October, 2015

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The Quantified Community

Higher Logic

Many people think that the Holy Grail for community managers is proving a community’s ROI. Wrong! In Rachel Happe’s Super Forum keynote address, she said that many people misunderstand this point. The Holy Grail for community managers isn’t proving ROI -- sometimes when you’re starting out, it’s negative -- it’s improving the value of your community to ultimately increase ROI.

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Wild Apricot Podcast Episode 7: Understanding Online Payments for Nonprofits

Wild Apricot

Learn how to safely and quickly process online payments; find out why non-profits and charities need protection against fraud; tips and tricks for saving money on transaction fees, setting up online donation forms and more!

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The Lean Startup Changes Everthing

Spark Consulting

I’m excited to share the launch of the seventh whitepaper in the ongoing Spark whitepaper series, Innovate the Lean Way: Applying Lean Startup Methodology in the Association Environment. The whitepaper addresses a simple (but not necessarily easy) concept. To quote my co-author, Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate , Director of Information Services for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards : “There’s no bigger waste than investing resources working on the wrong thing.

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5 People You Need on Your Association's Online Community Management Team

Socious

Regardless of how talented your community managers are, it takes more than community professionals to create a sustainable community that provides consistent engagement and value. According to research from The Community Roundtable , “investing sufficiently in community teams so that the community is integrated across functional areas of the organization” increases both visibility with, and value to, the organization.”.

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2024 State of Customer Education Report

Customer education has become a key driver for growth, retention, and product adoption. Our latest 2024 State of Customer Education Report uncovers critical data and insights from a survey of over 200 industry leaders, offering a look at the evolving role of education in driving business success. Inside, you'll find data on key trends and strategies, including: Strategies for Scaling & Customization: Find out which investments in learning technology deliver the biggest ROI and scalability.

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Bonus content – Event Garde e-news – November edition

Aaron Wolowiec

Tracy King, chief learning strategist, InspirEd LLC. Editor’s Note: This is our Thanksgiving edition of Event Gardeian of the Month! Q & A with Tracy King, chief learning strategist, InspirEd LLC. Q: For what are you most thankful? A: I am so thankful for my four beautiful children, family and friends – sharing love, laughter, good food and shenanigans!

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More Trending

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How Your Community Humanizes Your Organization (And Why That's a Good Thing)

Higher Logic

How do you know what your customers or members are really thinking? That quest is easier than ever with the advent of social media, open online review sites and the rise of online communities. Customers’ and members’ voices are louder, easier to find and responsible for making organizations a lot more human. Customers and members have always been talking, but organizations haven’t always made a point to listen.

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October 2015 Update: Introducing Wild Apricot Academy

Wild Apricot

October was a big month! We launched our new Wild Apricot Membership Academy + Rolled out new features with Version 5.6. Have a read and learn more about all that we've been up to.

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Innovate the Lean Way

Spark Consulting

“There’s no bigger waste than investing resources working on the wrong thing.” Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate, Director, Information Systems, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Given associations’ tight resources, we can’t afford to waste time pursuing the wrong thing. Lean startup methodology (as opposed to lean six-sigma) has taken the business world by storm in the last several years, with businesses of all sizes and life stages experiencing success followin

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Is a Virtual Membership Option Right for Your Association?

Socious

Recently we passed the milestone of Back to the Future Day. October 21 st , 2015 was the future day that Doc sent Marty McFly to in one stylish ride. There, McFly saw a lot of bad fashion and cool things like hoverboards, flying cars, and Jaws 19, the movie.

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The Power of Community: Why a Branded Community is a Must-Have for Every Association

Ever wonder why brands like Apple, LEGO, and Sephora are going all-in on branded communities? It’s because online community building is the secret sauce to connecting with audiences in ways that ads and emails simply can’t. But here's the best part—it’s not just for big corporations. Associations can create thriving online communities too. GrowthZone’s eBook, "The Power of Community," breaks down exactly why a branded online community can be a game-changer for your association.

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Small but mighty meetings

Aaron Wolowiec

Think back to your college days. Remember those massively packed, overwhelming lecture halls? Was it hard to pay attention? Did you feel like a minnow in a sea of students swimming upstream? I did. Then, think back to your smaller classes (even if that only happened in high school). Wasn’t it easier to focus? Didn’t you feel a bit more important when the professor/teacher actually saw your hand…and called on you?

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Building Space for Change: Your Questions Answered

YourMembership

We all know that change happens; staff leave, volunteers turnover, member interests and expectations evolve and technology will always bring new advances to the industry. Associations, and almost any membership organization, continue to be challenged by change management. Books are written about it and a lot of time and effort has been spent talking about how to deal with it.

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A Lurker’s Appreciation for Community

Higher Logic

Guilty as charged – I’m a lurker. In most of the communities I’m in, I love to sit in the wings and watch conversations flow between people, selfishly hoarding any nugget of advice I may come across without giving anything back. Sometimes I feel bad about my lurker status, but I also get a lot of enjoyment (and value) out of being a fly on the wall.

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Version 5.6 Brings New Themes, Features and Functionality

Wild Apricot

Version 5.6 has been released! It brings in some significant improvements to the process of inserting files and images, resulting in a better user experience. We’ve also included yet another feature to our events module. Plus we’re proud to introduce two new fully responsive theme sets: Terra and Firma.

