Those working in the professional membership association sphere will know how important the role these organisations play in bringing together industries and advancing careers. However, simply existing as an association isn’t enough to attract and retain members.
Understand Your Audience
Effective and targeted marketing tailored to the specific needs of your association’s demographic is essential for sustaining and growing your membership. It’s important to understand what your target audience wants from their membership, and tailor your marketing material accordingly. To do this, you need to understand what enticed your members to join in the first place.
Growth
Find out what your membership wants, and their main reason for joining. Once you know this, you can adjust your marketing materials to suit your audience. By understanding what motivates your audience, you can craft compelling marketing materials that speak directly to the aspirations and concerns of your prospective members.
Whether it’s highlighting the professional development opportunities your association offers, or emphasising networking events, aligning your message with your audience’s priorities increases the likelihood of capturing their attention and driving engagement.
Choose a Channel
Depending on your demographic, the channels you market your association through will differ. This could range from social media platforms, industry-specific publications, or email newsletters to a bank of contacts. Ensure you are choosing the channel which will resonate most with your target audience, as this will maximise the impact of your efforts and generate higher returns.
Don’t confine yourself to only one channel but do make sure that the ones you use are going to make an impact.
Tailor Benefits
Conduct research on your existing members and find out who they are. What job roles do they fall into within your industry? Are they just starting in their career, are or they seasoned professionals? Do they require further training? Finding this out can be easily done by circulating online feedback forms.
Feedback
In addition to helping your marketing efforts, asking for feedback can allow you rethink your member benefits and alter them to better meet the needs of your existing members. For example, there may be an outcry for training on a particular industry topic, or the want for more networking events.
Use the information gathered to not only recruit more members, but ensure you are in line with the current demand from longstanding members.
Let us know in the comments which channels you use to market your association. What works best for your industry?