In recent years, it has become increasingly challenging to actively engage members, with their expectations of greater flexibility and unique value. How do associations meet those expectations and deliver authentic content in a truly strategic, cohesive way? It starts with knowing your membership and meeting them where they want to be met.

Not All Members Want the Same Content

The first step to understanding your membership seems simple, but associations often overlook the fact that different segments of members look for different content. And that goes beyond delivering content based on just member categories. Understanding member demographics—business size, target market, age, race, ethnicity, geographic location, and more—is key to putting yourself in your members’ shoes. But it’s also important not to assume anything about any of these demographics.

To know how far you have to drill down to meet—and hopefully, exceed—member expectations, remember that data is the queen to content’s king.

Data and Decision Making

With so many options available through association management and content management systems, many associations have essential data already available to them. If used strategically, these systems can capture who is engaging, for how long, how often members are engaging with content, and the types of content they’re engaging with. This data can be a gold mine to inform ongoing content and advertising strategy and focus. But the buck doesn’t stop there.

Surveys and focus groups, whether conducted digitally or even onsite at an event, can be immensely valuable for tuning in to the pulse of your membership. More focused approaches such as readership surveys and ad studies can help refine that data further. However, without a thoughtful strategy within those surveys themselves, associations may be leaving otherwise useful data on the table.

Members may not always realize what could be available to them. Suggest new content types, new ways of delivering content, and ask questions that truly inform the strategy. For instance:

Instead of asking:

• What columns in our publication do you typically read every issue?

Ask:

• Would you be more likely to read this column on your smartphone or in print? or
• Would you be interested in expanded content related to this column in the form of a podcast or a digital-exclusive article?

This is all quantitative data that can be easily organized to help evolve a more informed content strategy. But qualitative data matters, too. Focus groups and open-ended questions to your members can offer insights—and even uncover some less savory sentiments—about how members feel about content that’s supposed to be tailored to them.

As an example, say an association may be considering going fully digital with its publication. It may seem like a no-brainer, considering the cost savings and that the survey data supports it. But just because 70% of the membership says they prefer consuming content on their smartphones doesn’t mean you automatically cut the print publication. Consider a middle ground for the segment of members who see great value in receiving the tangible print publication. It might be prudent to take the phase-out approach with print, giving members time to adjust and showing them their concerns have been heard.

Both quantitative and qualitative data should be considered when associations are evolving their content strategies. Making uninformed decisions is a surefire way to show members the association is not considering their needs. More than ever, associations are faced with the challenge of breaking through the clutter of the growing number of content outlets and standing out to their members as invaluable. It can’t be stressed enough: Associations must be the go-to source for their members, and creating that truly unique content experience is central to keeping members engaged and on board.

A Cohesive Approach

Once you have the data to guide your content strategy, it’s time to deliver it. The examples above allude to the crossover between print and digital content. In that dual environment, using QR codes and short links can be solid strategies to get members consuming content beyond a publication, directing them toward expanded digital content, a podcast episode, an online community to discuss an article topic, and more. It can also extend to advertising and sponsorship opportunities and can bring members together in ways they hadn’t had the chance to before.

For associations that have taken the digital-only approach—hopefully, with data to support that shift—a cohesive content strategy is just as important. Using a content hub—a central resource that houses everything from digital publication content and news to podcasts and event coverage—can give members an exclusive site that offers all things industry content all in one place. Whether some, all, or no content is available to nonmembers is another conversation, but what matters most is that members don’t have to click around to find the content they need. For advertisers and sponsors, the hub is an environment where these parties can be sure they’ll be seen, a boon to the nondues revenue side of the evolving content approach.

All these factors are key to delivering an effective content strategy in today’s association landscape. In many cases, associations are already equipped to get started in their journeys. But by always keeping the member perspective top of mind, associations can take their content to the next level and truly meet members where they want to be met.