Day 1 at the American Society of Association Executives’ Membership & Marketing Conference ended with a lot of energized and excited faces spilling into the halls. Ben Cross, Stephen Sye & I have been dividing the schedule to maximize our intake from dozens of speakers and panels…great case studies from some speakers I have not seen before, and rich content from some of the favorites that we need to hear again and again to realize the full value (folks like social networking guru Jeff deCagna of Principled Innovation).
I’ve been focused on the business of learning, networking, and sharing ideas and did not bring a computer to truly “blog the meeting”, but this is an opportunity that all associations have to meet one of their key challenges for marketing to the under-40 crowd. OK, I’m 52, so I’m being generous to my peers…even some of the 30s guys are just spinning up on social publishing.
The point is, every annual meeting, every training event a society offers there is an opp to market on the fly: Offer a scholarship (even a partial scholarship) with the condition of blogging the event. This gives you running publicity, word-of-mouth among a certain generation of peers, and even a chance to peep into the mind of your future members.
When blogs first came out, associations hit the “terror barrier” immediately: what if someone said something negative about the society or (God forbid) offended a VIP? the past 3 years have been spent passing that dread question up and down the halls to determine how scary it really was. The truth is, the decision for blogging takes fearless leadership at its best.
Tip Kendall of American Association of Equine Practitioners shared the value of the AAEP blog, http://www.aaep.org/blogs/outofthestartinggate.html, a semimonthly entry by a young professional member in his/her first practice year: When other people studying, undergoing, or considering entry to the profession see this blog, which sometimes provokes readers to tears, they realize the great heart, wisdom, and grace it takes to manage…and even be willing to euthanize…these intelligent creatures. It is a bonding instrument for the profession, a glimpse into the rite of passage, and an inspiration to stay the course.
Associations also have to understand that negative press is out there. Transparency and candor are valued more by millenials than any pomp and circumstance, as is the ability to laugh at oneself. And if the boomer generation can’t take it…well, we shouldn’t have raised our kids this way! But we former hippies taught them to say it like it is, be true to themselves, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now we have to listen to what they have to say.
Imagine the savings on research if your open blog allowed people to post the complaints about the organization as well as the testimonials. (We’re not immune; our clients and colleagues can chime right in here.)
Think risk vs. reward. Remember, online, we go to travel websites to find hotels, and there are 87 hotel ratings, some good or bad…we read them all and decide whether to take it. A smart hotel would read too, and change for the better, even post apologies and corrections! Associations spend a lot of time and money contemplating what people may like or be frustrated by, but they don’t open themselves to public remonstrance through a blog.
But an association blog is a resident columnist first; it is only second the subject of peeved letters to a nonexistent editor. Experiment with a trusted columnist and a members-only writing policy, and…as is the intended nature of social publishing…find out what the “association”–the MEMBERSHIP–has to say. Chances are they will aim to strengthen and fortify one another, as they have done on listservs for years. With so many tools to make a trial instantaneous, and just as easy to discontinue, you have nothing to fear but fear itself!
All my best,
Leigh Slayden
President & Fearless Leader
Bigger Better Marketing
