Did you know that content marketing has proven to be one of the most effective methods for associations and Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisation’s to gain access to a larger audience? It creates the perfect opportunity to build lasting relationships and build trust with its members.
All associations and NFP’s have one primary focus = to build loyalty and support amongst its members. However it can be very difficult for membership associations to build loyalty and trust when there is so much marketing clutter available and competition is fierce. With the large amount of associations and NFP’s existing, many are competing for the same member attention and loyalty.
What does content management mean to membership associations?
Content marketing is a tool membership marketers can use as a way to communicate directly with potential members. It is a form of marketing that provides information that is informative, valuable, interesting and engaging; ensuring it does not just get thrown out with all the other marketing content. The overall strategy is to provide meaningful content that will forge trusting relationships and meet company objectives.
Content can be created in many forms. The most popular are newsletters, blog entries, articles in the news, video and other forms of direct email content. Whichever form of content used, they shoul each touch the same motivating angle - and hopefully leading to new membership subscriptions.
So can you gain the attention of the reader in such a competitive environment? Below are some tips on how loyalty can be gained:
Be personal
By undertaking research on your potential members you can personalise the content and tailor it to their needs and interests. So many websites now tailor their content to suit the individual visitor - Amazon is a fantastic example of this. Amazon creates a homepage that is completely different for every visitor. It is based on their interests, where they live and what they have purchased previously. Associations may not be able to tailor their content as much as Amazon, but they should consider the different types of website visitors they may get, and make sure they have content that covers all these prospective bases.
Add value
Content should be useful and something that the potential member will find worthwhile and of interest. In order to build the all important lasting relationship membership associations may decide to provide free access to self-service resource portal on a subject of their interest.
Outshine and include something different
By offering rewards exclusive to loyal members such as discounted training, materials and events, it offers something different to other associations and charities in the same market.
Be consistent
Once a decision has been made to create content, it needs to be created on a regular basis. This is extremely important as it ensures the members do not forget about you. A monthly or even weekly newsletter can be something a member can look forward to receiving, rather than not knowing when and if they will receive the next blog or article.
Easy access
Each of your members will have a preference on the method they like to receive content from you, whether it's from a magazine or blog. Your content marketing needs to be shared a number of ways to meet the needs of all readers. Remember not everyone likes reading an email and may rather have something physical to refer to.
When you are creating and developing your content marketing strategy you need a number of touch points where your members can gain access to this content. These touch points can include, but not limited to, your website (with different versions to also attract mobile users), magazines, newsletters, and other relevant industry websites.
As previously mentioned it is extremely vital that you have a mobile version of your website as more and more people are choosing to access the internet on their mobile devices such as mobiles, tablets and iPad’s. You must make it easy for technology savvy people to connect with you, wherever they are in the world.
Due to the competition in various charity, NFP and association markets, it is not surprising that people are becoming increasingly selective. By providing members with fantastic content that keeps them interested you'll help keep your organisation ahead of the competition, whilst also seeing your member base grow organically. What are you waiting for?