Here’s what we know for sure.
If members are going to spend time on their phones, why not get them to spend it inside your membership app. Your association’s app is a year-round private social network where members achieve their main membership goal: networking with peers.
Unlike other social apps, your membership app is also a credible source of news, information, and education.
Turn your membership app into an engagement and retention tool that helps members get more value from their association membership.
Do members ignore your app or only use it for events? They might not know how the app can help them achieve their career goals. Explain how to use it to connect and build relationships with other members. Describe the impact these activities can have on their career, business, and life.
— Member directory 👤
Remind members how to find and connect with others by searching the member directory by name, company, chapter, location, job role, or interests.
Encourage members to update their profiles with current contact information, job and business details, interests, and social links. Their next career or business win could result from a new acquaintance finding their profile.
— Direct and group messaging 💬
By sending private, direct messages to each other, members keep their association conversations in one place—and out of their text and email inboxes. Sending a message to another member on a shared private app doesn’t feel as obtrusive as sending a cold email or text.
At events, remind members to use the app to find and message new acquaintances they met during a session or reception.
Group messaging helps friends, acquaintances, committees, and working groups communicate about association (or social) matters without cluttering up inboxes. They can use the app to coordinate get-togethers, share news, and ask for advice from their personal board of directors.
— Discussion forums 🗣️
Open 24/7, your app’s discussion forums are the place for members to ask questions, solicit recommendations, share advice, and discuss hot topics. Ask members to suggest new forums based on job roles, specialties, domain areas, and other categories, for example, forums where early-career or C-suite professionals can discuss work issues with their peers.
Feature discussion topics in the app’s newsfeed to help members discover new relevant groups and conversations.
— Virtual networking events 👋
Facilitated or structured networking is the most effective way to help members break the ice and participate in meaningful discussions.
— Online education programs 🎓
Encourage members to use the app to listen to or watch webinars and education programs. Always offer chat rooms during these programs. Let the registrants know you’ll open the chat ten minutes before the event and leave it open afterwards for people to finish their discussions.
— Newsfeed content 📰
Highlight a member each month. Describe their accomplishments, association contributions, interests, and what they’re doing to achieve their career, business, and life goals.
Dedicate a space to member news, such as new hires, promotions, business openings, awards/recognition, industry marriages (people and organizations), and other success stories.
Share member recommendations of work-related articles, podcast episodes, and videos.
— Chapter and group partitions 📱
With app partitioning, you can create groups for members in a specific chapter, special interest group (SIG), or official member segment. Many members are hesitant to reach out to others in the larger association community, but a chapter or SIG serves as their home base within the association, a place to get comfortable before venturing out of their comfort zone. They have something in common with other members in these micro-communities and can more easily find and connect with them there.
In your new member onboarding campaign, dedicate an email to showing members how to take advantage of the app’s networking features. Link them to resources, such as one-page guides and quick video tutorials, that walk them through the best way to maximize their profile and get to know other members.
In member newsletters, regularly highlight app features along with a member testimonial about its impact.
Before conferences, remind members how to leverage the app. Give examples of scenarios where they’d want to use it to connect with others, like during table discussions, meals, shuttle rides, and social events. Give tips on connecting appropriately—that’s especially important for supplier members.
After conferences, remind attendees how to use the app to find the people they met and keep conversations going. Do the same after online courses, webinars, and other events. Include this reminder in feedback gathering, program evaluations, and follow-up emails or push notifications.
When members renew, ask them to update their profiles. Choose a few weeks each year to run a profile update campaign, explaining how they benefit from keeping it up to date.
Gather feedback about the app at least once a year. Find out:
A membership app makes it easy for members to engage year-round, not only at the annual conference. Learn how to turn your app into your members’ private social network with our Ultimate Guide to Mobile App Engagement.