by Chris Micklos | Jan 12, 2016 | Online Strategy, Content, Creatives
MYTH: There are very few ways to reach, recruit, and engage association members online; and you can reach only a tiny fraction of your stakeholders that way, compared to traditional avenues like a hard-copy newsletter, snail mail, etc. FACT: The ability to reach, recruit, and engage association members online–or, in other words, through your connected online community–is becoming more efficient and effective every day, and the wide range of tools and tactics at your disposal means that you can radically improve your member engagement program. Resistance is futile. I began working with associations, advocacy groups, and member-based organizations during the very early days of the dramatic rise of Web-based marketing, advertising, and communications. And in my experience, the most painful—and most resisted!—transition that organizations like yours have gone through has been the transition from traditional member communications to digital member communications. But the bottom line is this: Traditional member communication is more expensive. And… Traditional member communication is less effective. AND… Traditional member communication is less likely to result in action. Worse still, traditional member communication appeals to yesterday’s stakeholders, activists, and leaders in your organization…and completely misses the boat when it comes to the stakeholders, activists, and leaders of tomorrow. And if you don’t start connecting with those folks soon, you may lose them. Intuitively, association leaders generally understand this, and yet time after time I have heard from clients and partners in this market space the following rejoinders to my pleas to move beyond these antiquated methods: “But ALL our members open our mail automatically when they see it’s from us.” “When our members get...
by Chris Micklos | Aug 25, 2015 | Advocacy & Activism
Speed, ingenuity, and decisiveness are integral components to the success of any association, advocacy group, or other member-based organization. There are a hundred clichés that tell this story—ever heard of “paralysis by analysis”?—but the bottom line is this: when it comes to association decision making, action is better than inaction almost every single time. Do you remember the classic 80’s TV show MacGyver? Creative and resourceful secret agent Angus MacGyver always had some new trick up his sleeve to escape from danger, always beat the ticking time bomb just in time, always knew what action to take and took it. And he always saved the day. At the other end of the spectrum was the Saturday Night Live parody MacGruber. Remember him? Unlike MacGyver, buffoonish secret agent MacGruber never quite knew what to do, never could make up his mind, and never—ever—beat the ticking bomb. Every sketch ended with a massive explosion and the death of MacGruber. So, how about your association? When it comes to association decision making, are you more MacGyver or MacGruber? Too many times in the nearly 20 years of working with associations, advocacy groups, and other member-based associations, I have seen MacGruber-ish tendencies derail an organization’s agenda, near-term goals, and best-laid plans. Hand-writing over budget. Squabbling over message. Letting the proverbial perfect get in the way of the simply good enough. While the clock was ticking, they were frozen by indecisiveness and indecision…and the bomb exploded. It’s not as if this phenomenon is hard to understand, of course. And it doesn’t just apply to associations or not-for-profits. It also afflicts commercial businesses, political candidates,...
by Chris Micklos | Jul 23, 2015 | Online Strategy, Content, Creatives
What’s that about not seeing the forest for the trees? When it comes to utilizing Web metrics for an association, advocacy group, or other member-based organization, the available options and interpretations can be confusing, intimidating, and downright overwhelming. The tangled web (no pun intended) of Web metrics readily available these days can make you think that you need a PhD in statistics or a whole team of cyber-analysts to interpret the data. In fact, that has led to a dispiriting trend. On one hand, there is a whole generation of consultants–especially social media “gurus”–who want you to believe that it is so confusing and unintelligible that you must pay them a hefty fee to interpret it and react to it for them. And on the other hand, there is a whole different breed of consultants–primarily agency types–who would have you believe that the glut of available data is so impossible to interpret and react to that you might as well ignore it…and instead take their word for it that their efforts are effective. A recent blog post at associationsnow.com only seems to perpetuate the mythology of the black forest of Web metrics: Don’t be intimated…or fooled. Your association Web metrics matter. While it can certainly be easy to get lost in the wash of available data or to get hung up on metrics that just don’t matter all that much (sex appeal and substance are NOT the same thing), the wonder of Web engagement, Web advocacy, and Web advertising is the ability to use real-time, relevant data to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of your efforts. This is not...
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