Keeping members engaged with your association is always a challenge. In this era of social distancing, it’s especially tough.
That’s where an online member community can help.
An online community is always a great way for your members and staff to collaborate and share ideas.
And in times like these, it can be a particularly valuable resource for your members and can help you stay connected with them when you can’t meet face-to-face.
Here are three ways you can engage community members and provide them with a great experience:
Provide a place to network, share, and discuss
In today’s environment, an online community is an ideal place for your members to stay connected and share ideas with each other and your organization. Understand who the members of your community are. Encourage your members to interact, ask questions, and collaborate with each other. This helps you build member loyalty and develop long term relationships.
Become the leading source of the community’s information
Share content and documents of all kinds and allow members to ask and answer questions on your online community, making it the go-to place for information. Constituents will be able to find answers themselves and answer the questions of others.
Giving your members this type of access to valuable content and answers they can’t easily get anywhere else makes your community the go-to place for information. It also provides an environment in which you can encourage dialog around your content, get feedback, and keep members coming back for more.
A way to stay on top of what’s happening
A big reason people join an organization is to stay updated about what’s going on in their industry. Use your online community to draw attention to breaking industry news, new educational opportunities offered by your organization, and the latest posts in your community. This can be extra helpful to members in times of rapid change.
Offering an online member community is an important way to engage members and provide them with valuable information. These days, it’s also necessary as an additional means of member engagement when in-person meetings and events aren’t practical.
