Association Adviser

DECEMBER 14, 2018

Have you heard of the “Sunday scaries?” It’s a term some people use to describe the anxious feeling you get on Sunday nights when you’re facing down a full week of work, kids’ schedules, meetings, appointments, and other obligations. Technology (and the thought of it) sometimes elicits a similar response. I’ve worked with hundreds of associations and here are some of the responses I have gotten when asking about their take on “technology” or “new ways” of reaching and engaging their members: Do

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Technology Revenue Content Social Media 92

Associations Now

DECEMBER 9, 2018

The problems that association members face are increasingly rooted in technology. Execs will need to root their solutions in technology as well. What kind of business is your association in? I’ve heard people ask this at association events a lot, and it’s usually a trick question. You might think you’re in the business of serving nurses, or oil companies, or arctic scientists, and so on, the spiel goes.

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Smooth The Path

DECEMBER 13, 2018

We spend some time each summer in a busy resort town in the white mountains of New Hampshire. On-season traffic clogs the narrow streets and overwhelms the traffic lights. Every day a few official traffic directors turn off the lights and take over. They get the lines of overheated cars and tourists moving again. These folks use big gestures, and every movement leaves no doubt as to when it is your turn.

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Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Find the perfect nonprofit app to help you design your day, schedule your tasks, and more in this list.

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Member Engagement

Reid All About it

DECEMBER 14, 2018

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community… It’s the most wonderful time of the year… (sing it with me). Some of us get to take time off during the holidays. What to do, what to do… WBT Systems has a suggestion for you: get your learning on. They suggest associations promote Holiday Specials on online learning programs so members spend some of their vacation time on professional development.

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Higher Logic

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Getting into your subscribers’ inbox is a bit like getting into a swanky, invite-only party. There’s a bouncer, and his name is Spam Filter (he’s about 6’10” and 350 pounds). If your contact already left the party, if you seem a little suspicious, if you’re not dressed to the nines…you’re not getting in. No one wants this to happen to them. Email is such a dynamic, easy, simple way to communicate.

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Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 13, 2018

With the new location gadget you can map your members, saving your and your visitors time and effort. Check out what you can do and how to use it in this post.

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GrowthZone

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Our recent industry survey revealed a number of trends impacting the association industry. Several of the questions generated numerous responses specifically about young professionals. The How-To Guide to Successful Event Promotions. is a blueprint for association success. Regardless of size, budget, or mission, associations continue to struggle with ideas to engage 20-somethings.

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Eric Lanke

DECEMBER 10, 2018

My association sponsors an undergraduate education program we call the Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge. Essentially, it challenges undergraduate engineers to design and build a human-powered vehicle (typically a bicycle, but not always) that uses my industry's technology (i.e., hydraulics) as the method of propulsion. It's awesome. Responding to the distressing lack of fluid power education in our nation's undergraduate mechanical engineering programs, we now have a way to engage students with a h

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Speaker: Jessica Bonney from VICA and Jeff Horne from Wicket

What does delivering an exceptional member experience mean in today's world? With the right insights, tools, and strategies, you can identify what truly matters to your members, drive meaningful engagement at scale, and continue to meet the ever-evolving needs of your members. Join association experts Jessica Bonney from VICA and Jeff Horne from Wicket who will share practical insights on how to build an exceptional member-driven experience by gaining a deeper understanding of your members and d

Member Experience

Higher Logic

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Last week, we shared advice from four of our community managers about challenging scenarios you might encounter in your community (and their recommendations on how to solve them). This week, Lindsay, Will, Annie, and Emily are back to share their answers to 25 questions on topics like increasing engagement, finding an expert for your Q&A session, and encouraging lurkers to participate.

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Associations Now

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Influencer marketing isn’t just about celebrities anymore. As it matures, the phenomenon is growing smaller in scale, as well as more formalized. Read on for some trends to keep an eye on next year. In an age when banner ads seem to be losing their relevance by the day, the concept of the influencer has surfaced as an important alternative for reaching new audiences.

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GrowthZone

DECEMBER 14, 2018

January is the perfect time to hit the ground running with new association social media tactics. Plan ahead with these holiday and event ideas for your January posts: MONTHLY: Birth Defects Prevention Month. Cervical Health Awareness Month. Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month. Self Defense Awareness Month. Glaucoma Awareness Month. Walk Your Pet Month.

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Social Media Member Engagement 99

Association Adviser

DECEMBER 14, 2018

To some, failure is synonymous with embarrassment, eliciting an arresting fear that will not allow them to try again. However, for lifelong learners failure is the fire that inspires them to find the lesson in the experience, try harder, and strive to succeed in unique and innovative ways. Along with many association professionals, I attended ASAE’s Technology Conference and Expo this month that was capped by the third annual Fail Fest.

