We often talk about the importance of the "Why" in our marketing. The "Why" is the true reason why people engage or buy from you. Here are some "Whys" for you to think about relating to owning your association's intellectual space.
Access to information has never been easier. As a connected professional in North America, you are probably doing a minimum of 25 to 40 Google searches per day. This means that your members are doing the same. If they have a question about as aspect of your associations offering, are they going to you first or to Google?
If they go to Google, are you the first search response that comes up?
If you answered no to either the first question or the second, then we have some work to do.
The number one "Why" for your members to belong to your association is to educate themselves to make them the best that they can be. If they feel that they can get that education easier by simply Googling or YouTubing, then your value and relevance are significantly diminished. That's why owning your intellectual space is so important.
To keep your edge, you need to be constantly updating and making your content better. Your members are expecting this. They want to be entertained, inspired and feel a connection to the value of their membership.
To create a systematic approach to better, new, and inspiring content, communication and coordination across all departments needs to be in place. Ideally, you are planning your association wide content calendar for the whole year to ensure that you are deploying content at regular intervals for your members to access and consume.
Second, you need to make it easy for your members to access that content. A platform that is searchable, actionable, and accountable should be in place on your website to allow your members to push the "easy" button to get what they want. Whether it's a video, podcast, or a written article. Every piece of content should be easy to find and play.
Third, your content needs to be proprietary to your members. Putting videos on YouTube will simply draw your members to other advertised based content that will either compete with, or confuse your association's value proposition for your members.
If you would like to explore how we have helped associations to understand and fulfill their "Why", click on the button below for a complimentary consultation.
Association TV® is a division of WorkerBee.TV
John Heppenstall is Director of Marketing for WorkerBee.TV