From events to perks to special offerings, here are 15 unique member appreciation ideas to show gratitude and drive meaningful results for your organization.

Why Does Member Appreciation Matter?

Showing member appreciation isn’t just an act of kindness—it’s also a business strategy. Putting dedicated effort into recognizing your members can help with:

Retention

The most efficient way to acquire new members is to retain your current ones. When you retain the members you have, your acquisition strategy can focus on reaching new audiences rather than replacing lapsed members. A strong appreciation strategy is a key way to do this.

On average, members have a 50% retention rate in their first year, which jumps to 80% in year two and only grows further from there. By showing new members you appreciate them, you can secure your future long-term cheerleaders who will grow your community, recommend your association to others, and provide vital dues revenue. 

Community building

For associations that only host a few events a year, a stable online community generates ongoing revenue and increases overall engagement. When members feel like a valuable part of your association, they’re more likely to engage with the rest of your member base and continue interacting with your community between major activities. 

Plus, many top member appreciation strategies revolve around bringing people together. Not only does this provide members with additional networking opportunities, but it also strengthens your community as a whole. 

A culture of gratitude

Staff, volunteers, and board members play an enormous role in operating your association. When you get in the habit of saying thank you to members, it becomes natural to say thank you to colleagues as well. Considering that over 80% of employees say they work harder when their manager appreciates their work, a culture of gratitude bodes well for your organization’s future!

Types of Member Appreciation

While there is a wide range of unique member appreciation ideas, most of these strategies can be divided into one of four key categories:

1. In-person member appreciation events

Holding in-person events like a member appreciation day creates positive memories for members and boosts engagement simultaneously! Association professionals agree, with 74% of associations considering event attendance as the best measurement of member engagement.

Valuable in-person member appreciation events will:

• Show members why they matter. This might include sending thank-you emails after an event, giving speeches that thank members for their attendance, or distributing goodie bags full of small gifts. 
• Connect members with one another. Events are prime networking opportunities, and providing members with additional benefits through events increases the value of membership at your organization and shows members you value them. 
• Reflect members’ wants and needs. When setting your event itinerary, consider your audience’s unique preferences. Does your audience respond well to interactive workshops, prefer events with plenty of time for networking, or enjoy events with a hybrid element to accommodate virtual attendees?

In-person events are an opportunity to put a face to your organization and engage members one-on-one. The space you curate represents your association and makes membership value feel more tangible!

2. Virtual member recognition ideas

While in-person events generate an energetic atmosphere, chances are that you can only hold so many get-togethers every year. To keep members engaged, pick up the slack with virtual events and member appreciation ideas. 

By showing members appreciation online, you can:

• Bridge physical distance between members. For associations that span the country or even the globe, traveling to in-person events is not always practical for every member. Bringing your community together online through a virtual event or on your member engagement platform allows them to stay connected to your association in between events and when attendance at in-person events isn’t convenient.
• Let members engage with content at their own pace. The excitement of a live event is that everything happens in real time. However, this can also be overwhelming or cause members to miss out on activities if they need a break or are double-booked. With online content, your members can explore what they want at their leisure. 
• Advertise to prospective members with ease. While events are your big draw when it comes to member acquisition, online content is very easy to market to new audiences. After all, it’s far easier for a potential member to drop into a virtual event than to book plane tickets and accommodations for your next in-person meet-up. 
• Create cost-effective activities. Virtual events don’t require venues or catering, allowing you to save on expenses while still connecting with members.

Take a member appreciation week as an example. To appreciate members without going overboard on spending, you might plan a mix of in-person activities and schedule social media shout outs, webinars, and virtual games in close succession.

3. Gifts & perks

Some members get excited about receiving special goodies like:

• Branded swag & merch
• Partner products
• Discounts on events
• Early bird tickets
• Gift cards

All member appreciation gifts should be relevant to your members’ interests and tie back to your organization. For example, members of a writers’ union might appreciate receiving book bags full of titles from sponsors! 

Give out these gifts and perks on special anniversaries as part of your member appreciation strategy. Of course, the occasional surprise gift, such as a discount code for your merchandise store, can perk up member engagement and increase renewal rates.

4. Resources & opportunities

Trade and professional associations maintain active membership bases due to the resources and opportunities they offer. Expanding these benefits shows members you value their time and money and are dedicated to creating a positive experience for your community. 

You might improve or expand your current offerings by providing members with: 

• Credible certifications and milestones. Educational opportunities are highly valued by job seekers looking to enter a new field and those interested in up-skilling to expand their career prospects. 
• Mentorship programs. Jumpstart your members’ networking opportunities with memberships. Ask long-term members of your community to volunteer as mentors to new members. This introduction gives new members friendly faces they can gravitate toward in your community, helping them make new connections. 
• Professional development events. Stay up to date on the latest trends in your field and partner with other organizations to host industry-leading events. By bringing together many professionals in your sector, you can not only host inspiring events but also get your association in front of more potential members. 
• Member spotlights. Thank members for their contributions by shouting them out online. Additionally, you can use this as a marketing tool by showing off a few entries in your expansive membership directory full of industry leaders.

Member appreciation is about thanking your members and continuing to show you value them by constantly upgrading what your association has to offer.

Recommended Resource: Looking for a strategy to engage and appreciate your event attendees? Check out our guide to year-round engagement! 

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15 Virtual & In Person Member Appreciation Ideas

Ready to show members your gratitude? Here are 15 member appreciation ideas to get your gears turning:

Member appreciation day or week

A member appreciation week or day is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate your members in various ways, such as:

• Virtual or in-person events that prioritize the member experience by providing entertainment and plenty of time for socialization 
• Social media campaigns that consist of numerous posts about how your members contribute to your association, whether by volunteering, contributing to your industry, or just being an active part of your community
• Giveaways and prizes, such as free-to-enter raffle, free events, or limited-time discounts on merchandise

For a hybrid approach, include one in-person member appreciation day during the week. This can help activate your local community while still engaging members who live abroad.

Mentorship programs

Associations create longevity by facilitating connections between emerging professionals and established mentors. Ask senior members of your association to volunteer to mentor new ones, helping bring in the next generation of your industry. 

Mentorship programs give new members someone to turn to for advice and jumpstart their networking journey. Mentors might help facilitate introductions, recommend educational opportunities, or simply answer questions about how best to engage with your association’s offerings.

Take the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Mentorship Program, for example. By doing the work to pair mentees with compatible mentors, they show recognition for their members’ unique needs and appreciation for what they have to offer.

Be sure to show appreciation for members who volunteer as mentors. Consider offering perks in exchange for stepping into this role, such as free event tickets or a discount on their membership fees.

Educational resources

Like mentorship programs, educational resources show your members that they’re important to your community and that your organization wants to invest in their presence and development.

These resources may include:

• Exclusive webinars
• Workshops
• Online resource libraries
• Professional certifications
• Personal critiques

Continually update these resources to ensure your members receive relevant training for their fields. This not only helps you attract new members but also gives long-term members opportunities to freshen up their knowledge, helping you maintain high levels of engagement year after year.

Member of the month

Announcing a member of the month in your newsletter and on social media allows you to appreciate a handful of members directly. Including a small prize alongside the title adds extra value to the program.

A member of the month award is also an opportunity to encourage specific behaviors in your community. For example, you might base the award on:

• Participation in discussion boards
• Number of referrals they’ve brought in
• Notable accomplishments in your community

For the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ member of the month program, members send applications to be featured. If your organization has a large membership program, this strategy saves time searching for monthly candidates. Additionally, member engagement platforms can track participation in your community, so you can have hard numbers about who your most active members are. 

Social media shout outs

Give your members some public recognition by shouting them out on social media for notable accomplishments and milestones, like: 

• Membership anniversaries
• Career milestones
• Volunteer support
• Contributions to your industry
• Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns

Making someone feel appreciated often comes down to being specific and personal. Noting and celebrating these details in members’ lives (with their permission) shows that they’re more than just numbers to you. 

Partnership invitations

If you learn that one of your members has a business, program, or initiative that aligns with your organization’s values, consider inviting them to form a partnership. Not only will this opportunity potentially increase your association’s offerings, but it can also elevate members’ individual endeavors, giving them more reasons to stay part of your association.

Signing onto a partnership benefits your members and your association by:

• Boosting both organizations’ visibilities
• Showing members you value their work
• Expanding your networks
• Strengthening your bonds

To help form these organizational relationships, check out Community Tool Box’s toolkit for creating and maintaining partnerships between different organizations.

Varied content

When reaching out to members, avoid only sending promotions and sales opportunities. Instead, engage them by sharing a range of accessible benefits and activities. These might include:

• Free ebooks
• News articles
• Gift cards (especially for partner businesses!)
• Discounts on products and events

Pay attention to what types of content members respond to so you can shape your benefits based on member interests. 

Appreciation videos

Appreciation videos from staff members, board members, and volunteers are a member appreciation idea that keeps things personal. 

In general, adding video to your event strategy helps deliver content in an accessible and engaging way. Plus, it puts faces to your organization’s staff, demystifying those working behind the scenes.

Birthday perks

Why not turn birthdays into member appreciation opportunities?

Use your association management software to track member birthdays. Then, on their special days, reach out to members with:

• Birthday emails with digital perks attached
• Birthday eCards
• A birthday video
• Coupons or gift vouchers from a partner business
• Free mentoring session

Perks don’t have to be complicated or expensive. Automated birthday emails with attached gift card codes are plenty effective, and associations can use this strategy at scale.

Community outing

Bringing your members together for a community outing provides an easy networking opportunity. Offering free or affordable activities and events shows appreciation while encouraging participation in your community.

Some community outing ideas include:

• Volunteer days
• Community clean up
• Outdoor movie night
• Neighborhood bike ride
• Sports game
• Park event
• Pub crawl

Be aware that when it comes to outdoor activities, there are a few additional factors to consider, like weather conditions and transportation needs. 

Gala

Casual meet-ups allow members to make connections, and formal galas can add that extra flair of professionalism needed to make a great impression. Holding a formal event in a classy venue not only allows your members to interact in a new setting but also tells them that you think they’re worth the extra extravagance.

Galas are also an opportunity to incorporate other member recognition ideas, such as:

• Thank you speeches
• Auctions with partner gifts or member art
• Awards ceremonies
• Special gift favors

This type of member appreciation event comes with a higher start up cost, which also makes it an opportunity to connect with sponsors. Promote sponsors by featuring them on banners around your event venue and thanking them in any planned speeches. 

Welcome gifts

Did you know it can be 5 to 10 times more costly to attract new members than to retain existing ones? Delivering a strong welcome from the moment members sign up is vital for securing their continued participation in your association. Plus, it shows that appreciation and member experience are your priorities, raising the chances they’ll stick with your organization.

These welcome gifts could include:

• Discounted or free tickets to your next paid event
• Free mentorship sessions
• Branded swag
• Personalized thank you cards or videos
• Gift cards
• Free ebooks

These gifts also do best when they come with a thorough welcome packet that teaches members how to access their benefits. Give your new members a one-stop shop for all their membership perks.

Referral program

What’s better for a growing association than referrals? Having members talk up your organization to friends and colleagues is an organic way to build a community. With a structured referral program, members who feel positively about your association will be incentivized to recommend it to their friends, family, and colleagues. 

This program can come with perks like:

• A free month of membership for every referral
• Points towards a “member of the month” prize
• Special gift swag

Thank members who participate in your referral program promptly and consider offering joint benefits. For instance, you might provide both the member who signed up and the person who referred them with a discount on their first month of membership as a thanks for recommending and trying out your organization.

Merchandise for long-time members

Some of the best membership appreciation ideas come with physical milestone gifts. Give your members something to cherish after years of membership.

Award special merch to members who have:

• Attended a certain number of events
• Been members for a certain number of years
• Donated a specific amount to your organization
• Volunteered a large amount of hours

Conduct surveys & connect with members

Gifts, events, and resources are all great ways to show appreciation. However, members often simply want to know you’re listening to them.

If you don’t currently have the budget to invest in complex member appreciation ideas, it is often more than enough to:

• Send out post-event surveys
• Hold feedback sessions
• Invite members to planning sessions
• Post polls on social media

Asking members what they want and then giving it to them whenever possible is the most authentic way to show that you appreciate their voice. 

