This has to be the number one way for your organisation to engage its members. In our experience whatever your subject matter is- whether it be teachers of mathematics, employers in the low carbon sector, experts in the cost lawyer industry or people who care for children who are ill- personality can help you gain and keep members.
You want to let your members know you’re not just working for them, you’re working with them. It’s not only about being easier to contact or making your site technically interesting; it’s about being likeable and capturing your audience in an emotional way.
Here are a few things you can do to personally engage your members:
A team page!
It’s fun to do some research on this to find out what other organisations are doing. Providing photos of your team’s smiling faces is an effective way of getting your member to pick up the phone and call you, or to click that all important ‘renew membership’ button.
Encourage conversation
Make sure your members know where to find you at all times if they need you. If you have one person or team in charge of membership, make sure your members know who this is. Ask questions on the site; include tweets, quotes and comments from your members.
Make it consistent
Members engage with companies who look like they know what they’re doing. Having ‘sticky’ contact details (a phone number in the same place on every page of your site for example) is a good way of engaging your members.
A microsite
A site dedicated to one event or project is great for so many reasons. It’s easily shareable, so you’ll reach new members fast; it shows effort and that you care about your public image; it’s a fab way of interacting with your members and enjoying your common interest with them.
Get involved on social media
Studies have shown 72% of all internet users are active on social media in one form or another. Spend some time on your Facebook and Twitter pages and update them regularly with events, news articles, even pictures of your team around the office or sharing a drink after work.
So there you have it! These are our 5 Top Tips for increasing membership engagement. We’d love to hear from you if you have found these interesting or helpful, and remember that if you would like any more information on any of the subjects raised over the past week, feel free to get in touch through our Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+ or contact us.
#DriveEngagement
Words: Christine Hassall
Graphics: Charlotte Richards