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Education

Association Success

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Are associations doing enough to create their ideal culture? Culture has become a hot topic as of late. It affects our workplaces and, in associations, it affects our membership. We have experienced a culture shift. When I was researching my book Talent Generation, one of the main conclusions I came to was that we have been operating for quite some time according to a 20th century mindset: this idea of hierarchy and structures and processes and people keeping jobs only because they need the work

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Associations Now

DECEMBER 13, 2018

A collaboration between the trucking industry and a nonprofit that honors fallen veterans continues this weekend as truckers transport more than a million holiday wreaths to cemeteries nationwide. As the holiday season kicks into high gear, the trucking industry is once again getting into the spirit by helping a nonprofit bring holiday greenery to cemeteries where military service members are laid to rest.

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America Arlington Social Media Maine 98

Smooth The Path

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Engaged members are the chief evangelists for many associations. Most new members join because a member told them about the association. Engaged members are volunteers, speakers, mentors, writers, evaluators, and community engagers. Engaged members are concerned about the future of their industry, profession and association. When associations innovate for engaged members they attract more engaged members.

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Association Adviser

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Every year, we ask association professionals who take our Association Communications Benchmarking Survey how much they value individual member communication channels. It’s a measure of how well a given medium works for reaching members with association information. Every association is different, of course, and one way of communicating might work well for one association but not another.

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Communications Social Media Newsletter Survey 87

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Association Success

DECEMBER 11, 2018

The story of an organization transitioning into the future of work. I work with ARMA International, a completely virtual organization. In the fall of 2016, we transitioned from our brick-and-mortar office with the option for employees to regularly work remotely into a completely virtual environment. How did this process work out for us? And is the future of work virtual beyond our organization?

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Associations Now

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Voice-recognition devices are growing in popularity and offer opportunities for associations to engage members at home. Here’s how associations are experimenting with the apps that bring Alexa and other similar technologies to life. One of the big topics at last week’s ASAE Technology Conference & Expo was artificial intelligence, including its already realized potential for smart speakers and voice recognition services.

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Alabama California Class Survey 88

Idea Architects

DECEMBER 14, 2018

I am always thankful to get past December 31 of any year. It's not because I hate New Year's celebrations or all the talk about a clean slate, making resolutions, or starting a diet. January 1 means we have 360 days or so until charities and other nonprofits send out their well-intentioned, but often underwhelming last minute year-end solicitations.

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Association Adviser

DECEMBER 13, 2018

This article originally appeared on AssociationSuccess.org. Before you dive into implementing a new technology at your organization, be sure to look at what’s going on in your day to day operations. Ask staff who work with volunteers or members: what issues are they facing? An easy way to track this is by logging the problems or issues raised from your member inbox.

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Technology Committee Course Project 84

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eBook

Membersuite

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Looking back at your 2018 membership metrics can help you assess the health of your organization, spot areas that need work, and identify reasons to celebrate. After all, ‘tis the season to celebrate.

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Associations Now

DECEMBER 10, 2018

A 2018 defined in the IT department by lots of chatter about GDPR compliance helped create an important and lasting conversation about protecting the privacy of members’ data, panelists at the ASAE Technology Conference & Expo said last week. The town hall at last week’s ASAE Technology Conference & Expo was referred to onstage as a “broccoli” session—a panel discussion that didn’t have the fun of a session on augmented reality or blockchain, but one that was probably more important.

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Maryland Library California System 88

Idea Architects

DECEMBER 8, 2018

Image Credit: Leonard John Matthews. Creative Commons License Stop yelling at us. We hear you just fine. Stop talking to us as if you’re all knowing. We know things, too. Stop bombarding us with more of the same. We see the points you’re making. It’s always dangerous when people trying to lead others unknowingly treat them as if they are uninformed or ignorant.

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Association Adviser

DECEMBER 12, 2018

Think of all the people who have visited your association’s website in the past 24 hours. Did they actively engage with your content? Or, did they leave without taking any action? With all of the other distractions surrounding internet users, it’s hard to maintain their attention when they’re on your page. You may have stellar website content and relevant ads, but once that user leaves your site, they’re lost to your association.

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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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Membersuite

DECEMBER 14, 2018

Meet Akin Sawyerr, a User Experience (UX) Designer, with a passion for design, travel, and art. Learn more about his background and his very own poetry association in this month's Employee Spotlight.

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Associations Now

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Does some of the reasoning experts give for compressed workdays also apply to multiday events? Some things to think about before making a cut. There is lots of talk in every workplace about how to help employees improve their work-life balance. Some ways to do that include telecommuting, flexible schedules, and even shorter working hours. That last strategy is something Amazon has been talking about since it announced in 2016 that it would pilot a 30-hour workweek.

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GlowGlobally

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Recently presented at the ASAE Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ms. Annemarie Weise, Senior Business Development Manager for MCI Benelux and Mr. Kevin Perry, Ed.D, Director of SAE International’s Professional Development division (Retired) will repeat their popular ASAE session. In 2015, a major U.S.-based professional organization for engineering professionals undertook an in-depth market study uncovering the European industry players’ needs, their perception of the mentioned organization as we

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