The Member Engagement Show

Associations need to be able to draw in each new generation (both as members and staff) to continue grow and thrive. As Gen Z enters the workforce, how should associations adapt in order to demonstrate their relevance?
Our guest this episode is Hanna Holman, a 2021 graduate with a BA in strategic communication journalism. She was a project manager with Mountain Tennessee Outreach Project, a group working to alleviate substandard housing in rural Appalachia, and is now the membership assistant at Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, a non-profit dedicated to advancing ethical research. There, she handles member recruitment and retention, produces member content, and serves as a primary point of contact for PRIM&R’s members.
The episode covers:
Ideas for associations looking to engage the next generation of members and staff, and to adapt to a changing world.
Gen Z’s key considerations when looking for professional roles and employment?
Why Gen Z might be less likely to make work their passion and focus of their life than previous generations.
Accounting for changes in work and learning expectations.
Thinking beyond email and appearing in Gen Z’s lives more creatively.
Reducing the barriers to information and engagement.
Avoiding the damage outdated systems can do when you’re trying to appeal to Gen Z.
Listening to younger staff members for a strategic advantage.
Are younger generations even interested in joining associations? Do they even know about them?
Leveraging FOMO.
The power of candid, casual conversations (and not being afraid of them)
Keep exploring this topic during Higher Logic's free webinar on March 21, Attracting and Retaining the Next Generation of Association Members and Staff. During the webinar, a panel of association professionals will discuss:
Considerations for your technological infrastructure
Ideas for cultivating a flexible work and learning environment 
Strategies for supporting members’ and staff’s professional growth 
And more!

This episodes guests, Alexey Gutin and Josh Slyman of Web Scribble, walk us through the enormous value that job boards and communities that incorporate career development bring to associations, employers, and members.
Alexey is Co-founder and CEO at Web Scribble while Higher Logic alumni Josh is the company’s Director of Product Strategy.
In this episode, we cover:
Higher Logic's newest association solution, Higher Logic Thrive Jobs
A review of the labor markets for last year and 2023
What kind of talent is currently in demand
The value of career centers and job boards for associations in this environment
How boards can help introduce members to careers they never before considered
How vital it is for associations to stay aware of career development needs
Job boards as a driver of content that engages and retains
Job boards as a source of NDR
Job boards attracting employers as eventual partners and sponsors
Job boards as a source of informative data for the association and partners
The Community + Job Board + Marketing + LMS ecosystem
Why “if you found a member a job, you found a member for life”
Josh Slyman will also lead a session at Super Forum 2023 about how strategically connecting careers and community to protect your member’s careers drives membership, revenue, engagement, and forwards your mission. Register to gain more tips and tactics - April 10-12 in Washington, DC!

This episode, we talk with speaker and thought leader Reggie Henry, Chief Information and Performance Excellence officer at ASAE about what associations should be thinking about in 2023. We cover ground such as:
Are we planning too much based on last year’s data and technology?
Why you can't go back to how things were pre-pandemic.
The importance of continuing to support the new and diverse people brought into the fold via virtual meetings.
Preparing to attract and retain the next generation of members and staff.
The importance of having listening posts in communities.
How communities become critical in both pandemics and recessions. 
The new contract needed with members to get to personalization.
Being mindful of the RONI, Return on NOT Investing.
The importance of technology infrastructure and a smooth user experience.
Best of Need vs. Best of Breed.
The dangers of chasing the wrong metrics.
Meeting people based on their interests, not on what we have to sell.
Learn more about ASAE and their upcoming events at ASAEcenter.org
Registration is now open for the 13th annual Super Forum, April 10-12 in Washington DC! You won’t want to miss this comprehensive conference for association professionals. There will be a whole host of sessions dedicated to helping you enhance your member experience, and you’ll have the opportunity to share ideas, strategies, and challenges with your peers in the field.  
In a challenging economy, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of trends and tactics to keep your members renewing and to help your association thrive - and that's easier to do with a community of colleagues beside you. We hope to see you there! 

In this episode, host Kelly Whelan talks with Higher Logic Product Marketing Manager Sarah Spinosa about the recently released Association Member Experience Report. There's nothing like going right to source when you want to find out what members want, like, and wish they were getting from their association memberships, and that's exactly what this report outlines. This is an episode not to be missed! 
Topics covered include:
Who Higher Logic surveyed and why
How members prefer to get information (it may surprise you)
What benefits members value most
How often members tend to interact with their associations
Are associations giving the level of personalization members want
What the survey revealed about events, both in-person and virtual
Top reasons members consider leaving their associations
How associations can use this valuable information
Download Higher Logic's 2022 Association Member Experience Report to learn more!

