July 11, 2023   |   Vol. 22   |   Issue 7
By Noah Poissant, MGI Account Director

Are You Leveraging Your Organic Social Media?

During the heat of the summer months, some associations experience a slowdown in marketing traction which may precipitate a summer budget slash. This year, as the “dog days” are in full swing, we look for low-cost and easy-win opportunities to boost membership marketing programs. Of note, two questions are being asked more frequently: 1) How can we meet and exceed our goals during a summer lull, and 2) How do we set ourselves up for further success in the fall?

The answers can lie in leveraging your association’s organic social media channels. These platforms are a fantastic medium that acts as a lead generation driver, a community space, and a membership value proposition enhancer! Your pre-existing social media accounts can be used for:

1. Lead Generation and Acquisition
   Your Facebook and LinkedIn pages–among others–are often the first places potential prospects explore. Make sure you’re thoughtfully sharing content that reinforces your association’s mission and what you have to offer. Posts that share newsletter articles, blog posts, certification products, and more, all serve to tangibly show the value of membership. Prospects may get a peek behind the membership curtain and even feel they are test driving membership. Since these social pages can serve as important extensions of your website, have plans to post a minimum of 2-3 times per week to keep content flowing.
2. Membership Retention
   Your ability to demonstrate the value and expertise your association brings not only attracts new members seeking knowledge and networking opportunities, but it might just be the channel that actively keeps members aware of their benefits, thus helping increase the likelihood of renewal. In addition to the previously mentioned content, be sure you’re promoting your webinars and events, and highlighting content around certification (think study guides). This simple tactic might be one of the best ways to keep vital membership resources in front of members.
3. Building Your Community
   Social platforms act inherently to allow idea-sharing and collaboration, and to form personal and professional relationships. Engage your community directly with polls, discussion questions, or posts that lend themselves to comments and conversation. Read and review your pages’ interactions and reviews. These act as an excellent secondary research opportunity to help you start conversations about how to refine strategies, tailor your messaging, reprioritize benefits based on user engagement, and more. Also, be sure you are planning member testimonials for your social channels. These first-hand accounts drive home value and share how membership works for people. (Plus, you can tag your members and expand the reach of your posts!)

Ramping up your activity on social media accounts this summer can be a great way to enhance your association’s visibility while engaging your potential prospects and members. Start exploring how you can expand your association’s reach during the summer months without having to use your precious budget dollars. Want to learn more about how to organically make the most of your membership marketing on social media channels? Reach out to Jana Darling by email at jdarling@marketinggeneral.com or phone at 703-706-0349 to schedule a meeting today.