Recognition & Gratitude in Member Relationships

Member retention largely comes down to value. When people feel their membership is valuable and valued by the organization, they’re more likely to stick around! With member appreciation strategies in place, you can build genuine relationships that help your organization thrive as a community.

Interested in learning more about EventMobi? Book your personalized demo of EventMobi’s Event Management Software platform today!

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The post Member Appreciation: 15 Unique Ways to Value Your Members  appeared first on EventMobi.

Getting the right speakers for your event can make or break the success of your conference, trade show, or seminar.

You’re not just looking for someone who can fill a slot in your schedule; you need dynamic individuals who can captivate an audience, communicate effectively, and make your event truly memorable. 

But finding the perfect speakers can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack! That’s why we’ve created this guide to help you find, attract, and hire the best speakers for events to ensure your next event is a resounding success.

Types of Professional Event Speakers

When planning an event, the array of events speakers available can feel overwhelming.

Let’s break down the types of professional speakers you might consider, tailored to the specific event you’re hosting.

Event speakers for conferences

• Keynote speakers. These are the heavy hitters of your event—the ones who set the tone and theme. They’re usually recognized experts in their fields or celebrities who can draw a crowd.
• Thought leaders. Thought leaders bring fresh insights and new perspectives to your audience. They are visionaries in their fields, and their unique takes can spark creativity and innovation among attendees.
• Workshop leaders. Interactive, hands-on learning is their game! They facilitate in-depth sessions that dive deeper into specific topics, providing attendees with valuable practical skills they can apply immediately.
• Motivational speakers. Want to energize and inspire your audience? Motivational event speakers are your go-to. They deliver powerful messages that drive attendees to take action, make changes, or overcome challenges.
• Entertainers. Conferences shouldn’t be all work and no play! Entertainers add a fun twist to your event, providing enjoyable interludes between serious discussions or a lively end to a full day of learning.
• Moderators. Your audience’s guide to panel discussions, moderators keep conversations on track and ensure all voices are heard. A good moderator can make a panel discussion a highlight of the event!
• Panelists. Experts or experienced professionals in their field, panelists offer varied perspectives on a specific topic, promoting stimulating discussions and knowledge sharing.

The right event speaker can also act as a powerful part of your event marketing strategy. Learn how you can leverage speakers to advocate for your event.

Guest speakers for corporate events

• Leadership experts. Ideal for corporate retreats or internal development days, these event speakers focus on fostering strong leadership skills and cultivating effective leaders.
• Motivational speakers. As with conferences, hire a presenter as a motivational speaker to inspire your corporate audience, encouraging team unity and personal growth.
• Industry experts. Want to keep your team ahead of the curve? Industry experts bring the latest trends and insights, helping your team stay competitive and informed.
• Wellness experts. Guest speakers for workplace events focused on employee well-being can be wellness experts who offer tips on stress management, work-life balance, and overall health.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) advocates. These event speakers promote a more inclusive and equitable workplace, educating your team on the importance and benefits of diversity.

Different events will call for unique types of speakers! For example, a nonprofit event might need fundraising experts, while a book festival would seek out well-known authors. Understanding your event’s purpose and audience will help you determine the right type of event speaker to hire.

How To Find Speakers for an Event

Now that we’ve discussed the types of event speakers, you might be wondering, “how do I find a good event speaker?” The hunt might seem daunting, but fear not! With these strategies, you’ll be booking amazing event speakers in no time.

• Be active in your space. Familiarize yourself with key figures, trends, and discussions in your industry. By staying in the loop, you’ll know who’s making waves and who would make a fantastic addition to your event.
• Look to past events. Review the event speakers who performed exceptionally well at previous events. Past success could be a good indicator of a repeat performance!
• Speakers bureau. These agencies represent speakers, making it easier for you to find and book them. Remember, bureaus usually charge a fee, so factor that into your event budget.
• Speaker websites. Many speakers have personal websites where they showcase their speaking portfolios. This is a great way to gauge their style, credibility, and how they resonate with your audience.
• Associations & chambers of commerce. These organizations often host speakers and can provide recommendations. They’re especially handy when looking for speakers with specific industry knowledge.
• Survey attendees and members. Ask your attendees who they want to hear from. Not only does this generate ideas, but it also builds excitement for your event.
• Explore competitive events.  Scope out the competition. Who are they booking? You might discover some gems!
• Follow people on social media. Social platforms are a gold mine for finding influential voices. Keep an eye on the movers and shakers, and don’t forget to check who’s trending.
• Network, network, network. Never underestimate the power of a solid network. You never know where your next great speaker recommendation might come from!
• Follow relevant industry platforms. From podcasts to TikTok, industry-specific platforms could lead you to your next event speaker. Plus, they give you a sense of a speaker’s style and audience engagement.
• Post a call and advertise it. If you’re open to applications, post a call for event speakers and advertise it widely. You’ll be amazed at the undiscovered talent out there.
• Local and industry publications. These sources often feature thought leaders and influencers. Plus, they could offer a wealth of topics and issues relevant to your audience.
• Partner recommendations. Partners can offer valuable insights and suggestions. They may know of great speakers who align with your event’s goals.

With guest speakers for events, aim for a mix of up-and-coming talent, established frontliners, and industry standbys. This variety ensures a dynamic event and keeps your audience engaged and excited.

Remember, finding the perfect event speaker might take a bit of time and effort, but the payoff is a memorable event that leaves a lasting impression on your attendees. Happy hunting!

How Much Do Public Speakers Make per Event?

You might be wondering, “Just how much is a speaker fee for an event going to cost?” The answer to that is as varied as the speakers themselves.

The price range is vast, from speakers who work for free to those who rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single event.

The amount a speaker charges is dependent on various factors. Let’s unpack a few:

• Location of the event. If your event is in a major city or desirable location, you might attract speakers at a more manageable rate.
• Audience size. A room filled with hundreds of industry leaders could warrant a higher fee than a small, intimate gathering.
• Type of event. High-profile corporate events or large conferences may cost more than smaller workshops or seminars.
• Duration of stay. If your speaker is required to stay for the entire event, expect to pay more than if they were just delivering a keynote and leaving.
• Creation of new content. A speaker developing a unique presentation specifically for your event may charge more than for a rehearsed speech.
• Travel requirements. If a speaker has to travel a long distance, they may charge more to cover their time, travel, and accommodation expenses.
• Level of contribution. A seminar speaker leading a breakout session or acting as a panelist might charge less than a keynote speaker. The more they contribute to your event, the higher their fee.
• Partnership opportunities. If there’s potential for an ongoing relationship or other forms of collaboration, a speaker might lower their fee.
• Establishment in the field. A well-known speaker, industry leader, or celebrity guest speaker for events will usually come with a higher price tag than someone who’s newer to the scene.

Now, if your budget is tight, don’t lose heart! You can often find great event speakers who are willing to share their knowledge for free. Offering partnerships with mutual benefits—like publicity or networking opportunities—can attract these gems to your event. That’s how to get speakers for an event, even if you’re short on funds.

So, what is the average cost of a guest speaker? There’s no single answer. But remember, the value they bring to your event—like audience engagement, expert insights, and added credibility—is often worth the investment.

How To Invite Speakers to an Event

Alright, now you’re armed with the knowledge of what event speakers might cost. The next step? The exciting process of inviting them to your event! Don’t be daunted by the administrative work—it’s easy once you know the steps.

• Identify speakers. Start with a list of your dream event speakers. These could be experts, industry leaders, or up-and-coming voices. And hey, dreaming big never hurts!
• Set the fee. This is a crucial step. You need to decide how much you’re willing to pay for each speaker. This could be based on their popularity, experience, or how much value they bring to your event. Just remember, some speakers have set fees, and they may not match your budget.
• Write your invitation email. Now, it’s time to craft your invitation. Be sure to include why you think they’d be a great fit, details about the event, and what you’re willing to offer them. Remember to be respectful and professional, but let your excitement shine through!
• Create an intake form. This is a handy tool for gathering information about your speakers. Think of it as a mini resume for them to fill out, detailing their background, speaking experience, and presentation topic.
• Follow up. Don’t be shy about checking in if you don’t hear back in a reasonable time. People get busy, and your invite may have gotten lost in the shuffle. A friendly nudge can go a long way!
• Get contracts signed. Once a speaker agrees to participate, it’s time to get it in writing. A signed contract helps protect both parties and outlines expectations clearly.
• Send an information pack. After the paperwork is done, it’s time to send your speakers a packet of information. This could include event logistics, presentation guidelines, and even tips to make their stay more comfortable.
• Make sure they know what’s happening on the day of. A few days before the event, reach out with a final itinerary and any last-minute information. This ensures everyone is on the same page and ready to rock your event!

How To Book a Keynote Speaker

If you’ve ever attended an event with a knock-your-socks-off keynote speaker, you know the electrifying effect it can have. But how do you go about booking one of these crowd magnets? Here’s a step-by-step guide to booking your dream event keynote speaker:

• Start early. The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the speaker! Start your search early, about 2-6 months ahead of your event. The best speakers are often booked well in advance.
• Get your event information in place. Before you reach out to potential speakers, make sure you have your event details nailed down. This includes the date, budget, and location of your event.
• Do your research. Not all event speakers are created equal, and not all of them will be a good fit for your event. Spend some time digging into their past presentations, specialties, and audience reactions to see if they’re a match.
• Review speakers. Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to review potential speakers. Look at their experience, presentation style, and feedback from past events.
• Create a list. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Make a list of potential speakers, knowing that you might not land your first pick.
• Write your pitch. You’ve got your list, now it’s time to pitch. Outline why you think they’d be great for your event, and why your event would be great for them.
• Outline the request clearly and briefly. Keep your request short and sweet. Be sure to include key details like the date, topic, audience, and what you hope they’ll bring to the event.
• Send it to them or their agent. Once your pitch is ready, it’s time to send it off. If the speaker has an agent, that’s who you’ll be dealing with.
• Negotiate. You’ve sent your pitch, and they’re interested. Now it’s time to negotiate! This could involve fees, travel arrangements, presentation length, and more.
• Confirm booking. Once everything is agreed upon, it’s time to confirm the booking. This usually involves signing a contract and paying a deposit.
• Assign them a communication lead. Lastly, assign someone from your team to be their point of contact. This person will keep them updated on any event changes, answer questions, and ensure they have everything they need.

How To Introduce a Guest Speaker

The stage is set, the audience is seated, and it’s showtime! Now, it’s your job to introduce the guest speaker. This is a crucial moment, as it sets the tone for the speech to follow. So, how do you nail the perfect introduction? Here are some key steps:

• Let them know how they’ll be introduced. Before the event, talk to your speaker about how they’d like to be introduced. Get their approval on your introduction to ensure they’re comfortable with what you’ll be saying.
• Collect bio. Gather information about the speaker’s background, achievements, and professional experiences. This will give the audience a sense of who they are and why they’re qualified to speak on their chosen topic.
• Get name pronunciation. There are few things worse than mispronouncing a speaker’s name. Confirm the correct pronunciation with the speaker ahead of time to avoid any awkward situations.
• Give relevant information. Your introduction should include relevant information that ties the speaker to the topic of the event. This could be their expertise, experiences, or any significant contributions they’ve made to the field.
• Keep the energy high. The introduction sets the tone for the rest of the speech. Be enthusiastic and energetic to get the audience excited.
• Practice enunciation. Practice your introduction to ensure clear enunciation. Stumbling over words can distract from the speaker’s credentials.
• Keep it short. Remember, the introduction is not the main event. Keep it brief, concise, and engaging.
• Shout out awards and recognitions. If the speaker has any notable awards or recognitions, mention them. This helps establish their credibility and gives the audience a reason to listen closely.
• Give them the reins. End your introduction by welcoming the speaker to the stage. This is their moment to shine, so gracefully pass the baton to them.

Sample introduction message

And that’s how to introduce speakers at an event! Let’s put it all together into an example speaker introduction:

“It’s my privilege to introduce our next speaker. A recognized expert in digital marketing, and the recipient of the prestigious Marketer of the Year Award, she has revolutionized the way we think about online advertising. She has not only written extensively on the subject but has also successfully implemented her strategies in numerous organizations worldwide such as [relevant organizations]. Please join me in welcoming our esteemed guest, [Speaker’s name].”

Voila! That’s how you set the stage for a compelling speech. Remember, a good introduction is a springboard for your speaker, launching them into their presentation with momentum and enthusiasm.

