Staying connected to your community is a challenge. Regular and relevant communication is the key to keeping association members engaged throughout the year. But when your members are so busy with the other things in their lives, how do you cut through the noise to make your messages heard?
A great way to stay in touch is to utilise the one thing we’re all constantly connected to: our mobile devices.
If you used an event app at your annual conference, don’t limit the app to the conference duration. Here are five ways it can engage your membership base year round:
1: Get Your Game On
We’re all gamers at heart. Games are fun, motivating and addictive. They can be educational and informative too. Event app games can run throughout the year to keep association members engaged.
E.g. a year-round game called, Know Your Association. Each time a member answers a question correctly they accumulate points. Top members feature on the mobile app leaderboard. The points stack up and by the end of the year the top 3 members with the most points earn a free membership.
Not only is it an effective way to increase member engagement but it also encourages renewals too!
2: Amplify Networking Opportunities
Networking is the primary reason members join an association. It’s also one of the main ways to build a strong community.
While face-to-face meetings are one of the most effective ways to build connections, a mobile event app will boost those encounters by making them last beyond the event.
E.g. using a mobile event app members can see who is attending an event. They can connect privately or within the group chat. They can also start a conversation in group discussions to spark interest in the same topic and chat with other members.
Finally, everything and everyone can be found in the mobile event app. Which means no more time spent tracking down members in the website directory only to find out their email is out of date.
3: Give Your Members A Voice
Everyone likes to feel valued and your members are no exception. Gathering their feedback, acknowledging concerns and asking members (regularly but not too frequently) how they feel about your events, programmes, benefits and overall membership is a good way to allow your members to contribute to the association’s direction.
A mobile event app that extends year-round is the easy way to gather member feedback. E.g. you can set up a permanent Q&A section, send out regular surveys or ask members participate in a poll to gauge their views on a new programme, service or topic.
The mobile event app makes it convenient and quick for members to engage on-the-go. Your members will love that you are making a continuous effort to include their feedback. This increases loyalty and builds a stronger sense of community.
4: Swap Emails for Push Notifications
An average person gets 122 emails per day at work.
If your primary way of communicating with members is via email, you’re competing with an already jammed inbox.
A mobile event app allows you to send push notifications rather than emails to inform members about important updates or events. This allows you to cut through the clutter and reach members where they are: on their mobile devices.
Push notifications typically have a 3x higher click through rate than email, so by including these in your communications strategy you’ll see higher engagement.
N.B. Don’t over send push notifications. Use them wisely and make sure they add value.
5: All Your Events: One Place
While your association annual conference may be the calendar highlight, the smaller gatherings are also important. Workshops, training/educational sessions, fundraising events, networking sessions, board meetings etc. all provide members with incredible value.
Putting your events into one, mobile-friendly place means you can promote all of your events at the same time. There’s less chance an event will bypass members simply because they missed an email.
However, if a member does miss a meeting they can access the resources within the same app and review the materials at a later time.
Everything in one central location which is accessible on-the-go is a more convenient solution than tracking down emails, contacting your organisation, or digging through the website for relevant information.