What’s been said on the topic

There was a lively discussion recently on the ASAE list serv about recruiting younger members and the difficulties around successfully accomplishing such a feat. Some felt it’s a generational thing while others took the “kids these days” mindset. I was deeply impressed with one response on the list serv from a person who not only articulated the truth about recruiting younger members very succinctly, but used statistics to back it up.

That person was Dean West, president of Association Laboratory, Inc. in Chicago. To paraphrase, Dean basically said that the sky is the limit when it comes to getting younger folks to join your organization. They are, in fact, “joiners” as much as any baby boomer ever was. The trick is in the offering.

Let’s get an expert’s perspective

I asked Dean to write a guest post for our blog on the truth about recruiting younger members. This is what he wrote:

I’ve been fascinated by the level of drama in recent discussions regarding the next generation’s participation in groups in general and associations specifically. It seems you can’t go a single day without some blogger penning how member organizations as we know them are facing obsolescence.

How, many writers wail, will membership organizations survive in the face of the younger generation’s failure to join or participate in member organizations?

Too often though, the proclamations of these doomsayers are made with little perspective and less information.

Consider the following.

The number of nonprofit organizations is growing. The IRS currently recognizes approximately 1.8 million non-profit organizations. In 2006, the IRS received form 990’s from ≈ 238, 000 501(c)(3) organizations compared to ≈  150,000 in 1996.

New, successful membership models have been created and are prospering. Business models which rely on an individual’s decision to join a group have never been more prevalent. Recent options that have never before existed include meetup.com, LinkedIn and facebook.

Members of the Y or Millennial generation are more likely to join. A study conducted by the William Smith Foundation found that members of the Y generation are as likely, if not more likely, than members of the Baby Boom generation to join professional associations.

The evidence clearly supports the conclusion that the younger generation will continue to join, support and otherwise be active in member organizations.

The key question is not whether or not the next generation will join, but whether or not they will join will your organization vs. some other organization.

The key to association prosperity is not to presume young people won’t join but to focus on creating a membership experience that clearly differentiates the association from other sources.

Associations that focus on clearly defining their audience and creating a substantive experience for members will continue to prosper. This will require improved understanding of which audiences you serve and why, the similarities and differences between these audiences and a relentless focus on the implementation of high quality programs and services.

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Thanks to Dean for his insights.

So, what about your organization? Are you shooting for the younger members? Think social networking is the silver bullet? Or maybe you thought it was, but now you’re not so sure? What’s your opinion on Dean’s perspective?

From Acronym…
What have your members taught you?
A great way to wind down week! This post from Acronym reminds us that we should not only look at what we can DO for association members, but what we can LEARN from them.

From AFP Blog…
New Video Series Helps Exempt Organizations Understand Redesigned Form 990 Requirements
AFP posted a link to a helpful video for exempt organizations that explains recent changes to the Form 990.

From NTEN…
Blog Action Day 2009 Climate Change: Technology in the Climate Movement
NTEN and 9,427 other blogs from 150 countries with 12,896,974 readers are smashing the debate  about what impact the online world has on offline action with these numbers and think about the over 12 million people around the world who are raising their consciousness about climate change. NTEN posts some highlights.

At the intersection of both the economy and technologies, associations are changing.  Information is free, people are connected and groups form in a viral fashion.  Associations must adapt and demonstrate relevance first and then  communicate their benefits.

Communicating these days means integrating and not just through their typical email newsletters to members.  From open tools like Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter to their own dedicated social media tools, they need to demonstrate leadership for their members and the industry they serve.

Here is a good article highlighting these changes, particularly a need to be relevant.

http://expertsinmembershipmarketing.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-discussions-centered-around.html

The social web has changed the media communications landscape in a way much of the world has yet to fully understand.  Simply put, the social web has created almost a reverse flow in the traditional mass media world in which user-generated content and consumer activism is reaching more audiences than brand messaging.

Those businesses and organizations who refuse to begin charting a path toward collaborative and conversational social media communications models will eventually find their high-paid mass media messages generating a lonely echo on a faint frequencies.

Fear not my friends.  Below you will find a comparison of 11 ways in which social media is different than traditional mass media which will hopefully get those right brain neurons firing in a new direction.

1)  Traditional Mass Media is passive consumer participation, Social Media is active consumer participation.

2)  Traditional Mass Media is one-way “one-to-many” communication, Social Media is two-way “one-to-one” communication.

3)  Traditional Mass Media targets isolated consumers, Social Media connects consumers who generate conversations and content.

4)  Traditional Mass Media is message-driven, Social Media is conversation-driven.

5)  Traditional Mass Media is built around perceived brand control, Social Media is built around shared control and humanizing transparency.