How To Thank a Guest Speaker

A guest speaker can truly elevate your event! Their expertise, charisma, and insights add an extra layer of excitement and engagement for your attendees. That’s why you need to show your appreciation and thank them appropriately—it makes a difference in convincing them to return as a speaker in the coming years. Here are a few ways you can do that:

• Provide speaker gifts. Unwrapit recommends thanking event speakers with unique, personalized gifts. For instance, you might gift a keynote speaker who loves to write a personalized leather journal or one who loves coffee an espresso machine. 
• Shout them out at the event. A heartfelt thank you from the stage, acknowledging the value they brought to your event, is a great start. Or, if your event has a reception or a VIP meet and greet, you can personally thank your speaker and introduce them to other significant guests.
• Feature them in post-event collateral. Mention your speaker in post-event communications, such as newsletters or social media posts, and express your gratitude there. This will not only show your appreciation but also boost their visibility.
• Send a personalized email. This allows you to express your gratitude in a more detailed and personal way, speaking to the value of their specific contributions.
• Conduct a post-event speaker survey. Gathering feedback with a post-event survey shows that you value their opinion and are keen to improve the experience for future speakers.
• Write a testimonial. If your speaker was a hit, consider providing a testimonial they can use on their website or promotional materials. This expresses your appreciation and can help them land future speaking engagements.

By expressing your gratitude with small gifts or messages, you’re not only making your speaker feel valued, but you’re also building a strong relationship that could lead to future collaborations. Remember, a little thank you can go a long way!

Wrapping it Up

There you have it, folks! Your all-inclusive guide to securing the best speakers for your event. From differentiating between the types of professional speakers to understanding their fees, inviting them, booking them, introducing them on stage, and thanking them afterward—we’ve covered it all.

Speakers are the heart and soul of many events. They bring the knowledge, the energy, and the spark that make your event memorable. 

But let’s not forget the role of technology in making your event a success! Using an event management platform like EventMobi can make your life much easier. With EventMobi, you can build out an event schedule and manage speakers with ease, letting you focus on creating the best possible experience for your attendees.

The post Event Speakers: How To Find, Introduce and Thank Your Guests appeared first on EventMobi.

With the right plan in place, you can:

But how can you come up with an effective strategy that encompasses all these different marketing channels? When should you use digital marketing and when should you go traditional? How do you make sure your association stands out from the crowd?

We’ll answer all those questions and more! Read on to learn about: 

• The type of marketing your association should do
• The 8 steps you can take to build an actionable strategy
• How to use digital & community marketing to market your membership program
• How to use event marketing for your association
• And several association marketing tools to add to your arsenal!  

What Type of Marketing Should Your Association Do?

Your association marketing strategy shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all! Focusing on every single goal possible will just spread yourself—and your team—thin. Depending on your organizational goals, your marketing strategy may differ. Here’s some priorities to explore!

Member acquisition

If your organization is in its early growth phase, this can be your marketing strategy’s main goal. If your association has already grown its membership, you might want to focus a greater percentage of your energy on retention rather than acquisition.

Make sure your acquisition marketing strategy highlights the membership value. Upon landing on your website or any other marketing materials, your target audience should immediately know:

• Who you are, and your values
• How to sign up
• What they get (member benefits!)
• What your biggest wins are (annual conference? Huge networking night? Great gala?)

Get familiar with the language (tone, voice, style) your audience uses, and meet them where they are. Find partners, run events, create a social community, leverage SEO and paid media, and create a website that is built to convert potential members.

Member retention

Retaining members is essential to your organization’s sustainability. You want to nurture the successes from your acquisition efforts!

In this case, your membership marketing strategies should focus on fostering consistent, ongoing member engagement to encourage loyalty. You can do this by:

• An easy-to-access member-exclusive content space
• Member appreciation and spotlights
• A reliable, easy-to-read newsletter (paper or digital!)
• Consistent emails advertising your programs and opportunities
• Offering ongoing networking and mentorship opportunities
• Hosting a must-see job board for members to find new opportunities
• Running certification and continuing learning programs
• Using retargeting campaigns to advertise ongoing programs to members
• Running regular member feedback surveys and sessions
• Implementing automated member renewal programs
• Tracking member engagement and behavior, and comparing that to churn

Your members’ needs are #1, and should be at the heart of your organization’s retention priorities.

Sponsor acquisition

As a crucial revenue stream for associations, sponsorships definitely deserve their own marketing strategy! An effective sponsor acquisition strategy should:

• Identify and target the right sponsors (depending on your sponsorship program)
• Have the right sponsorship packages
• Create an outreach strategy that blends your needs with your sponsors’
• Effectively manage sponsor fulfillment resourcing
• Communicate your sponsors’ wins back to them

Make sure you know your sponsors so you can provide them with the best sponsorship packages. A great way to work with their priorities is to offer different sponsorship levels (or even à-la-carte benefits!) for different sponsors.

Brand awareness

A strong brand can do wonders for both your acquisition and retention efforts. The more people know and trust your brand identity, the more likely it is for them to:

• Become a member
• Stay a member of your association
• Help attract new members (through word-of-mouth, for example!)

The right brand marketing strategy makes everything else easier. Start by establishing:

• A mission and vision statement
• Organizational values
• Your look/feel (logo, colour palette)
• Imagery style

And then roll out a consistent brand identity on all your public-facing channels. After that, it’s all about the right partners. Make sure you know how to write a press release, develop media contacts, and run awareness campaigns.

Revenue goals (dues and non-dues)

To optimize your revenue streams, you may need to choose whether you’re investing in promoting your dues or non-dues revenue growth.

Maybe you can’t increase membership cost because it’ll push away current and future members, which means you’ll need to depend more on your non-dues revenue sources.

Some ways to increase non-dues revenue include:

• Charging for exclusive content or resources
• Selling branded merchandise like T-shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc.
• Getting sponsors for events
• Offering ad space on your website, mobile app, or events

You can implement your marketing efforts using digital or traditional/community channels, or both! We’ll explore this in more details in the next few sections.

How To Build an Association Marketing Strategy

Now you should know which goal(s) your marketing strategy targets. Ready to create one? 

Follow these 8 steps to build an effective marketing strategy for your association:

1. Define your mission and/or vision

Your association’s mission and vision statements help guide your strategy. This means that your marketing strategy and campaigns should strive to reflect your mission (what you are) and make your vision (your ultimate goals) come true. 

Don’t have a mission or vision statement yet? No sweat—here’s an example to get you started.

Most associations only have mission statements. The American Heart Association’s (AHA) mission is “to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.”

Of course, you could still come up with a vision for your association, and it could change over time. For example, The AHA’s 2024 vision is “to advance cardiovascular health for all, including identifying and removing barriers to health care access and quality.”

All set with your mission and vision? Now you can build your strategy!

2. Create your brand

The sooner you build your brand, the better. After all, we know that a strong brand helps immensely with getting and keeping members or sponsors.

Make sure your brand elements (logo, fonts, colors) are consistent across your marketing channels. Let’s revisit the AHA’s website:

Notice how the website strategically uses the red-black-white palette. The logo is also in those colors—plus, it’s relevant and impactful. The torch and heart not only emphasize “heart health”, but reflect how the AHA is a leader in their field. 

3. Define your member personas

You know your members best! Think about who they are and what it is they’re looking for. Take this persona, for example:

Name: Candace

Description: Candace is a 25-year-old marketer working in a SaaS company. She works from home, and goes to her local café for a change of scenery from time to time. She enjoys using her free time to learn new skills or volunteer for her local animal shelter.

Demographics:

• Gender: Woman
• Age: 25
• Location: New York, NY
• Education: Bachelor’s degree
• Job title: Social media specialist
• Income: $70,000
• Relationship: Single

Pain points:

• Needs: opportunities to improve her copywriting skills
• Motivations: results of her marketing efforts (new customer sign-ups), and acknowledgement from her boss

If you’re hosting a copywriting conference, Candace will most likely be attending.

Creating personas like these can help you understand…

• Who your members are
• What motivates them
• What they need
• And how you can give them what they need.

And: you can do the exact same thing with your sponsors!

4. Find out where your members are

Let’s revisit Candace. Where do you think we can find her?

As a social media specialist, Candace is very familiar with different social media platforms. She’ll be on major social channels the majority of the day.

Using paid social ads and creating a social media campaign on a platform relevant to late-millennials (E.G. instagram) is a surefire way to advertise your conference to Candace.

Same thing applies with your members. Being present where your members are—both online and offline—will bring them to you. This could mean social media platforms, industry forums, networking sites, or niche publications. This could also mean your local cafe, subway station, or community event.

5. Examine your competitors

Examining your competitors lets you know what they offer and how they’re marketing their products or services. That’s how you’ll know how to make your association stand out from them.

When researching your competitors, look into:

• Their products or services. In particular, the unique selling points (USP) of their offerings.
• Their target audience. Are they the same as yours, or do they differ?
• The problems that their products/services solve for their target audience. Does your audience have the same problems?
• Their marketing efforts—both online and offline. Identify what works and what doesn’t work for them.

6. Market across channels

The channels you need vary depending on your sponsor or membership marketing strategies. For example, if you’re marketing your membership program, email is a great channel to both recruit new members and keep current ones. 

According to the 2022 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report:

• 48% of associations chose email as the channel attracting the most new members
• 79% used welcome email(s) to onboard new members
• 48% used monthly email series to engage more tenured members
• 82% chose email as the channel generating the most membership renewals

In terms of member recruitment, the two most impactful channels—besides email—are association-sponsored events/meetings (30%) and member referrals (28%). But don’t forget about your website, paid media, paid social, SEO, partnerships, and PR, too. Just make sure to prioritize based on results.

Once you’ve chosen the channels and implemented the tactics, make sure you…

7. Get feedback and analyze results

Regularly check for feedback from your target audience to know if your marketing strategy works. You can:

• Monitor your social media channels
• Conduct quantitative research (e.g. surveys)
• Conduct qualitative research (e.g. focus groups, online feedback tools)

Of course, to optimize your marketing strategies, you need to analyze their results as well. Check out this section for different analytics software to use for your association marketing strategy.

8. Automate everything

Don’t stop at the analytics report. Go one step further: use marketing automation tools to streamline your processes, save time and effort, and increase the efficiency of your association marketing.

Automation can include email marketing workflows, member onboarding sequences, event registration processes, and more! If you’re organizing an event, for example, you can use lead retrieval software to make it easier for exhibitors and sponsors to collect attendee data. Those are potential members you could be following up with!

Digital Marketing for Associations: The Essentials

Plan on having a digital association marketing strategy? Consider these channels:

Website

It goes without saying: your website’s important. It’s where magic conversion happens! It’s also the first checkpoint for your brand’s visual identity.

To optimize your website, you can:

• Make sure your tagline clearly communicates what your association is
• Include clear benefits of joining your association (e.g. answer the question “what’s in it for me?”) 
• Make sure your website reflects your brand well
• Use a user-friendly CMS (e.g. WordPress, Webflow, etc.) to host your content
• Read up on UX, or user experience, design
• Incorporate analytics tools (e.g. Google Analytics) to your site to track performance
• Include clear CTAs to explore programming or sign up for a membership

For a great example, check out PCMA’s website! It’s super easy to learn, connect, sign up for events, or join the association.

Email

Email is essential for both member acquisition and retention. To have an effective email marketing strategy, you can:

• Segment your audience according to your member or sponsor personas
• Send emails regularly to keep members engaged
• Send different types of emails (e.g. newsletters, event invitations, industry updates)
• Personalize your emails (e.g. address receivers by their names)
• Create reports that let you track success against each email’s goal (e.g. member renewal emails)

Organic search (SEO)

Invest in creating high-quality, informative content that speaks to your members’ needs. This can also help position you as a thought leader in your industry.

To improve your association’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), make sure you apply SEO best practices to both your content and your website.

Social media

Organic social media is the second most popular channel to recruit new members, and for good reason. With social media, you can:

• Engage with your potential and current members
• Attract new members to your association
• Build a community
• Cross-promote different valuable content

And more! 

Paid advertising

Paid digital advertising can help with your member or sponsor acquisition. To expand your reach and drive targeted traffic to your association’s website and events, consider using:

• Paid search (e.g. Google Ads)
• Paid social media ads (e.g. Facebook Ads)
• Display ads 

Online community

With an online community, you can keep your members engaged year-round. They can connect, collaborate, share knowledge or opportunities, and more. This fosters engagement and strengthens the sense of belonging within your association.

