Social Skillsbuilding an active online community

David SiegVice President, Strategic Marketing

YourMembership.com

INTRO: what are we?

• David Sieg, Vice President of Strategic Marketing• … and I’m older than the Internet…• Unique place and time in marketing history • What are we?

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COMMUNITY

INTRO: why are we here?

• Making the decision • Setting the one goal • Gathering an audience • Creating a community • Building the buzz! • Achieving strong ROI

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QUICK POLL

• Website?• Facebook Page? • Online Community?

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LEGWORK: preparation

• Not the sexy part of social • Lots of prep work before we can launch • Big decision to be made… • What’s the goal?

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ONE GOAL • Goal must be quantifiable over time• To increase membership by XX percent by XX date

• Objective• To provide more value to our members

• Strategy• Deliver value via online channels

• Tactic • Build the online community

• Analyze and Review

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HEAVY LIFTING

• Start with your own database • Build it, clean it, update it • Four key components to heavy lifting phase: • PR: press releases, media relations, positive pub• Adv: pay to play online and offline • Direct Marketing: use your database to segment • Social Media: use open social sites

• Maximize ROI when all are in place

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BUILDING YOUR COMMUNITY

• You need an online community. • There’s an app for that (shameless plug) • You provide more value • Perceived value comes from you (not FB…) • You’ve been around longer than the Internet! • You are the brand • You own data, transactions

• Private online community vs. open social

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CRAM IT WITH CONTENT

• Set the stage with unique content – lots of it • Everything your members need, anticipate • Provide an experience: what’s the one thing? • Legislative news source for members• Careers• Gamification (points for actions) • What’s ideal for your organization?

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BUILD THE BUZZ!

• This is when the action starts! • Vibrant, lively, social • Providing value to your members online • Connected members = renewals and referrals

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BUILD THE BUZZ!

• Must-haves: • Member profiles • Member-member connections• Groups, chapters, committees • Blogs, wikis, forums • Photo albums and media uploads

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BUILD THE BUZZ!

• Online same as offline • Welcoming, inviting, cordial • Informative introduction, guidance • Logistics: what am I to do here? • Your brand lives here: mission, vision, principles

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BUILD THE BUZZ!

• Phases of your community • Pre-launch, Grand Opening, Milestones• Pre-launch: • Prep the database • Four key components: PR, Adv, DM, Social • Populate content • Schedule events, activities • Rewards programs

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BUILD THE BUZZ!

• Grand Opening (or launch) • Huge marketing opportunity • Largest PR push! • Using social media outlets to announce • Declare an official launch date

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KEEP THE BUZZ!

• Milestones: • Ongoing info, communications and interest• First 100 registered for a gift • 1000th member • Anniversary of the community • Continual blog posts• New community features• New members • Organizational news/articles (keep content flowing)

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KEEP THE BUZZ!

• Recognize your top contributors (1-2 percent) • Referral programs: member drives/rewards• Guest bloggers: outside your association or

even your industry • eMarketing: consistent (1 email, 2 messages) • Your members are valuable, don’t frighten them!

• Social Media Marketing: use continually • Post a blog, tweet the blog, post link on FB

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KEEP THE BUZZ!

• Remain in touch and available • Transparency is vital…• Have a crisis/response plan: how to react and

be proactive • The Red Cross is not drunk

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ROI OF YOUR COMMUNITY

• Why are we doing this? • Social media is a trend, not a fad • (know any millennials?)

• Providing value to your members • Tie the community into your database• Social networking with a purpose: profile data,

transactions, activity histories

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ROI OF YOUR COMMUNITY

• Direct Dollars: • online dues, lower mailing costs, membership

growth, event registrations, ecommerce, sponsors• Collaborate: • use information your members share to promote

your industry • Engaged, active and happy members lead to

more members!

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Thank you!

dsieg@yourmembership.com @david_sieg