6)  Traditional Mass Media consists of a limited set of targeted channels, Social Media consists of a conceivably unlimited number of targeted channels.

7)  Traditional Mass Media impressions are fleeting with awareness subsiding after date of publication/broadcast, Social Media conversations and content are lasting and continually discoverable via search engines.

 Traditional Mass Media is brand-driven, Social Media is service and consumer-driven.

9)  Traditional Mass Media has limited reach with increasing cost as reach expands, Social Media offers unlimited reach and micro-targeting while investment remains relatively constant.

10)  Traditional Mass Media is a financial investment in paid channels and creative, Social Media is a social investment in people, conversation and user-generated content.

11) Traditional Mass Media carries varying levels of credibility and authenticity, Social Media is conveys a stronger sense of credibility and authenticity.

12)  Traditional Mass Media is like night, Social Media is like day.

While the above picture has been painted with a broad brush and is far from complete, I believe the progression of social media to date has proven these thoughts to be fundamentally true and are becoming truer by the day.  What will be your next move?

O refeitório social de Faro que fornece mais de meio milhar de refeições diárias aos mais pobres, foi encerrado recentemente pela Autoridade para a Segurança Alimentar e Económica (ASAE), mas a Santa Casa da Misericórdia lamenta o facto.

Num aviso afixado na porta do refeitório social da Santa Casa da Misericórdia na Baixa de Faro pode ler-se: “Atenção, lamentamos informar que por encerramento da ASAE, este refeitório social não tem possibilidade de servir refeições durante um período indeterminado”.

“É pena que não ponham as pessoas em primeiro lugar”, lamentou hoje, em declarações à Lusa, o provedor da Santa Casa da Misericórdia em Faro, Candeias Neto, explicando que a cozinha havia sido alvo de uma “desbaratização um dia antes da visita da ASAE ter encontrado algumas baratas mortas no chão” e ter dado ordem de encerramento.

Forrester Research today released its third annual social technographics profile of online adults around the world, and there’s only one possible conclusion: Social media is now in the mainstream – at least the consumption of social media.

Social technographics is Forrester’s lens through which it analyzes what people do with social media. Do they read it or look at it, do they create it, do they share it, or are they doing something else?

In the latest survey, 73% of all US adults are “spectators,” which means they read it, or look at it, at least once a month. Half of adults are “joiners,” which means they participate in a social network like Facebook. This is double the percentage from just two years ago.

Curiously, the number of people who regularly write blogs, upload video and music, or otherwise create content remains at 24%, compared to 18% in 2007. This does not disprove the importance of social media. To the contrary, it ratifies a hypothesis of Clay Shirky’s, which is that inside any collaborative effort, there is always a tiny group of people running the engine.

These findings echo the recent social technographic survey my association conducted on our members, Massachusetts physicians, around the same time that Forrester was in the field with its survey. Even among our members – median age around 50 – social media is a regular part of their existence.

Shel Holz wrote earlier today that NOW is the time to get into the online conversation with your communities. Couldn’t agree more.

But be careful. There is still much wisdom in the notion that you must start small, get it right, attract a following , and then grow.

As Shirky told the ASAE and the Center ’s annual meeting last week, it’s a lot easier to start small, get good and get bigger, than to start large, be bad at it, and then try to make it better.

I would add, it’s not only easier, but probably a lot faster, too.

This was brought up originally with Mark Stelzner’s blog post on the SHRM Conference and I have mention this about my criticism about SHRM that big organizations need to break down in sectors.  Last week made me realize this is coming true.

I was in an ASAE Consultants Meeting last week with Kevin Whorton, who is a Marketing Consultant for associations, and said that the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) conference attendance was down 25% from last year, which was not a big shock. The most stunning stat I heard from the meeting was that the specialty associations like biotechnology professionals, and of their ilk, have increase not only membership, but conference attendance the past year.  I wonder why is that?

I did not get a clear answer until I read an article about what else…newspaper columnists.  In the article, Greg Wyshynski (aka, Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports) argues that the era of a general sports columnists is gone and saying hello to niche reporting because of new media.  What does this have to with associations and most organizations?  Everything.

It used to be organizations had to rely on getting answers from big organizations like SHRM or the American Management Association (AMA), but since there is a variety of sectors people can select and with new and alternative media, the big organization might be losing its significance.  What people want from conferences is to get their answers for themselves and their industry.  So far, the big conferences like SHRM and ASAE have not embrace the change yet, in my opinion.  This might be a concern as well for the big companies as well such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, and others might have to change their ways.  So, how do big organizations like ASAE and SHRM embrace these changes?