Continuing education

Offering educational resources or certifications helps attract and retain members. In fact, 36% of associations believe members join their organization for the continuing education/professional certification!

You can also make this a non-dues revenue stream for your association.

Superpath, for example, offers Superpath Pro—a $500/year membership where you get access to:

• Structured courses on content strategy, management, reporting, hiring and more
• Exclusive content on strategy (including examples, templates, and checklists)

And tons of other perks!

Digital events

Digital events are essential to your member and sponsor acquisition strategy. These events double as networking opportunities—which is actually the most common reason members join an association! You can also establish yourself as a thought leader with these events.

Examples of digital association events include:

• Webinars
• Online networking events
• Hybrid conferences
• Virtual trade shows

Make sure you find the right event tech partner. For example, EventMobi’s platform is built to host annual conferences and become an online community center for year-round events and meetings.

Other Marketing Strategies for Associations

Digital marketing isn’t the only channel you can use to market your sponsor or membership program. Consider the following approaches for your association marketing strategy:

Referrals

Referrals or member-get-a-member remain in the top 3 channels that get the most new members. To encourage member referrals, you can offer incentives like:

• Membership dues discount for first year or multi-years
• Gift or premium
• Product discount, coupon, or voucher
• Conference or convention discount

Partnerships

Establishing partnerships is another tactic you can look into. This can help achieve your marketing goals, and offer more value to your members. You can collaborate with complementary organizations, industry influencers, media publications, or sponsors.

Merch & swag

Selling brand collaterals like merch and swag contributes to your revenue goals—and acts as marketing tools for your association. It’s a win-win!

Media sponsors

Besides traditional sponsorships, you can also look into in-kind sponsorship with media partners. Building partnerships with local newspapers or industry publications will help grow your brand visibility. This is also a great way to promote your association’s events and initiatives.

In-person events

In-person events have regained their popularity post-pandemic. No matter what industry your association is in, you can organize conferences, seminars, or networking events to:

• Bring your members together
• Foster personal connections
• And advertise your association’s brand and expertise

Member benefits

Let’s revisit Superpath and Superpath Pro. Besides the courses, Superpath Pro members also have access to monthly 1-1 calls and a private Slack channel. These benefits are clearly communicated on the Superpath Pro landing page.

Like this example, make sure the value of your membership is crystal clear on your website and other marketing materials! This could mean exclusive resources, discounts, professional development opportunities, networking opportunities, and more.

How To Use Events To Market Your Association

Events are a popular channel to engage members, attract new ones, and build brand awareness. In fact, most associations report increased attendance at virtual events over 2022! To market your association using events, consider these aspects:

Event branding

Have a solid event branding strategy to:

• Make your event memorable
• Set clear expectations for attendees
• Create meaningful connections
• Introduce new folks to your organization
• Distinguish you from competitors

Experience design

For new members, your event is their first impression of your association. For existing members, it’s a core value add for their experience. Ensure every interaction your audience has within your event is well-designed and smooth-sailing, with your members in mind.

Networking

Create networking sessions or 1-1 meetings within your event to help attendees connect, build relationships, and meet their goals.

Session value

Organize educational sessions to offer valuable insights and actionable takeaways for your attendees.

Partnerships

Collaborate with other associations to co-host sessions, take turns speaking at one another’s events, or cross-promote events.

Thought leadership

Position your association as a thought leader by featuring influential speakers and subject matter experts in your events.

Member retention

Use your event to connect with existing members and provide exclusive benefits like special discounts, early event access, VIP experiences, and more.

Member acquisition

Provide incentives to attract newcomers like a discounted membership fee or product discount.

PR

Develop press releases and reach out to journalists to generate buzz and excitement for your event. If you’re providing any community value, make sure to get in touch with local news: they’re always looking for new stories!

Word of mouth

Encourage attendees to share their experiences with a referral program or referral incentives for future events.

Ready to make your association’s next event a marketing success? EventMobi can help you attract members and sponsors alike with our event management software for associations.

Learn More !

Association Marketing Providers to Help Execute Your Marketing Strategy

To ensure the success of your strategies, here are some handy association marketing providers you can work with:

Top association branding consultant

Before diving into any software solutions, consider working with a strategic partner to define your branding and execute your strategy. Let’s explore our top branding consultant recommendation for associations.

Strategic Association Solutions (SAS)

Strategic Association Solutions (SAS) is a back-office solutions provider specifically tailored to membership-based nonprofits, including trade associations and professional societies.

In addition to accounting, strategy, technology, and human resources (HR) services, SAS helps associations transform their branding by developing a bespoke brand identity, redesigning their websites, and creating digital and printed assets, such as conference signage, membership brochures, and brand toolkits.

Pricing: Contact SAS to get a custom quote based on your association’s needs.

Analytics marketing software for associations

The upside of digital marketing for associations is that you can get a clear picture of how your marketing strategy is working, as long as you use the right tools. To ensure you’re reaching your marketing goals, track key analytics using the following software.

Keywords Everywhere

Keywords Everywhere is a browser add-on for Chrome & Firefox that shows search volume, CPC and competition on multiple websites.

Pricing starts at $1/month for the Bronze plan.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console helps you measure your site’s search traffic and performance, fix issues, and optimize it for Google Search results.

Pricing: Free

Google Analytics

Google Analytics helps you track and report your association’s website traffic, as well as your mobile app traffic and events.

Pricing: Free

Email marketing software for associations

As a key membership marketing strategy, email marketing is crucial to every association! Use these email marketing tools to craft attractive emails, segment your audience, and track engagement rates.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email and marketing automations platform for growing businesses and organizations. 

Pricing: Free. Paid plan starts from $13/month.

Hubspot

Hubspot is a CRM platform which offers a suite of marketing tools, including email marketing.

Pricing differs between individuals & small teams (starting at $0/month) and businesses & enterprises (starting at $800/month).

Emma

Emma is an email marketing platform for marketers with any level of technical skill. Features include analytics, email editor, automation, segmentation, user permissions, and brand controls.

Pricing starts from $99/month.

Association management software

Association management software can do more than lighten your administrative load—it can also be an excellent marketing tool! Use these tools to: 

• Collect your member information in a database for easy reference
• Monitor member behavior to inform your future strategy
• Track retention campaigns to ensure your strategy is working
• Maintain continued engagement and contact with your member base

Glue Up

Glue Up is an all-in-one engagement management platform to streamline operations for associations, event organizers, agencies, and more.

Pricing starts at $125/month.

YourMembership

YourMembership is an association management platform to help organizations manage membership activities, boost member engagement, and increase non-dues revenue.

Pricing: Contact sales

WildApricot

WildApricot is an all-in-one management solution for nonprofits and small to medium-sized associations.

Pricing starts at $60/month. Discounts available for 1-year or 2-year subscriptions.

Association Event Management Software

The right event tech partner should cut down administrative work, get you the analytics you need, and make navigating your events super easy for members. Look for:

EventMobi

EventMobi is an all-in-one event management platform that helps associations of all sizes. The platform makes easier to create, hold, and market association events. EventMobi can help you:

• Customize and automate your event email marketing
• Create branded event websites that convert
• Design a smooth attendee experience from registration to post-event surveys
• Track your event’s social media footprint to maximize your reach
• Promote you and your sponsors through banner ads and sponsored messages
• And more!

To learn more about EventMobi’s services for your association, you can request a free demo. 

Book Now

The post How To Build an Association Marketing Strategy: 8 Steps, Channels & Tools appeared first on EventMobi.

Here are 24 association member engagement strategies to explore for your organization, plus 6 tips for how to increase member engagement.

What is Member Engagement?

Member engagement refers to the active efforts an organization makes to connect and foster relationships with their members. The point of engagement is to keep your organization at the front of its members’ minds, and demonstrate the value of continuing to be a member.

According to the 2022 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 52% of associations believe a lack of engagement is the top reason members don’t renew.

The solution? Implementing proactive member engagement strategies!

On a broad level, member engagement strategies can include:

A member engagement strategy should be measurable, and ultimately aim to increase member participation in your organization.

We’ll get into a more detailed list of member engagement ideas below!

Why Does Member Engagement Matter for Associations?

Improving member engagement is important for many organizations—but why is it so essential for associations in particular?

Investing in association member engagement strategies can help you:

• Retain your current members. Did you know that the 2021 Association Trends Study shows that 9% of members studied lapsed because they simply forgot to renew? Member engagement keeps you front of mind!
• Foster a sense of community. One of the most valuable parts of joining an association is connecting with like-minded individuals or organizations. Engaging members year round is how you grow a real community that members can’t find elsewhere.
• Bring in new folks through referrals. Referrals are a sign your members trust in your association. A successful member engagement strategy broadens the networking reach of your association.
• Boost your non-dues revenue. According to the ASAE Foundation’s Association Operating Ratio Report, membership dues make up 45.4% of revenue for trade associations, and 30% of revenue for professional associations. Engaging members with ticketed events can bring in event revenue (as well as other streams!) that makes running an association more sustainable long term.

6 Tips for Planning an Effective Association Member Engagement Strategy

As you brainstorm the best association member engagement strategies for your organization, keep these 6 tips in mind: 

1. Segment your members

Dividing your members into segments will help you target your member engagement strategy towards their individual needs and interests.

You can segment your association members by:

For example, with 75% of millennials actively avoiding phone calls, connecting by phone is a member engagement strategy that might be better used for the older members of your association.

You can also vary your CTAs for each segment depending on what they’re likely to offer—long-time members are great volunteer prospects!

2. Find where your members are already most active

Build your strategy by measuring member engagement as it currently stands!

You can gather engagement data from:

As you run your analytics and get a larger picture of how and where your members engage, keep those segments in mind. You’ll very likely find different information from each grouping, which will help you build more targeted association member engagement strategies.

3. Strategize for the whole membership lifecycle

Member engagement isn’t a one and done thing—your association member engagement strategies should be present through the entire lifecycle of membership.

This includes building strategies for:

• Onboarding. Member engagement should begin the moment their registration is complete. 79% of associations open with a welcome email, and 53% provide members with the opportunity to create a member profile. 
• Renewal. Choosing when your renewal efforts begin and end, how to frame your messaging, and what marketing channel you’ll use can make all the difference in your retention rates. (Psst—82% of associations cite email as the best channel for renewals!)
• Year round. The space in between onboarding and renewal is where the heart of membership lies. Active, consistent, and personal engagement is what builds the community your members want to be a part of.

4. Have strategies for in person and online spaces

Local extroverts might be eager to meet up at a restaurant for a networking event, but members who live on the other side of the country might not have the time or money to fly out for a conference. Strategizing for both in person and online spaces gives all members the opportunity to engage on their terms.

In person association member engagement strategies can look like galas, local volunteer opportunities, and networking meetups. For your online members, you can utilize webinars, community software, and workshops with thought leaders from all over the world.

5. Set your member engagement KPIs

Setting specific key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to measuring the success of your member engagement activities and strategies.

Some association member engagement KPIs you can look at include:

If your association is relatively new, investigate what solid member engagement metrics typically look like in your industry. This can help you set realistic KPIs and know where you stand in your broader community!

6. Use tools to track member engagement

Tracking and measuring member engagement can be made easy with the help of tools like:

Depending on your strategy and KPIs, you can pick the member engagement platform that supports you best.

Let’s explore some of that software—and many more member engagement ideas—below!

Ready to build community year-roundy? With appointment booking, group discussions, and detailed reporting metrics, EventMobi’s Networking App will help your members make valuable connections—all thanks to your association.

Learn about Networking App

Top 24 Association Member Engagement Strategies

Now that we’ve covered the tips for making your strategies successful, here are our top 24 association member engagement strategies:

Annual conference

Annual conferences create a regular gathering for members, and serve as a great introduction for new people. In fact, 43% of associations find that offering a conference discount is the most effective way to recruit new members.

With the help of event tech, your annual event can grow into a community that engages conference-goers year round! 

Gala

Running a gala adds an element of luxury and elegance, no matter what sort of organization you are!

Galas are also a space to engage members with:

Take a look at the 21st Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation Gala—not only was it a night to remember, but it also served as a critical fundraiser to support innovative research by the organization!

