many opened it.  Of those that opened it what links did they click? Analyzing this data can help you improve future communications. Is there a day of the week that receives a higher open rate?  What topics realize higher click through rates? In addition to sending out e-mail to your member list, you can share links to your communication through LinkedIn and twitter.

Create a LinkedIn group or several groups depending on your organization.  By inviting your members to join your group, you are expanding your network and giving members another avenue to receive information.

There is no one right solution and there be some investment of time to get the right mix of web site, e-mail and social media that best meets the needs of your members. It would be impossible to cover this complex issue in detail here so keep in mind you need to do a little research starting with the demographics of your target audience. Most importantly, keep in mind the successful strategy today needs to be monitored as technology keeps us guessing about what comes next.  This includes our hardware as much as new trends in social media.  At one time most people received information through a desk top computer. We saw an increase in the use of lap tops as we took our work with us everywhere we went. Today, we need to communicate with tablets and smart phones as well as desktops and laptops. As one of my favorite financial advisers was fond of warning throughout the recession, “be nimble”.

Don Sciolaro

D ESolutions

Innovative solutions, strategic planning & management partner