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Boost Sponsorship, Exhibit, and Ad Revenue

Sales often gets a bad rep. Yet, if securing sponsors, advertisers, and exhibitors is part of your role, it’s essential. But what if it didn’t have to feel time-consuming, uncomfortable, or worse—icky? Join us for the 3-part virtual Sales Accelerator Labs , where customer experience and sales expert Carrie McIntyre will show you strategies to make sales easier, more effective, and dare we say, enjoyable!

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Talking About the Lean Startup

Spark Consulting

In keeping with what’s becoming a regular practice when I release a new Spark whitepaper, I recently had the opportunity to present a webinar for the Yourmembership.com Thought Leader series on Innovate the Lean Way , which I co-authored with Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate. The free recording is now available: During the webinar, I relate A Tale of Two Projects, Parts 1 and 2, showing the difference using lean startup methodology can make in your innovation efforts (spoiler alert: building some

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4 Elements of a High-Engagement Association Website

Socious

In the grand scheme of the digital age, thank goodness the 90’s and early 2000’s are behind us. Don’t get me wrong, we wouldn’t be where we are today without GeoCities, America Online, and MySpace. However, I’m very glad that we have moved away from the notion that every organization needs a website, just to have a website. Today, your website is your number one marketing asset.

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Training truths be told

Aaron Wolowiec

Can the color of a marker really make a difference in how we learn? Yes, according to research. But it’s not necessarily the color. Instead, it’s choosing the color. “Research shows that giving learners choices – even seemingly trivial ones – can improve performance,” said Stephen Meyer, president and CEO of Rapid Learning Institute. “Bottom line: Embed choices into the learning process, even if they don’t seem meaningful.

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Becoming a 24/7 On-Demand Service Provider: Your Questions Answered

YourMembership

Associations and member organizations must develop a robust virtual presence in order to succeed in our “on-demand” economy, and utilize technology to help serve their members more efficiently as the market continues to shift. Our September YourMembership (YM) CAE Thought Leadership Webinar, Becoming an 24/7 On-Demand Service Provider to Meet Member Expectations presented by JP Guilbault – CEO of YM, identified and broke down five shifts that currently drive the On Demand men

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Recognition Powers High-Performance — If You Do it Right

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg

Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.

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Crack the Social Code: Turn Members Into Contributors

Higher Logic

Ever wonder how to get inside your members’ heads and motivate them to participate? Richard Millington can help, an expert with over 12 years of experience in community building. How does he do it? He uses basic, yet powerful, psychological forces -- tapping into what makes us human and what motivates us -- to excite and engage members in a deep, meaningful way.

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Take a Hike Through Our New Themes

Wild Apricot

For our new themes, Terra and Firma, we wanted to mimic the serenity of calm, natural environments like, blue misty mountains, grey pebbly beaches, and flowing fields of golden wheat. So, grab your gear and take a hike!

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Association Chat On Camera! What's Happening to #assnchat?

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

For the past few weeks Association Chat has been quietly testing a new platform for the weekly Tuesday chats. Blab is a livestreaming platform that enables a public video chat among four participants at a time. Viewers come in to watch the livestream and they can participate by leaving comments on the desktop application or below on the mobile version.

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The Four Trends That Shaped the Millennials

Jamie Notter

I spoke this week at the Direct Marketing Association's annual meeting --twice actually: I did a "book club" session on When Millennials Take Over , and then I had a concurrent session on "What the Experienced Marketer Can Learn from Millennials." In the latter session I was able to talk in more detail about something that I don't always get to talk about: what exactly shaped the Millennial generation.

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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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How did you spend your weekend?

Virtual

Here’s how I spent mine: This past week, we organized the PCI SSC North American Community Meeting. This annual event brings together over 1200 people in the payment security space—we’ll repeat it next week in Tokyo and in two weeks in Nice. The video says it all—it’s a pretty big production. When we’re pulling together an event like this, I have a few simple rules in mind: 1.

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Power Suit, Power Selling

Association Adviser

How buying a suit led to an epiphany about the power of consultative selling. For association media professionals, non-dues revenue isn't sold, it's earned. The post Power Suit, Power Selling. For more about this topic, click on the headline.

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Are your members driven by the fear of missing out?

Higher Logic

These tactics don’t just bring new people into your community – they remind and prompt current members to check in and participate. Just because you get someone signed up doesn’t mean they’ll become a promoter or keep checking in. If there is enough activity – and you do a good job of highlighting top content – then members will keep going back to make sure they don’t miss out on an important opportunity.

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Creating Multi-Session Events Just Got Easier

Wild Apricot

You’ll love how simple we've made it to create single registration, multi-session events through a new feature released in Version 5.6.

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

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Apps that Excite Association Professionals

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

Today on Association Chat we are talking about the apps that are rocking association professionals' worlds. What are the apps that make a difference in your day-to-day life? We'll explore apps that impact your business, personal, spiritual, and physical lives. Here are some questions we'll discuss: Which apps are you using to improve what you do at work?

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What If There Were 100 Million Millennials? (Because There Are)

Jamie Notter

Warning: this is a fairly long post that delves into numbers somewhat deeply. But here's the good news: I've got some surprising revelations about the size of the different generations, so be patient and read through to the end! It is commonly stated that Generation X is a relatively small generation, sandwiched between the two largest generations in U.S. history: the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.

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Can you hear me now?

Mariner

I attended a session at last week’s Mid-Atlantic Marketing Seminar in Baltimore on reaching the media in a digital/mobile world. The main message was that while the media may be more accessible, it is also harder to get their attention. After all, there is so much information coming in from so many directions that our heads are spinning.

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