What topics resonated the most with the membership sector in 2017? To get an idea we looked at the most shared content.
We used Buzzsumo to find the most shared articles about membership organisations published in 2017, then organised these by the number of LinkedIn shares to focus on professional articles only. Finally, we condensed the list to only include articles giving advice by excluding for example promotions and job ads.
Here are short summaries of the most shared articles with tips for membership organisations in 2017.
1. 10 tips to keep your membership organisation fighting fit
Richard Gott, Founder, MemberWise, 79 LinkedIn shares
In the most shared piece of advice of the year Richard speaks about the common struggles membership organisations face around their systems and processes, the emerging appetite for change, and gives 10 tips on how to become and remain fit for the future.
The 10 tips focus around giving members flexibility and personalising the experience, investing in technology to automate and streamline processes, taking a structured approach to marketing and engagement, and using targets, goals and KPIs correctly.
This post was sponsored by GoCardless, one of our membership software payment partners.
2. 3 tips for news organisations looking to launch membership models
Emily Goligoski, Research Director, The Membership Puzzle Project, 43 LinkedIn shares
This article is focusing on how news organisations can create or improve membership models, but the three tips given apply to all kinds of membership organisations: Listen to your audience, spend time thinking about your pricing strategy, and have an organisational sense of humility.
Emily emphasises that a great pricing strategy needs rigorous work, and not just copying what you see elsewhere.
As for the organisational sense of humility, she highlights that members often are willing to give you a second chance after a mistake if you admit the errors you have done and reinstate your future commitment to them.
3. 6 lead generation tips for membership organisations
Christine Hassall, Marketing Executive, Senior Internet, 36 LinkedIn shares
Christine shares her recommended marketing campaigns for six different membership sectors: sports, science & engineering, animals & the environment, food & drink, healthcare, and education.
We particularly like Christine’s advice for science & engineering organisations about investing in young people who are yet to choose the sector you are representing for their career.
4. Marketing membership organisations: Tackling the challenges
Tom Cannon, Red Brick Research, 31 LinkedIn shares
Tom has interviewed five senior membership professionals in large membership organisations. In the article they share key challenges they face and how they are tackling them.
The challenges and solutions discussed touch on the need for member engagement, increased demands posed by millennials, difficulties in gathering and understanding member data in large organisations, and taking a strategic approach to digitalisation.
5. How to pick the right membership organisation – 7 questions to ask
Debbie Homersham, Communications Manager, Institute of Financial Accountants, 26 LinkedIn shares
This article takes the member’s rather than the organisation’s perspective. It still gives useful hints to membership professionals since you can ask yourself what your organisation would answer to the questions asked.
For example, do you offer enough exclusive benefits for prospective members to choose you over a competitor?
What were the key topics for the membership sector in 2017?
It seems like the impacts of the digital age and how to engage members in it have been the key topics for membership organisations in 2017. These topics will remain relevant in 2018.
Member needs are evolving and organisations need to spend time to thoroughly understand these needs and how to best address them across digital and real-life channels.
At VeryConnect we help you to make membership administration more efficient so you can spend more time on understanding your members and giving them value. Get in touch with our team to learn how our software can save you up to 90% of admin time.
By Anna Bjorkman, Marketing Manager at VeryConnect
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