Membership organisations, from professional associations and trade bodies to alumni networks, clubs, and community organisations, face a distinctive social media challenge. Their primary audience is often existing members, but growth requires reaching prospective members who may have no existing awareness of or connection to the organisation.

Contents

• Showcasing Member Value
• Events and Community Activities
• Thought Leadership and Sector Expertise
• LinkedIn for Professional Associations
• Retention Through Ongoing Engagement

Social media can serve both goals simultaneously when the strategy is developed with both dimensions in mind, creating content that is valuable to current members while also demonstrating to prospective members what the community is about and why it is worth joining.

Showcasing Member Value

The most compelling recruitment content for any membership organisation is evidence of the value it provides to its current members. Content that highlights member achievements, shares the experiences of long-standing members, celebrates community milestones, and communicates the specific benefits that membership delivers is simultaneously a retention tool for existing members and a persuasive case for prospective ones.

Spotlights on individual members, their work, and the role the organisation has played in their professional or personal development, are particularly effective. They provide specific, credible social proof that membership makes a genuine difference to the people it serves.

Events and Community Activities

Events are the heartbeat of most membership organisations, and social media is the ideal channel for building awareness and excitement around them. Pre-event promotion, live coverage of the event itself, and post-event highlights all create a sustained content cycle around each gathering that communicates the vibrancy and value of the community to both members and prospective members who are assessing whether to join.

Encouraging members to share their own event experiences and to tag the organisation extends the reach of event content dramatically. A conference or awards ceremony at which hundreds of members are actively sharing their experience generates enormous organic visibility at no additional cost.

Thought Leadership and Sector Expertise

Professional and trade associations in particular have a role to play as the voice of their sector, and social media is one of the primary channels through which that voice is expressed. Commentary on industry developments, responses to policy changes, research findings published by the organisation, and advocacy content on behalf of the membership all demonstrate that the organisation is actively fighting for and adding value to its sector.

This thought leadership content also attracts new members who are looking for an organisation that is genuinely engaged with the issues that affect their professional lives, not simply offering a directory listing and a member discount card.

LinkedIn for Professional Associations

For professional and trade associations, LinkedIn is typically the most important social platform. It is where professionals manage their career identity and where the content most relevant to professional development, industry news, and career opportunities performs best.

A well-maintained LinkedIn company page for the association, combined with active profiles for the executive team and the encouragement of member engagement, creates a professional presence that builds credibility and reach within the sector the organisation serves.

Retention Through Ongoing Engagement

Social media is a powerful retention tool when it consistently reminds members of the value they receive. Content that celebrates the organisation’s achievements on behalf of members, highlights the resources and benefits available, and creates a sense of belonging to a community worth being part of reduces the likelihood of lapsed membership at renewal time.

A social media management company with experience in professional services or association management can help develop a social media programme that serves both acquisition and retention goals, ensuring that the investment in social media delivers across the full member lifecycle.

Key Points

• Membership organisations must develop a social media strategy that targets both existing and prospective members to effectively grow their audience.
• Content that highlights member achievements and experiences not only retains current members but also attracts potential new members by showcasing the value of membership.
• Events play a critical role in membership organisations, with social media serving as an effective channel for promoting events and sharing member-generated content to enhance visibility.
• Professional and trade associations should utilize LinkedIn to share thought leadership content and engage with industry developments, which can help attract new members.
• Consistent social media engagement that celebrates an organisation’s achievements and available resources is essential for member retention and reducing lapsed memberships.
• Engaging a social media management company experienced in association management can help align social media efforts with both member acquisition and retention goals.