Resources for Community Success

Challenge the status quo, recognize the importance of leadership buy-in, and infuse an MX mindset into your association’s DNA.

As an association leader, you likely understand how member experience (MX) impacts everything that keeps you up at night, from member acquisition, retention, and engagement to effective partnerships and revenue growth.

HR thought leader Josh Bersin shares how associations can keep up with changing trends in content consumption and format preferences, enabling new and innovative learning experiences.

When now-legendary TED Talks first made their way online in 2006, presentations varied in length, with some exceeding 20 minutes. Today, more than 15 years later, talks are strictly limited to 18 minutes, and TED officials often advise presenters to speak for just 3, 5, or 9 minutes.

Forj convened an exclusive Member Experience Think Tank at the ASAE Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference. During the roundtable session, leaders came together to explore:

• Current MX trends driven by evolving member expectations
• How MX influences their marketing, communications, and membership strategies
• The barriers they commonly encounter when it comes to evolving MX
• Innovative ideas that have helped them drive an MX mindset association-wide

Leverage innovation, create everyday value, and use advanced analytics to drive action.

In 2020, 15 percent of professionals said their organization had a dedicated community department, according to Community Leaders magazine. By 2021, that figure jumped to 22 percent, with 35 percent of respondents reporting that their organization had at least one full-time position dedicated to community operations.

Associations must employ a year-round approach across digital channels to sustainably serve sponsors, members, and themselves.

If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that “don’t put all your eggs into one basket” is not just a saying — but solid advice.

A better member experience starts with personalization—one area in which artificial intelligence shines.

Just a few years ago, artificial intelligence (AI) seemed cold and distant, reserved for Silicon Valley tech startups, if not sci-fi thrillers. But that’s no longer the case. AI is very much here and now, applicable across industries and in everyday circumstances.

NCTE partnered with Forj to reimagine their signature event as a dynamic, immersive virtual convention that delivered value to attendees and accomplished the organization’s goals of learning, collaborating, and connecting. The consensus from the community was clear—NCTE’s members were energized by the opportunity to share their collective voice and impact. 

Associations can drive sustainable success by connecting with members through hands, head, and heart.

When it comes to your online professional community, “if you build it, they will come” may not be the best mantra.

It comes as no surprise that attention spans - and content consumption habits - have changed. And through this shift, association leaders have struggled to maximize members' engagement with and the monetization of their rich libraries of content.