Networking events

Did you know that 63% of associations believe networking is the top reason that members join? Speed networking events, happy hours, and roundtable discussions are the perfect place for members to form professional relationships, and your association can be the reason they connect.

Member appreciation events

A dedicated appreciation event helps members feel seen and included in your organization’s work!

Show your appreciation through:

Workshops

Workshops give your members a hands-on way to build new skills with the help of your association. For example, the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association offers workshops for beginners and more established beekeepers. This maintains the value of membership throughout members’ growth and development in the hobby!

Webinars

According to a 2021 survey from vFairs, 77.2% of people preferred virtual events because of how easy they are to attend. Webinars offer a unique educational opportunity for members all over the globe to learn from the experts in your field through live or pre-recorded content.

Post-event surveys

Post-event surveys offer direct insight into how the event was received, members’ favorite parts, and areas of improvement. 

Including a post-event survey in your event app can integrate this engagement with the rest of the event journey. Sending an email is also fine—but why not use the software that has already helped them register, set their schedules, and given them maps?

Member satisfaction surveys

58% of associations use member surveys to run these check ins, and for good reason! Checking in with members makes them feel valued, and shows you what you might need to change before renewal time.

Your member engagement survey questions can tell you:

• What members like best about your association
• What resources don’t feel as valuable
• What they’d like to see more of

Conferencing software

If you run virtual conferences, workshop series, or webinars, conference software like EventMobi can provide you with:

Choosing the right member engagement software for your event makes all the difference in giving your members a positive experience at your events.

Learning management systems

If your association primarily engages members through educational software, learning management systems can help you:

Association management software

As the name suggests, association management software helps you manage your association from many angles!

It plays a part in improving member engagement through:

Online community software 

Like we mentioned, one of the most important parts of member engagement is building year-round community. When the resources are read and the events are done, community spaces are what keep members coming back to your association.

This member engagement software often includes:

EventMobi’s Multi Event App lets members register for all of your association events in one central, easy-to-use place. Chat with our team to see how your organization can benefit!

Certificate programs

Certificate programs offer your members valuable professional development opportunities. It’s not always feasible for people to go back to school full time to learn a new skill—certificate programs fill that need and give your association an opportunity to become invaluable!

Mentorship programs

Mentorship programs pass down essential knowledge within your community and create the leaders of tomorrow. Plus, the opportunity to learn from someone 1:1 feels more personal than sitting in a seminar.

Member spotlight

Some of the best member engagement ideas come down to member appreciation! When members are doing something cool in your community, give them a shoutout in your newsletters and social media. You can even include “is there something you’d like to share with the community?” in your member engagement survey questions.

Volunteer opportunities

55% of associations invite long-time members to volunteer. When you can already expect a renewal, volunteer opportunities are a way of improving member engagement with the people who have shown their loyalty to your organization.

Association calendar

Marketing association events is a whole lot easier when you give your members a calendar to reference! Including a calendar space on your website and email newsletter will make sure members don’t miss your upcoming events. If your renewal date is the same for everyone, you can also include that in your calendar so it doesn’t sneak up on anyone.

Member newsletters

Newsletters are a great place to send updates across your membership base. This might surprise you, but some people believe that sending paper newsletters is more effective for member engagement! While it’s a pricier option, paper is a way to cut through inbox overload.

Member anniversaries

Say “happy anniversary” to your members with:

If your association is still young (and you have the extra time and resources!), a personal card can also go a long way towards making early supporters feel valued.

Member birthdays

You can also apply the above ideas to member birthdays! Who doesn’t love a kind word and a little treat on a special day?

Personalized member comms

The best association member engagement strategies show members that they’re more than just a number. Engage members with personalized salutations and relevant content, and by actively seeking out feedback.

When renewal time comes, consider offering accommodations like sliding-scale rates for member hardship. This shows members that you value their presence and engagement more than their dues.

Event gamification

Don’t underestimate the power of fun as a member engagement strategy!

Engage your members with gamification tactics like:

You can determine which activities get the most points depending on your member engagement KPIs. For example, if your top goal is boosting social media metrics, you can offer members 3 points for a tagged photo at your event and 2 points for each platform they follow you on.

Polls

Let members share their thoughts with the power of polls. The information you gather shows you how engaged your members are, and also gives you insight into what’s on their mind! 

Polls can be used at live events, casually on social media, or on your event app.

Online competitions

A key part of the membership marketing funnel is getting your members to actively participate in your organization. Online competitions give members a place to engage creatively and show their stuff, all while giving your association great publicity.

Some online competition ideas include:

Building Connections With Association Member Engagement

Without its members, your association would not exist. Learning more about them and adding value to their membership is how you can keep them throughout your organization’s journey!

Get in touch with the EventMobi team today to learn how we can help you hold impactful events and foster year round community spaces!

Get in touch

The post 24 Top Association Member Engagement Strategies to Rock Retention appeared first on EventMobi.

Diverse revenue streams are crucial to the success of any organization. If you have a dip in membership renewals one year, you need another stream to keep you covered!

Integrating a non dues revenue strategy into your business plan will support your organization’s long-term growth and stability. Long term, that means your association will foster trust with members who see reliable programming, stable finances, and excellent business planning.

Which…can lead to more member renewals, and better dues revenue, too!

It’s all connected.

Read on to learn how to grow your non dues revenue streams, even in the face of challenges that every association goes through.

What Is Non Dues Revenue?

Non dues revenue refers to the income generated by organizations through sources other than membership fees. 

Some examples of the more popular types of non dues revenue streams include: 

Whether your association is large or small, you can start with this list if you’re looking for non dues revenue ideas to diversify your revenue streams. 

Non dues revenue matters because it supports your organization if traditional membership dues stagnate, and helps you grow your organization as you require more resources.

Why Does My Organization Need Non Dues Revenue?

Generating non dues revenue plays a vital role in your organization. It lets you:

• Diversify revenue streams
• Increase financial stability
• Grow your program offerings
• Attract new members (with non-member/blended events)

Diversify revenue streams

Say you have 2,000 writers each paying $150 in dues every year. That’s $300,000.  Imagine, suddenly, there’s a writer’s strike, and pay is reduced for your entire member base. You might see unusually high turnover that renewals cycle, and it would take you a long time to catch up.

If 25% of that member base fails to renew, that’s $75,000 lost for the following year—and probably means less headcount or fewer programs for your association. Building a non dues revenue strategy reduces your reliance on membership fees, and gives you confidence that if one stream hits a wall, you’ll still be okay.

Financial stability

The ultimate reason for diversifying your revenue is financial stability for your association. Financial stability means you can grow your team, offer more programming, and give your members (and staff!) a sense of security. That can also be great for getting buy-in from your board or keeping members around for years (or decades!) at a time.

Growing your program offerings

Non dues revenue allows organizations to expand their program offerings and enhance the value they offer to their member base. That could mean more networking events, new member acquisition events, bigger conferences, or super-value certification programs! Financial stability looks good on you, too, and can draw in more exciting partnerships to enrich your member benefits. And we all know better member benefits = longer-term members!

Attracting new members

Non dues revenue campaigns, such as non-member events or blended events open to members and non-members, create opportunities to show off your organization’s value. These events are perfect non dues revenue ideas for associations that need to increase their reach and find new members. 

6 Reasons Organizations Struggle to Grow Non Dues Revenue

Associations that grow non dues revenue blast through barriers and think creatively to overcome the challenges that most organizations face.

Barriers to diversifying and leaning into non dues revenue for associations are often:

1. Small staff

Limited staffing can make it hard to start any new initiative—including a non dues revenue strategy. When team members wear “too many hats,” it can feel overwhelming to stray from what is comfortable and successful.

To overcome this, try allocating resources strategically, using technology and automation, and outsourcing specific tasks to become more efficient. Non dues revenue is more than a temporary financial boost. It can help you long term: even with building a stronger team!

2. Low (or no) budget

The old saying “you need to spend money to make money” comes to mind here, and often organizations are hesitant to do so. Start by building an event budget around ROI, setting goals for the amount of revenue you want to drive per dollar spent, and finding opportunities to drive revenue without spending anything at all. 

When a low budget is a big factor, associations can explore cost-effective alternatives, seek partnerships and sponsorships, and invest in low-cost marketing tactics (like organic social media or comarketing) to overcome budget limitations.

3. Too many ideas

A surplus of ideas can lead to scattered efforts and a lack of focus. Too many chefs in the kitchen don’t make a good meal, so non dues revenue generation campaigns need to be laser-focused and clear. 

Your association should prioritize its revenue-generating initiatives based on feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with your objectives. Implementing a clear and strategic roadmap and setting clear priorities will make execution a piece of cake!

4. Reliant on memberships

Change is always challenging, but organizations that rely heavily on membership fees could face future financial problems. If you’re in an environment that’s “always done things this way” or has faced barriers to generating non dues revenue in the past, learning about stakeholder management, business planning, and ROI will help you to create a plan that’ll get buy-in, fast.

Where to start? Explore non dues revenue opportunities that align with your organization’s offerings, target audience, and industry. Think outside the box, and growing your revenue streams can be fun! 

5. Competition

While your specific space might feel crowded and saturated, there are always ways you can differentiate your organization. Stand out from your competitors with unique member benefits, innovative event activations, personalized experiences, and effective marketing strategies. 

For example, you could run a conference that leverages industry-leading event gamification, providing your attendees an exciting and unforgettable experience. 

6. Hard to prove value or ROI

Demonstrating non dues revenue initiatives’ value and return on investment (ROI) can take time and effort. To overcome this challenge, you can establish clear metrics, track and analyze data, gather participant feedback, and communicate the tangible benefits of their events and conferences. 

Nowadays, event feedback and lead capture is easier to track than ever, with a simple app that lets you collect, score, and follow up with leads. Don’t be afraid to use technology to prove the value of your non dues revenue strategy, especially when it comes to events!

How to Grow Non Dues Revenue

With so many types of non dues revenue ideas to look into, it can feel overwhelming to choose one to start with. Here’s how your organization can start building a successful growth strategy.

Set SMART goals

SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This type of goal-setting framework is perfect for non dues revenue growth, which provides clarity and ensures focus on results.

Put someone in charge

Designate a dedicated team or individual responsible for driving non dues revenue. This person should possess strong organizational and leadership skills, understand marketing and event planning, and really get revenue generation.

Watch the competition

Stay informed about your organization’s industry trends, competitors’ offerings, and successful revenue-generating practices. When you monitor the competition, you can quickly identify gaps, innovate, and adapt your strategies to maintain a competitive edge.

Take inspiration from everywhere

Look beyond your industry for inspiration! Explore successful strategies employed by other verticals, such as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, and nonprofit organizations, to adapt and implement innovative revenue-generation ideas.

Get the right tools in place

Use proven event technology, email marketing platforms, job boards, analytics tools, and accounting software to streamline operations, enhance attendee experiences, and track revenue generation effectively. You don’t have to rely on traditional marketing tactics anymore. The digital world has put event planning and success at your fingertips, so find the right platform and stick to it. 

Hold regular check-in meetings

Foster open communication and collaboration among team members involved in your non dues revenue initiatives. Regular meetings and check-ins offer the opportunity to share progress, address challenges, and brainstorm ideas for improvement.

Track ROI

Develop a system for measuring non dues revenue activities’ and their potential ROI. When you use analytics tools, you can evaluate event success and track key performance indicators to assess the success and impact of revenue generation efforts.

Send surveys & get feedback

Collect feedback from attendees, members, sponsors, and partners to continuously improve the value and impact of non dues revenue initiatives. Surveys and feedback loops will help your organization better understand participant needs and preferences, driving revenue growth through enhanced offerings.

Trying to decide which non dues revenue strategy to try first? EventMobi’s ready-made guide to sponsorship strategy will teach you everything you need to know to secure sponsorships that generate dependable event revenue.

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15 Non Dues Revenue Ideas for Associations and Chambers of Commerce 

So we know:

• Non dues revenue is a non-negotiable program for associations
• Associations face tons of challenges when growing their revenue streams
• There are plenty of tactics you can use to overcome those challenges

But what about actual non dues revenue ideas for chambers of commerce and associations?

Here’s fifteen.

Ongoing events

Organize industry-specific events, networking events, and trade shows that cater to your member needs. Generate revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, exhibitor fees, and partnerships. Need to land new sponsors? Build out a sponsorship package that shows you understand what value you’re really going to bring to the table.