The first thing organizations need to realize is no one owns everything.  The next step is organizations need to split up to industry sectors so people know where they can get their specific answers.  Each sector should have its own conference and tailored their events according to their industry.  Finally, if the big conferences like SHRM or ASAE want to make revenue, eliminate the conferences and conventions and start having a “Spring Break” for industry or profession organizations and just have a hug out for a week and show at the end of the day, they’re united no matter their subject matter.

In essence, the generalization of organizations are close to a thing of a past, but segmenting to industry-specific organizations will drive the future of organizations.  In the end, you get what you want and that is your answer.

There was a lot of buzz around #asae09 for ASAE’s annual conference in Toronto earlier this week. And by  buzz, I specifically meant Twitter. Here’s what I learned as a virtual attendee:

1. Twistening is fine for a virtual attendee, but the real involvement happens when you speak up. So many people at the conference were willing to chime in and offer their insights to those of us who weren’t there. Ask questions and you’ll get the answers.

2. Everyone should Twitter, as long as it’s relevant and worth my read. I would have liked to see more exhibitors tweeting. And not a hard sell…tell me why I should listen to you, offer me information and something to learn. I’d like to see exhibitor take the same approach to social media during exhibit hall hours that they do in the normal business day…that is, if they’re using social media correctly in the first place.

3. The bulk of my interaction did not come by way of an ASAE tweet. I learned more from the members themselves who were tweeting about sessions, the vibe, take-aways.

4. Tweet chats are fun, but I just can’t twype fast enough!

5. I reminded myself that we’re all new to this game. We’re all throwing something against a wall to see if it will stick. Some of us are doing that very well and are to be commended and held as example. Some of us are missing the point.

Thanks to everyone who taught me something during the conference –and still!– on Twitter and #asae09.

From AFP Blog…
Super Bowl of Conventions Under Way in Toronto
This post from AFP Blog talks about the American Society of Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership’s annual meeting and exposition. Dubbed the “Super Bowl of conventions”.

From Acronym…
Living through short-term pain
A fantastic article looking at the speech made by Fareed Zakaria at the ASAE closing general session and one of his final points; that “we have got to learn to impose short-term pain for long-term gain.”

From Frogloop…
Online Video: Why I’m a Believer
Changing gears, this post from Frogloop is written by a video convert. Shirley Sexton discusses her initial hesitance at jumping on the video bandwagon and what changed her mind!

With apologies to other bloggers for stealing this format idea …

1- The online annual meeting “hub” was a fabulous experiment. I always felt connected with everything going on. There’s lots to learn from this – starting with the value of keeping it simple on the surface, and hiding the complex technology underneath.

2- Twitter was the way to stay connected. But I found myself wanting the content to be aggregated into something more permanent and findable, so I could look at it later, without scrolling through screen after screen after screen. The next stage, perhaps?

3- Kudos also to ASAE for not letting the hub experiment get hijacked by worries that non-attendees would hijack content for free. ASAE took the long-term view, which is that it all adds great member value.

4- People really do get the strategic imperative of social media, but many remain intimidated by the chunks of time the tools seem to demand. This was especially true of those small-staff saints who have to do the HR, plan the meetings, take care of the board, work with the vendors, recruit the members, wash the dishes, and turn the lights off at the end of the day. The next step is to mainstream the productive tools that make social media as easy to use as a good cell phone.

5- The compelling connection of social media to business goals must be more powerfully articulated for the C-suite folks. The “ROI” questions are still getting squishy answers. “Engagement” is not a business metric. “Meeting registrations” are.

6- Advocacy and social media is the new field waiting to be plowed. Obama was elected partly because social media awoke and energized a dormant base. His opponents in health care reform are now using both social media and talk radio to energize and organize themselves. But are social media platforms effective for influencing the undecided middle? I doubt it. Maybe other media channels remain better suited to that task.

7- Social media is transformational, but we can’t forget the rest of the marketing/communications toolbox. One of the sessions I attended was about the defining and messaging your association’s unique value proposition. Another was about engaging and nurturing a vibrant volunteer community. These are the kind of fundamentals that determine whether an association is relevant, and we can’t take our eyes off them.

8- Some people still don’t know how to do a presentation. One session I attended had two guys sitting behind a table talking for 80 minutes flat, rambling on about a report that we could all read on our own. Discussion, dialog, and debate? Not there. I literally dozed off for a spell!

9- Long live face to face meetings! That’s where the bonds of trust become ironclad.

10- I really have to get my staff to more of these things.

11- Connecting people has become one of my favorite things to do. One of my most fulfilling moments was to introduce a friend from the council on which I serve to a vendor/good guy, and then watch their conversation open new business possibilities for each.

