Increasing member engagement is a top membership goal for the majority of associations – yet puzzlingly lack of engagement is a major reason for members not renewing. Your answer could lie in successful social media.
Having been ignored for decades, apprenticeships are back for good. According to the government, ‘over 2.1m people have started apprenticeships this Parliament, with a six-fold increase in higher apprenticeships started since 2009-10’. The number is planned to increase and there’s an apprenticeship voucher scheme on the way, scheduled for roll-out in 2017. In yesterday’s Budget from Chancellor George Osborne, the apprentice wage went up by 57p an hour to £3.30 – equivalent to an annual salary increase of over £1,000 for a full time worker.
With news this month that UK Prime Minister David Cameron name-checked a ‘fake’ account in a tweet, it’s clear that not even world leaders are immune to Twitter blunders. Earlier this year, disgruntled employees at HMV took over the company’s Twitter stream and used it to voice their concerns about redundancy issues, causing a social media nightmare for the HMV marketing team.
Google has just launched a new campaign to help 30,000 of Britain’s smallest charities boost their fundraising through online tools and the internet. Established in partnership with the Media Trust and Charity Technology Trust, the ‘Grow Your Charity Online’ initiative will provide free training and tools for smaller charities across the country, reports The Guardian. It comprises an online learning hub, specialised training, workshops and live events.
Social media is an indispensable channel to communicate with customers and stakeholders, and used effectively, can help generate sales enquiries, raise your profile and establish strong relationships with existing customers. With many social media predictions circulating for the New Year, our resident social media expert Courtney adds her own to the mix.
CJAM is pleased to announce the launch of #MembershipMonday, a rapid and efficient way to engage with members. Using the new hashtag, we hope to encourage membership organisations and associations throughout the country to discuss their challenges and share best practice examples. Every Monday, we’ll invite membership organisations to interact and provide hints, tips and advice from our association management and marketing specialists.
Association professionals are often called upon to speak at events. While it can be intimidating, public speaking is a highly valuable skill to possess, and those who learn to leverage it effectively will often establish themselves as experts or thought leaders, which in turn helps to grow membership and raise the profile of their organisation.
Monitoring social media campaigns is vital to managing reputation and gaining meaningful business and brand insights. How best to measure the value of these campaigns is a hotly debated subject among PR and marketing professionals, particularly when it comes to securing support from senior management. Defining clear business and marketing objectives is therefore essential, as is gathering smart data to demonstrate positive outcomes.