Conferences

Host conferences that bring together industry experts, thought leaders, and professionals. Offer premium tickets, corporate sponsorships, and exhibitor packages to generate revenue. Conferences can also be an excellent way to show your organization’s position as a thought leader in the field!

Fundraising events

Are you able to accept donations? Plan fundraising events, charity galas, silent auctions, and benefit concerts. You could even expand your reach by partnering with local charities or nonprofits who resonate with your member base, which could have the dual purpose of landing you new members!

Online fundraising

Want the fundraising without the event? You can use social media and crowdfunding platforms—or even your own website—to launch online fundraising campaigns. Develop creative donation strategies and partnerships that encourage giving. Leverage online tools to track donations, understand donor habits, and optimize fundraising efforts.

Grants

Pursue grants from foundations, government entities, and corporate philanthropy programs to fund events and initiatives. By developing compelling proposals and demonstrating your alignment with the grantor’s objectives, you can raise your chances of receiving the grant! The critical step in this process is researching and finding grants that align naturally with your organization’s mission. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck doing new programs you might not care about!

Sponsors

Partner with companies and brands that align with your members’ interests and values. Offer sponsorship packages that provide brand exposure and lead generation opportunities. Not sure where to start? Knowing how to create a sponsorship strategy is the key to generating a strong sponsorship ROI. Make sure you’re tracking the analytics most important to them, like sponsor booth or content engagement.

Sell ad space

Provide opportunities for vendors to advertise their products or services during events. This doesn’t just mean traditional paper advertising—instead, give vendors opportunities to promote their business through your event website, event app, digital signage, programs, and more. Your vendors will thank you for the additional promotion, and you get a reliable revenue source every time you host an event. 

Partnerships

Collaborate with complementary businesses and organizations to co-host events, share resources, and leverage each other’s networks for revenue generation. This can help your money go farther—and split the workload across two staff teams instead of one. Plus: you both get to market to one another’s audiences!

Education & training

Offer educational workshops, certification programs, and training sessions related to your area of expertise. This could be through webinars, virtual seminars, or even physical workshops. 

Certifications

Certifications offer a valuable opportunity to generate non dues revenue while providing members and professionals with recognition of their skills and expertise. In addition, by providing certification programs, organizations can contribute to the professional development of their members, and they can establish themselves as trusted authorities in their respective industries. 

An example of a certification program is Google’s Grow With Google program, which offers certifications in Project Management to Cybersecurity. Think about how you can transform your organization’s space with a trustworthy certification!

Merchandise

Creating merchandise can be an investment that takes time to see good ROI. But it’s both a great marketing tactic and a source of ongoing revenue that you can tap into even without holding an event! Just remember to develop high-quality and relevant inventory such as t-shirts, tote bags, and other useable branded merchandise. Think about what would really speak to your audience so that your merchandise will see regular use!

Job boards

Create a job board or career center focused on your industry. Becoming a central hub for career growth is a great way to build relationships with both job seekers and job posters in your space. In addition, you can generate non dues revenue by charging businesses a fee to post job listings and provide job seekers access to relevant opportunities.

Add-on services or benefits

Are you able to offer an upgraded experience? Look at developing a VIP or premium service that charges $$$ and provides an elevated version of your events. From giving them designated recovery space in your venue to offering a meet-and-greet with the speaker at your conference, offering premium add-on services or benefits will enhance the attendee experience. In turn, the additional price lets you garner more non dues revenue by building on existing event plans.

Renting/leasing your space

If your organization owns or has access to any event venue, consider renting or leasing the space to other organizations for their events or meetings. This can be a great way to generate an additional stream of revenue while allowing others to take advantage of your space, and building community in the process.

Donations

If you are able to accept donations, make it a priority at your events! You can invite your audience and participants to donate voluntarily during registration, online, or at the event. This serves as an additional revenue stream and allows your attendees to show their appreciation through monetary support!

Grow Non Dues Revenue with the Right Event Tech

Event technology plays a pivotal role in maximizing non dues revenue.

Some essential event tech solutions include:

• Event management platforms for streamlined registration, an online event space, and conference apps
• Email marketing tools to effectively promote events, nurture leads, and drive registrations
• Google Analytics for data-driven insights and tracking website performance
• Accounting software to manage financial transactions and track revenue and expenses
• Virtual event platforms for hosting online events and conferences, reaching a wider audience, and generating revenue from virtual attendees

The right blend of technology will make the most of your budget, energy, and time to generate the best return on your investment.

EventMobi’s association event tech has been used by thousands of event organizers over the last 13+ years to help boost their ROI, and our customer success team helps put on hundreds of annual conferences every year.

Want to see if we’re right for you? Book a call with our team!

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Conclusion

Non dues revenue holds immense potential for any organization looking to get to relative stability. With non dues revenue, your organization can diversify its revenue streams, improve financial stability, expand program offerings, and attract new members. 

Don’t be afraid of getting creative and thinking outside the box to overcome challenges such as limited resources or industry competition. Through effective use of event technology and a focus on innovative revenue-generation ideas, you can help your organization stay on track to achieve your goals. 

The post Non Dues Revenue Strategy: 15 Ideas for Associations and Chambers appeared first on EventMobi.

Then you’re familiar with some top-notch event branding!

The best event branding sticks in attendees’ minds long after the event has ended—and gets them excited when it comes around again in the future.

Curious about how to brand your event in a way that does just that? Let’s explore some strategies that’ll help you rock your digital and onsite event branding!

What is Event Branding?

Event branding is a marketing practice that combines design elements, messaging, and visuals to create an event’s unique identity. From the colors of your logo to the partners you pair with, event branding tells the story of your event!

The best event branding is meant to:

• Reach your target audience
• Stand out from competitors
• Align with your organization’s larger brand identity

From digital design to the look of your onsite space, all elements of your event branding strategy should be consistent and cohesive. At a glance, your attendees should know what you’re all about!

Why is Event Branding Important?

In many ways, branding is the heart of every event you run! When people reflect on the good memories of your event, each aspect of your branding will serve as their touchstones.

Having a solid event branding strategy is important because it will:

• Make your event memorable. From the logo on attendees’ conference badges to the layout of your vendors’ hall, your branding is where memories are made.
• Set expectations for attendees. Are you an academic conference on the literary value of food, or a networking event for children’s television employees? Those are two very different events, and brand is where you set expectations for your attendees.
• Create meaningful connections. Sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and partners are all part of your brand. When their values and goals are aligned with your brand, you can build a community.
• Introduce new folks to your organization. Eye-catching branding can capture peoples’ attention and draw them in to learn more!
• Distinguish yourself from competitors. You want to belong in your industry, but you also definitely don’t want to blend in with your competitors—brand is your first opportunity to grab attention first.

When your branding speaks for you, your event just flows better!

Defining Your Brand

It can be easy for some stakeholders to look at another organization’s brand and say, “Can we just do it like that?”

But we know there are so many more layers to event branding. Before you hire a graphic designer or jump into copy, ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of the event? Think back to our academic conference. Is the goal to feature newly published research? Create professional opportunities like connecting emerging academics with established thinkers? Your event branding shows attendees what they can expect to get out of attending.
• What does your organization stand for? Your event branding needs to tie directly into the branding for your organization, or you’ll miss an awesome marketing opportunity! What values does your org stand for? What colors and fonts do you use? Search for the unique ways your event uplifts your larger mission, and communicate that to your audience.
• Who is your target attendee? Is your event for long-time industry professionals? Folks who are just breaking in? Specific social demographics? Defined roles (doctors! Marketers! Plumbers!), or other organizations? Your branding is meant to speak to your attendees—be sure you know who you’re talking to!
• How do you want attendees to feel at your event? The first opportunity you have to set the tone for your event is through your messaging, visual identity, and experiential design. Center your attendee experience in your brand, and they’ll feel taken care of—and eager to return.

The answers to these questions can guide your decision-making so you hold an event that really reflects your goals and values.

Recommended Resource: Your brand is at the heart of your event experience. Check out Experience Design: The Complete Guide to Creating Memorable Events!

Read More

5 Essential Event Branding Elements

So what actually makes your branding what it is? It essentially comes down to 5 core elements.

Design

Imagine you’re hosting your event in a large convention center—so large, in fact, that there are two other events happening at the same time. Your event branding design will be the lighthouse that makes you recognizable at a glance.

These guiding design elements include:

• Logo
• Color palette
• Fonts and typography

Design is the connective tissue of your event—it links your signage to your swag and your digital marketing to your onsite layout. It also conveys your tone! Attendees at an academic conference are going to be looking for very different branding versus a fan event or book festival.

Messaging

When branding events, your messaging is where you really dive into a targeted communication strategy. It communicates your brand values, event personality, and positioning in the larger market or industry. 

Your messaging elements include your:

Great messaging draws people into what you have to offer and sets expectations for the event. When those expectations are met, you’ve taken the first step in cultivating long-term brand loyalty

The voice you use across your written messaging is also what taps into the emotional experience you want to create. 

For example, if you’re running a conference for a writer’s association, your attendees might be looking for craft growth, connection with other publishing professionals, and exploring new areas of their genre. Every email you send and every ad you place should contribute to the story that that’s what they’ll find at your event.

Visuals

Visuals help you tell your event’s story without relying on words, and go beyond your design branding. 

Here are a few examples of event branding visuals:

• Photographs of attendees enjoying last year’s festival, beneficiaries of a charitable event, or special guest speakers
• Event graphics advertising guest speakers’ photos and names, plus essential information (name, date, time, location) of their event
• Signage that gets your attendees where they need to go, keeps them oriented, and makes them feel like they’re in a designated event space
• Booth design to tie together a vendors’ hall even with multiple exhibitor brands
• Branded items for events where you want attendees to walk away with a keepsake
• Icons signaling help stations, restrooms, or parking

A strong visual identity is built through consistent storytelling. If your event’s messaging is about supporting your local community, images of community members will amplify that story.

If you’re posting online, be sure to include alt text to keep your visuals accessible to everyone!

Partnerships

Aligning with folks who share your values and passions elevates your brand and builds relationships that last.

Potential partners could include:

You can use your event branding materials to attract sponsors and exhibitors who you think would be a great fit for your event.

On that note—don’t partner with just anyone! Your brand should also help you rule some partners out.

Some partnerships might give you financial opportunities, but your brand needs to be treated as sacred. Say no if their values or public stances don’t align with your own: Your relationship to your attendees is everything, so don’t compromise!

Marketing

Event marketing is what turns your carefully cultivated brand into a tool. Through your design, messaging, visuals, and partnerships, you go to market and start driving registrations.

Activate your brand across your marketing tactics, like:

When your brand identity is solid, marketing should feel easy! Take The Word on the Street as an example. Its website design highlights featured guests, uses visuals with a consistent and friendly color palette, and (most importantly!) advertises the event’s date and location right at the top of the website.

Onsite vs. Digital Branding Ideas

Whether you’re running in-person, virtual, or hybrid events, there are tons of event branding ideas to make your day a hit.

Here are our favorite event branding ideas for onsite and digital branding:

Onsite event branding

Whether you’re hosting a beloved annual festival or kicking off an inaugural conference, your onsite branding is how your attendees connect to your brand on event day.

A few great onsite event branding examples include:

Digital event branding

Digital event branding is what builds your online presence and draws in attendees. Whether people explore your website, see your logo on social media, or stumble on your viral video, you want to make an impression that earns you registrations.

Be sure to apply all of your key branding elements to your: 

Social media in particular is a tool that you can use at every stage of your event. If you set up a strong pre-event campaign, track your hashtags day-of, and then create post-event highlight reels, you can see the full story of your event.

Using Event Tech as a Brand Activation Tool

Your event tech is at the center of your attendee experience. It’s how they navigate your event map, find sessions they want to attend, and explore the sponsors that are crucial to the longevity of your event.

Being able to properly activate your brand in your event experience platform is crucial to creating a consistent event experience. And at EventMobi, we’ve been helping event planners create beautiful, engaging events for 13+ years.

Here’s how we keep brand front of mind in our event experience platform::

• Easy-to-use built in design features—with the option to level up to a custom HTML/CSS design
• Drag-and-drop conference badge designer 
• Professional content creation services to help you optimize your event branding strategy
• Branded mobile apps that keep your event in your attendees’ pockets
• Activation opportunities like gamification and live polls
• Social media walls, and a social analytics dashboard that tracks your brand success online

Want to get a clear vision of how EventMobi can activate your brand? Chat with our team  today!