The Guest: Suzanne F Stevens. Suzanne is a professional speaker who has served on many boards, including as past president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. As the founder of YouMeWe Social Impact Group, she works with organizations to grow Conscious leaders, their influence, and Social Impact – sustainably. Suzanne merges her social initiative expertise in the nonprofit and for-profit worlds to create an enriched experience that will attract, engage, and retain a diverse membership. 
The Topics:
The importance of associations incorporating social initiatives
How associations can choose initiatives and issues that align with their values
Making social initiatives part of the strategy vs. an add-on or afterthought
The concrete steps leadership can take to “bake in” social initiatives
How connecting to the social issues members care about leads to retention
Social issues as another way of connecting members to each other, including at events
What makes a social initiative sustainable
Why associations are in an especially strong position to improve the world
Handy Links:You Me We Organization
Higher Logic's 2022 Association Member Experience Report

In this episode of Higher Logic's Member Engagement Show, Kelly talks with Marianne Fray, CEO of the Maternity Care Coalition, an organization that works to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women and parenting families, and enhance school readiness for children 0-3.
With a 30+ year career inspiring diverse teams to do more together than they could alone to strengthen communities, Marianne has stablished two successful cross company industry communities that drive business innovation in the project management and life sciences industries. She has advised F100 companies on diversity and inclusion practices and is a founding member of a 501c6 non-profit organization called Women of Color in the Pharmaceutical Industry.
This episode explores:
The meaning of being a servant leader
The power of asking people what they need
The need to check our assumptions and recognize how misperceptions can put people into reductive boxes and cause missed opportunities
The importance of looking out for individual and systemic bias so that we can be prepared to examine and sometimes dismantle the conscious and unconscious judgments that shape and define our world
What it means to truly represent your constituents
The magic question that can kick off any relationship positively
To learn more about Marianne Fray and about black maternal mortality and morbidity, check out her article in Women's Way.
To learn more about Maternity Care Coalition's work, check out their 2022 Annual Report: Advocating for Parental Autonomy.
You can also download Higher Logic's 2022 Association Member Experience Report to learn more about what members value most from their associations.

Our guest on this episode is Dominick Mondi, President of the MidAtlantic Society of Association Executives and Executive Director of the NE Spa and Pool Association. In it, our host Beth and Dominick discuss: 
Why you should consider volunteering at an association
What is “micro-volunteering”?
Keeping a volunteer base engaged and energetic
The many ways people come to work for associations
The challenges associations are facing and ways to deal with them
Preparing your association for the future of member engagement
The benefits of having regional chapters
How to convince leadership of the benefits of attending gatherings beyond the big annual conference
The kind of experiences that keep members really happy
The power of personally asking prospects to attend get-togethers
How to decide whether to volunteer at the local/regional level or national level
Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

In this episode, Beth Arritt speaks with guests Frank Humada and Colby Horton with Association Briefings about the power of communicating through audio and the ins and outs of launching a podcast for your association.  
By listening to this show, you'll learn:
Is podcasting right for your association?
The strategy that goes into successful podcasts
Lessons learned from the association podcasting front lines
How to approach the critical role of show host
The role podcasts can play in non-dues revenue
How to find and manage great guests
How to cover the most compelling topics possible
How to promote and drive traffic to your podcast
Is podcasting a fad or a permanent media content channel?
Be sure to check out Colby and Frank's podcast, Engaging in the Next - especially Beth's episode with them.
And don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

This episode's guest, Bruce Rosenthal, has an amazing mastery of how to maximize the relationship between associations and their corporate sponsors for both NDR and better member servicing. Corporations re-evaluated during the pandemic what works best for them in pursuit of their overall goals, and associations need to pay attention to those changes.
Bruce is a longtime strategic advisor and consultant to associations, helping them advance corporate sponsorship and partnership programs, identify strategies to increase revenue and member value, create added value for corporate partners, and develop corporate sponsorship and partnership implementation plans.
In this episode, you'll discover:
How sponsorships changed since the pandemic and what was learned about sponsors’ needs
The new needs of corporate sponsors
The best way associations can meet those needs now
What doesn’t work anymore when pitching sponsorships
The internal culture change needed inside associations for new approaches to corporate partnerships
How to make corporate sponsors feel like a true part of the membership
What makes an association a necessity for members and partners
The right way for associations to partner with corporate partners
Results of a sponsorship engagement study
What mistakes associations are making in servicing their sponsors
How to get corporations to return your calls
Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.

This week's guest, Jim Catts, explores how technology has presented both challenges and opportunities for association marketers. Jim is a career technologist who's currently co-funder and CTO of Rhythm Software. He's been working with associations to smartly apply technology to the work they do for around 20 years.
In the episode, we cover:
How we’ve moved beyond running member experiences manually and physically
The costs and lost opportunities of doing so 
The paradigm shifts of email and dynamic web 
How tech allows for personalized, on demand member content
How associations are like Netflix (hint: is your association a content or technology company?)
How associations are NOT like Amazon (hint: are your member driven by search?)
How the pandemic changed member experience expectations
How soon VR and AR will or won't become part of the member experience
What’s the right way for associations to start using machine learning and AI?
How newer generations are changing the member experience
The tactical steps to take with your technology right now
Don't forget to subscribe to Association Marketing Pros (AMP), Beth's weekly newsletter for association marketers.