How to Brand an Event: 7 Top Tips

Once you’ve gathered your branding elements and brainstormed bright ideas, all that’s left is to execute your planning.

You might be using a variety of event branding services, but here are 7 event branding tips to guide you no matter what:

1. Be consistent

Consistency is key! Your event branding tells your story— it’s important that everyone is receiving the same message. 

This looks like:

• Using your dedicated design elements across all of your materials
• Always returning to your event’s key objective and values
• Matching your onsite and digital branding
• Being clear on dates, times, and locations

2. Promote through the right channels

The promotion you do leading up to the event is often what determines how many fresh attendees you can bring in! Look at what’s worked before, where your competitors are, and what new channels you want to test to make the most of your event budget.

Some top promotion tactics include:

• Running a spectacular announcement (mini-event, anyone?)
• Booking media slots in the lead-up to your event
• Using paid ads where you target your audience demographics
• Social media & email campaigns
• Urging attendees to spread the word to their peers (you can include a referral reward!)

If you’re worried about being repetitive, make sure you’re never repeating the same message twice. From early bird specials to guest announcements, partner highlights to event countdowns, there are a million ways to keep your messaging fresh!

3. Create memorable moments

The best events are the ones that stick in your mind for years to come.

Give your guests special experiences like:

From planning to execution, never forget the importance of experience design. 

4. Personalize for attendees

When attendees feel like your event was created just for them, the experience feels a lot more special. Even if your event has thousands of people, each attendee’s experience will be unique to them personally.

Personalize that experience with things like:

No matter what your event is all about, great communication is an asset to your brand!

5. Call on influencers

Did you know that 72% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media?

Calling on experts in your field is always an incredible way to expand your reach, but influencer marketing can be especially impactful when you’re looking to target younger audiences.

Get influencers’ attention (and form strong relationships) by:

• Sending personalized invitations that highlight the value of partnering
• Learning what influencers hope to get out of this relationship
• Offering creative freedom for influencers to explore & advertise your event
• Connect with micro-influencers to reach a smaller, more passionate following

Like we said earlier, make sure you feel good about the influencers you’re working with. Your partnership isn’t just their endorsement of you—it’s your endorsement of them!

6. Connect your onsite & digital branding

Onsite is good, digital is great, and both is best of all! Both onsite and digital branding will use the 5 branding elements in different ways, which open up multiple avenues for success.

Onsite event branding elements can look like:

• Design: Signage, table and tent layout, stage set up
• Messaging: MC announcements, volunteer t-shirt
• Visuals: Posters and graphics, swag
• Marketing: Day-of radio and TV spots, onsite Instagram Live reels
• Partnerships: Business partners and exhibitors

Digital event branding looks more like:

• Design: Colors and fonts on your website and social platforms
• Messaging: Consistent voice on social media posts
• Visuals: Shared graphics and photos
• Marketing: Social media and email campaigns
• Partnerships: Influencer shout-outs, sponsor recognition, exhibitor features

7. Collect data & feedback

Collecting data is how you measure your ROI when the event is over, and it’s a gold mine for qualitative data on branding impact.

Did attendees have the emotional experience you were hoping for? Do they really get what you’re all about? 

You can track your brand impact by:

• Sending post-event surveys for real quotes from attendees on brand
• Running brand sentiment analysis by checking your mentions and tracking hashtags and keywords on social media
• Tracking the success of influencer campaigns with trackable links and discount codes
• Sending out brand awareness surveys a month or two later to see what people retained

All information is good information! If you discover that there’s confusion about your brand identity, you can explore what changes you could make.

5 Creative Ideas for Brand Activation Events

Did you know that 91% of consumers said they’d be more likely to buy a brand’s product or service after participating in a brand activation experience?

Brand activation events give your audience a chance to connect with you live, and really feel the value of your organization. Wondering what an activation event could look like?

Here are 5 ideas to get your gears turning:

Immersive experience

Running an immersive experience is one way to turn your marketing strategy into a memory. For example, the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario‘s conference included a playground for teachers to try out STEAM tools and new digital tech. It tapped into their sense of wonder, and kicked off the same excitement they hope to inspire in students. 

Kaffeeklatsch

A kaffeeklatsch provides attendees a casual networking opportunity with industry professionals. Between sessions at your conference, attendees can sign up to sit at a private table with 5-8 other people and one guest of honor and chat informally. 

For example, a writer’s association like SFWA often holds kaffeeklatsches with respected writers, editors, or agents!

Participatory art

Brightline Initiative’s 2019 TEDx activation is a great example of participatory art. They created an art installation where attendees were asked to write their thoughts about different sessions in permanent marker on transparent, colorful tiles. These tiles were then artistically arranged on a wall for the corresponding day.

As attendees wandered the event, they could literally see the new ideas and connections that were being made!

Wellness events

No matter what type of organization you’re running, everyone could use a wellness opportunity. Running a meditation event, setting up a quiet crafting room, or hosting a zumba class as a conference pick-me-up gives your attendees space to care for themselves. And best of all—it shows you care for them, too.

Reading challenges

The Festival of Literary Diversity holds a year-round reading challenge that encourages people to read diversely throughout the year. This activation keeps the FOLD’s mission in the front of peoples’ minds beyond the festival itself.

Choose books or themes that tie back to your mission or industry, create a hashtag, and share what your audience is reading throughout the year!

Creating a Brand Everyone Will Recognize

From gorgeous stages to awesome video content, there are countless ways to make your event branding shine. If you engage your goals and values in each key element, your attendees will think of your event as an old friend in years to come.

Come chat with our team to learn about how EventMobi’s event management software can support and uplift your brand!

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The post Activate Your Event Branding: 5 Top Strategies for your Onsite and Digital Brand appeared first on EventMobi.

• Where you spent money
• Where you made money
• Where to keep investing
• Where to cut
• How to develop strategic event budgets in the future

But which event ROI metrics are most important to track? And how do you calculate your return on investment?

Here’s everything you need to know about event ROI, plus a free event ROI calculator!

What Is Event ROI?

Event ROI is the return on investment you see after running an event. After the time, energy, and money you put into holding the event, measuring your return on investment offers insight into how profitable and stable your event was.

Did you build community? Earn back more than you invested? Bring in new business leads?

Event ROI matters because it gives you clear data. And with data, you can make smarter decisions, run better events, and meet your goals with pinpoint precision—whether those goals are soft (attendee engagement, brand awareness) or hard (dollars made).

What is a good ROI for an event?

Good ROI looks different depending on the goals you set for the event! This could mean earning a certain amount of revenue, getting 20 attendees per a certain amount of marketing dollars, or any other metric that brings you closer to your annual goals.

Before you run your event, you’re going to want to set those goals and create a plan for meeting them. Remember, good ROI just means meeting your goals; great ROI means exceeding them!  

If you come out feeling like you wasted money, or didn’t accomplish what you set out to do, that’s bad ROI.

5 Event ROI Metrics You Need to Track

The good news when it comes to measuring event ROI? You’re in control.

The tricky part? Every event and organization is different.

To begin finding metrics for your industry, we recommend:

• Talking with your partners
• Looking at your past results
• Exploring industry-specific research reports

Each of these can help you set key performance indicators (KPIs) that are realistic and measurable.

However, regardless of industry, there are a few crucial metrics your organization could benefit from tracking. Financial revenue and expenses are only one way to measure return on investment! 

Keep these event ROI metrics in mind to better measure your success. 

Revenue-based ROI metrics

Revenue-based ROI is a key metric for measuring event success. It provides quantifiable results to your event stakeholders like your organization’s executive team, board, and sponsors.

What counts? Everything you’ve sold! For example:

• Total number of tickets sold and their resulting revenue
• Comparing the number of registrants vs. the actual attendance rate
• Exhibition booths sold
• Merch & swag sold
• Raffle tickets sold

And generally any other item or service you’re selling as part of your event. Heck—if you put together a bar and sold the drinks yourself, that counts as revenue too!

Event sponsorship ROI metrics

Sponsorships are a cornerstone of successful events, providing additional financial or in-kind resourcing that means more programming, activities, and connections for your attendees.

So you want them coming back. And that’s where knowing how to measure event sponsorship ROI is crucial. 

To create a competitive event sponsorship package, or to bring your sponsors back year after year, give your sponsors event ROI metrics that show how valuable their sponsorship can be!

For instance, EventMobi’s event app platform provides tons of built-in analytics for sponsor engagement, like:

• Number of sponsor banner impressions, clicks, and conversion rate
• Company page visits
• Leads acquired
• Views of sponsored content
• Gamification engagement

This highlights the amount of exposure each sponsor received from the event’s audience. It directly translates into the ROI you’re delivering your sponsors, which means they’ll keep giving you the investment to generate your own return.

Event marketing metrics

Chances are, your marketing team puts a lot of time and effort (as well as money!) into making your event as visible as possible.

The easiest way to cut stress and make sure you’re putting your work where the worth is to look at event marketing ROI.

Event marketing metrics are the leading indicators on ROI, and can include:

• Social media conversion rate (eg. likes to registrants, impressions to registrations)
• Email open to registrant rate, or click to registrant rate
• Website conversion rate (eg. visits to registrants)
• Cost per attendee by channel (eg. PPC, Paid Social)
• # of new registrants
• # of return registrants

Some leading indicators include:

• Social likes and shares
• Social followers
• Event hashtag mentions
• Website visits
• Email opens and clicks

A leading indicator is a metric that matters, but doesn’t directly tie back to return on investment. ROI for marketing should ultimately be about getting back any $$$ spent on generating registrations. But a leading indicator could show potential, even if the return isn’t there yet.

For example, if you send out an email that has high clicks, but low registrations? Try playing with the CTA in the email, or A/B test the layout or information on the registration landing page. That way, you can make more from a promising channel!

Event marketing shouldn’t just feel like shouting into the void—there are plenty of metrics you can use to measure how successful your team was. And if you find any efforts didn’t pay off, you can see exactly what to adjust for next time.

How to measure virtual event ROI

Measuring ROI for virtual events is not so different from in-person events!

But when it comes to your important engagement metrics, it’s actually much easier. You can’t track how every in-person conversation played out, but you can measure how many attendees used the chat feature.

Tracking your virtual conference engagement is a great way to get an idea of your ROI, because it tells you how engaged your attendees are. The more engaged the attendee, the more likely they are to attend future events! 

Or, for our member-based organizations: the more likely they are to renew their membership.

To track your virtual success, look at metrics like:

And psst: this can all be done using EventMobi, too!

The best part is that virtual events don’t cost as much as in-person events. No venue costs, no insurance costs—the sky’s the limit! Pay attention to attendee engagement and you’re almost guaranteed a great return on your investment.

Other event ROI metrics to pay attention to

Hard data isn’t the only thing that matters when you’re looking at the value of your event. One of the best leading indicators for ROI is knowing what resonates with your audience!

• Attendees’ areas of interest. Keep track through:
  • Top visited sections of your event or event app
  • Popular group discussion topics
  • Session attendance
  • Speakers with the highest turnout
  • Engagement with live polls
  • Participation in event games
  • Qualitative data collected through post-event surveys
• Gamification systems. These offer stats on your most popular event challenges—which act as a great window into attendee engagement. Your top players are your event champions, who are most likely to provide positive testimonials.
• Soft data. Social media shout-outs and post-event surveys are invaluable. If everyone is raving about the same session, you know it was a hit. 

Recommended Resource: The best way to up the ROI on your event is to up your attendee engagement game. Explore how Gamification can help you up session views, sponsor meetings, and other key event experience metrics—and track where your event is thriving.

Learn About Gamification

Bring this information to your next planning session to motivate and inspire your team!

Now what? You have all these metrics and success indicators, but what about…

Actually calculating ROI.

There are complex, finance-focused systems. We’ll let you chat with your CFO, accountant, or other financial lead about those. But when it comes to running baseline analyses, we’ve got your back.

How to Calculate Event ROI

Here’re two ways you can calculate event ROI without a finance background:

Expenses vs. revenue

A simple way to calculate event ROI is by weighing your expenses against your revenue.

Ask yourself: how much money did the event cost, and how much did it earn?

If you invested a total of $2000 into your event and earned $3000, your event ROI is $1000. 

Depending on your goals, you can measure if that feels like a reasonable return on investment.

What you’ll need to do:

1. Create an itemized list of expenses
2. Create an itemized list of revenue
3. Add up all the expenses
4. Add up all the revenue
5. Subtract your expenses from your revenue
6. Relish in returns!

If you want to get super granular, you can also apply certain expenses against certain revenue generators for your event.

For example: how much did all your merch cost to create? And how much revenue did you make off it?

Or: how much did you spend advertising a specific speaker or session on social media? And how did attendance compare to the sessions you didn’t advertise as consistently?

Profit vs. investment

Expenses and revenue are straightforward to measure, but they don’t always account for the costs of time, energy, and labor. Tracking these investments against your overall profit gives you more data to work with.

Let’s take a look at the value of event volunteers. While they’re offering their services for free, they still provide value!

Imagine if every volunteer was being paid $15/hour. If you hold 3 hours of training for a 9 hour event, that amounts to $180 per volunteer. Now, if you had 10 volunteers, that labor is valued at $1800.

If your event only made $2000, that’s not a great return on investment for those hours of labor and organizing. But if you made $6000? Now that’s a return on investment!

How Event Tech Helps

Measuring event ROI is a whole lot easier with the help of quality event tech!

Here are a few tools that can help you capture those essential metrics:

EventMobi

One of the best ways to measure event ROI is to run your event using a system that’s already keeping track for you. EventMobi has helped with crucial conferences and events for organizations like yours for 13+ years! 

Here’s how we support our event organizations:

EventMobi offers:

• An all-in-one event experience platform for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events
• Superpowered professional services that help make your event a hit
• Mobile event apps your attendees can use on the go 
• Networking tools for your attendees and sponsors
• Personalized agendas
• Real time tracking of attendee interest, engagement, and action
• Advanced analytics that calculate reports from a single dashboard
• Exhibitor and sponsor lead capture
• Event X365: a year-round networking and community platform for when your event is over

Book a demo today, and we’ll help you craft your next smash event.

Social & brand awareness

If you want to measure your event marketing success, tap into tech that helps you thrive across social media.

Whether that’s raising visibility, saving on tasking time, or running reports, knowing (and expanding!) your reach will absolutely boost your return on investment.

Here are a few simple tools to get you started:

• Hootsuite
• Google Alerts
• Tagboard
• CoSchedule

Marketing tools

Event marketing ROI can sometimes feel difficult to measure. But with the right tools, you can actively track how much mileage your marketing efforts are getting!

We recommend tapping into these three event tools:

• EventBrite
• Mailchimp
• Constant Contact

CRMs

Your event ROI goes beyond the day of the event itself!

Keep up relationships with your attendees using customer relationship management (CRM) software like:

• HubSpot
• Event Hub
• Salesforce

Analytics

Data’s not much use if you don’t really explore what it has to offer! Reporting is your friend, and can set you up for success in future events.

Run some event ROI analysis with reports from these great tools:

• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Piwik
• Bear Analytics

7 Simple Steps to Measuring Event ROI

Now that you know what event ROI is, which metrics to track, and how to calculate it, let’s explore 7 simple steps to measuring your success:

1) Identify stakeholders

Before your event kicks off, you want to identify and connect with your stakeholders. Think about everyone who will be investing time, energy, and money into your event!

This could include your:

• Marketing manager
• Sponsor lead
• Financial team
• Volunteer coordinator
• Board of directors
• Returning sponsors

These folks give you key insights about what initial investment (and possible return!) could look like. For example, once you know what sponsors potentially have to offer, you can adjust your budget accordingly.

2) Get them invested in ROI

Big ideas often come with initial investments of money and labor. When you ask your team to commit to that investment, highlight how much your organization will benefit. Turn team members into cheerleaders for the future, and you might be surprised by the creative solutions they offer!

Plus, measuring event ROI should ultimately make everyone’s jobs, and lives, easier. Make that clear, and empower your team to own their results.

3) Set your SMART goals

Like we said: you’re the person who determines what good event ROI looks like. Set SMART Goals that clearly define the event ROI metrics you’re targeting.

This could include bringing in:

• A specific number of leads
• A target amount of revenue
• A total number of registrations
• Or more!

You can only calculate your ROI if you know both what you’re investing and what you stand to gain. Make your ambitions possible!

4) Build a budget

Ah, the event budget! While it’s fun to imagine a limitless supply of money to hold the bash of your dreams, your financial team might have something else to say about it.

Budget out the maximum amount you’re willing to invest in your event, along with the amount you anticipate you’ll earn. Be sure to include a section for your actuals—at the end of the event, you’ll be able to see how close your estimates were to reality!

5) Start measuring data

Measuring event ROI is all about bringing in the data. With the numbers at hand, you can actually track how your event is turning out.

Some important data to track includes:

• Expenses (venue, speaker fees, marketing costs, etc.)
• Volunteer hours
• Sponsorships
• Registrations (vs. actual attendees!)
• Marketing metrics

Pay special attention to the data that specifically ties back to your SMART Goals!

6) Measure your actuals

Don’t wait until after the event to start crunching those numbers: measure ROI as you go. 

Wondering how? Track how many registrations you’re getting against the dollars or hours you’re spending. See how your messaging is driving social engagement or event sign-ups. You can even keep tabs on how often sessions are being added to personal agendas.

This will put the power in your hands to turn on a dime and adapt to your situation, making the most of your budget. A budget isn’t a reality: it’s a guess. The real thing is what matters most.

7) Check out your results

Event ROI analysis is what turns this event’s data into your next event’s game plan. Measure those actuals against your original predictions. Where did you knock things out of the park? Where did you struggle unexpectedly?

And if you’re nailing it? That’s great information to share with your sponsors and board, letting them know that what you’re doing is working.

If it’s not, at least you know where things went wrong. And that means you can find solutions for next time.

Bonus: Collect qualitative results

Post-event surveys bring your attendee data beyond the numbers! Read up on what people can’t stop talking about, and collect consistent feedback on what could change.

Be sure to connect with your exhibitors and sponsors as well. Based on your attendee and exhibitor analytics, you can tailor your content and sponsorship packages to build stronger connections in the future.

How to Create an Event ROI Report

Now that you understand what metrics to focus on, how do you take this data and put it into a formal event ROI report? 

The key is to pull your metrics together and organize them to tell a story of your event: 

• What were your goals and intentions?
• What actually happened, according to the data?
• What have you learned for next time? 

The final product can take any form you choose—whether you prefer a nice Word document, a slide deck, or a video report. Here’s an example event ROI report structure you might consider: 

1. Goals & KPIs: Review what your goals and intentions were for your event. Was your goal revenue? Brand recognition? Community building? The rest of your report should be centered around these initial goals. 
2. Revenue Report: Show what your initial event budget was, and compare that to what was actually earned and spent. Highlight any areas where you underestimated the budget you’d need, and look for places where you brought in unexpected revenue. 
3. Attendee Engagement: Gather all of your data about audience engagement! This includes:
   1. event app adoption rates
   2. session attendance
   3. gamification participation
   4. social shares

Highlight which aspects of your event sparked the most engagement, and what fell flat. 

4. Feedback Review: Share the human feedback behind the numbers. Pull a few quotes from your post-event surveys that give the best insights into how people responded to your event. Look for patterns in the words and phrases people use to describe your event, and note if people are making the same suggestions over and over. 
5. Planning For The Future: Round off with a summary of the report and explain how you can apply the lessons you learned for your next event.

How to Improve Event ROI for the Future

The best part of running events is knowing that there’s always another one in the future! Measuring event ROI is just a starting point, and helps you set goals for next time.

Looking for a surefire way to improve event ROI moving forward? Book your free demo with EventMobi to see everything we have to offer for your next event

Book a Demo

The post How to Measure Event ROI: 7 Easy Steps + Metrics to Track appeared first on EventMobi.

One of the best ways to engage your audience and gather vital feedback, is to use live polls and surveys.

In this article, we’ll explore 6 creative ways you can use live polls to transform your next event. 

Add live polls & transform attendee engagement at your next event with EventMobi!

Learn About Live Polls

Use Polls and Surveys to Plan Your Event 

Don’t wait—you can start using live polls to your advantage well before your event takes place. 

Through your event app, social media pages, or email list, ask attendees:

• What are they looking forward to?
• What programming do they want to see?
• What topics are they interested in?
• Which activities are they hoping to participate in?
• Who are they hoping to hear speak?
• What are they curious about?
• What do they want to get out of the event?

By incorporating their feedback into your planning, you’ll give your audience a fully personalized experience they won’t soon forget.

Empower Speakers With Hot Topics 

Much of the success of your conference hinges on the speakers, hosts, and entertainers who run sessions at your events. As an event planner, it’s your job to equip speakers with the tools they need to delight your audience. 

Encourage speakers to use live polls and surveys during their presentations! That way, they can gather feedback and insights from the audience in real time. This will help them adjust their presentations to deliver content that speaks directly to the audience’s curiosities.

For example, speakers can use surveys and live polls to: 

• Turn a speaking engagement into a game of trivia
• Host a live debate, and let the audience vote on compelling arguments
• Pose thought-provoking questions from other event sessions 
• Host a post-session quiz to recap the main takeaways

Related: 7 Tips for Leveraging Your Event Speakers as Advocates

Speakers can also use the Q&A function to gather questions after their presentation or answer them on the fly. This is vital for virtual or hybrid events, where your speaker isn’t in the same room as their audience. 

Gather Valuable Feedback at Every Stage of Your Event

Live polls and surveys aren’t just for audience engagement—they’re also great for gathering feedback about your event.

With a tool like EventMobi’s live polling and survey features, you can easily gather valuable data about your audience, like: 

• Which sessions they enjoyed 
• What they wanted more of 
• What would have improved the event
• Feedback on your staff and service reps 
• Feedback from vendors and sponsors 

This kind of information is crucial for improving ROI and making even more successful events in the future.

Use Live Polling to Simplify the Q&A Format 

Live Q&A sessions are some of the most engaging parts of an event, but they’re also challenging to manage! With live polls and surveys, you can simplify the Q&A format, taking the pressure off your hosts and making it easy for attendees to participate.

You can also use live polls to gamify elements of your event, like the folks who run JNF Tech Shuk in Toronto. Their event audience included a number of promising Canadian and Israeli tech startups, who had a chance to compete on the event’s unique version of Sharktank, called Lion’s Den.

The startups set up their tables down the middle of the room, their products and company on display as the crowd and “Lions” (aka accomplished business mentors) toured the room. 

Later, using EventMobi’s live polling feature, the crowd had the power to decide which startup would get a chance to pitch their business to the Lions. 

And if that wasn’t enough pressure on the startups, Tech Shuk turned up the heat by displaying the results on the big screen for a whole hour, so the voters and startups could see who was the crowd’s favorite as votes came in.

Provide Talking Points for 1:1 Networking 

Networking is one of the primary reasons people attend events, and your audience’s rate of satisfaction often correlates with how many valuable new connections they made. 

As an event planner, your job is to make it easy for attendees to network—including helping them overcome the sometimes-awkward moments of networking.

By providing attendees with thought-provoking live poll results and audience-generated questions throughout your event, you’ll give them plenty of kindling to ignite meaningful conversations. 

With the right event networking app, you can then create many opportunities for attendees to discuss your talking points, including:

• Private DMs
• Scheduled meetings
• Breakout rooms
• Social collaboration
• Group discussions

Use Live Poll Results in Your Marketing Strategy

If you want to get the most ROI out of your event, then you’ll use the assets created during their event to fuel your marketing strategy for months after the event comes to a close. 

This includes your live poll results, which can be used in a number of ways to extend the lifespan of your event. For example:

• Use the data to publish a research paper
• Create blog posts around survey answers and results
• Integrate survey responses into testimonials 
• Share results with your social following and email subscribers
• Design infographics showcasing your results 
• Highlight poll results in marketing for future events

This content can keep your attendees engaged between events and even help generate new leads for your next event.

From planning to feedback collection to networking and marketing, live polling and surveys are versatile features that can be used throughout every stage of your event.

Wanna see how EventMobi’s live polling and survey features can boost your event engagement ? Get started by booking your personalized demo of EventMobi today!

Book a Demo

The post 6 Creative Ways to Use Live Polls at Your Events appeared first on EventMobi.