12- Volunteer – NOW! Serving on the communications section council for the past two years focuses my thinking, brings themes into much sharper relief, and takes the meet-and-learn benefits of any conference to an entirely different plane. It’s the difference between watching a ballgame and playing it.

13- Seeing and admiring the great work of ASAE staff gives me a good sense of how our own members feel about our staff.

14- I’m truly ready to go home, but it would have been nice to catch the Sox here at Skydome/Rogers Centre. Guess I’ll have to settle for my seats for the Sox-Yankees at Fenway this Friday … !

Here is the ugly truth about American soccer. It is something kids DO, not who they are. Yet many soccer clubs and tournaments focus their marketing and message around the assumption that soccer is central to the players lives and that everything else is ancillary or inconsequential.

The ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) produced the video below for their annual meeting just this past weekend. (It runs a little long, the movie beats you up a little with the message, but pay attention to the subtitles. They are really small, but perhaps the most important part of the whole piece.)

I get it; trade associations connect people together and that was the obvious point. But, the not so obvious point is that all these people who are working at trade associations during the day are spending their nights and weekends with their true passion; music.

We have seen this kind of thing before, but usually the talent is mediocre. But, these folks are darn good! The ASAE not only had the criterion of involving their members, but that the member had to have a high level of skill, proficiency and passion. Brilliant!

What does a harmonica have to do with biodiesel? Nothing except for Joe Jobe. Or a guitar with concrete or paint? For Joe Vickers and Phil Bour, the combination make perfect sense. Railroads and drum kits? Michael Fore makes it work. He probably taps out routines on his desk, driving his co-workers crazy. And there is no hiding the rapture Mike Skiados (ASAE) feels when he plays his guitar.

The Disney movie High School Musical (HSM) was a similar deafening intervention cry from kids, yet few adults paid attention to the underlying message, mostly dismissing it as bubble-gum entertainment. But the kids got it and that is what made the movie “stick.”

Social Media like Facebook gets this concept by allowing members to establish a core identity and then add interests and groups to them. More specialized sites like Meet the Boss, various Ning sites and sites like WePlay.com don’t. Neither do “gardens of brands” like Skittles or Ford. In their world, there is no room for “other interests” and no way to connect the person with them. (As an aside, the WSJ had an interesting article on fans. Worth a read… after you are done with this post and have commented/tweeted, of course.)

Anyone who doesn’t know me is surprised that among my passionate interests are newspapers, old typewriters, literature, photography, coffee, typography, dogs and harmonicas. Computers and soccer come in almost last on the list. Internet is the way I make a living and it is imperative I am knowledgeable and skilled in it, but it is not my passion. In their world, I develop Web-based properties therefore I must be a geek and only care about the latest technology. Sorry. Technology is a tool; no more, no less.

For sports organizations, the random connections that social media reveals is like gold. How many times have you approached a large brand for a sponsorship and gotten, “What does our brand/product have to do with soccer?” If you dig deeper into the social media networks like Facebook, you may well have a stronger answer. Your model is HSM and the ASAE video.

Our advice: Find the connections. The more random and strange, the better. Watch the touchlines and the space between games more intently than the games themselves at your next tournament. What are the kids doing? What are their parents doing? How many questions do your get about a particular topic? Why? Ask questions, observe behaviors. Your next sponsor may be in the non-soccer parts of the game that your sponsor’s target audience is most passionate about.

Note: This post was originally intended for just TourneyCentral, but because the medium here is also the message, we posted this on almost every brand we own. Dogs and soccer? Coffee and soccer? Marketing and soccer? Yeah, it all fits when you start looking hard enough. And, thank you Cindy Butts for the inspiration.

This list is only for quick reference – please visit Association websites for current event listings.

Have other Networking Opportunities? – email me or make a comment below.

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THENETWORKGIRL Recommended HOT EVENTS

October 1, the association I chair IAEE NCC is hosting an educational program: Marketing Strategies: Industry Best Practices.

We have a great group of speakers; Jeff Chase – Founder & President – Immersa Marketing, Eve Schmitt – Global Travel Manager – VMWare, Steve Van Dorn – President & CEO – Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce and Convention-Visitors Bureau and Miki Cohen – President – Western States Horse Expo, and Pat Zollman, CMP – Senior Director, Global Accounts – HelmsBriscoe.

Topics: Rebuild and rebrand your event – Driving attendance to your event with creativity – Booth sales – lose a little bottom line just this one year to prove your strength and commitment – Retaining sponsorship dollars by eliminating manpower barriers – Creating value – for the meeting, client etc.- Driving Sales and generating revenue – ROI etc. – Doing more with less – social networking, multiple year bookings with rebates etc. marketing thru Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. -Negotiating trade agreements with advertisers, clients and other partners instead of cash. -Substantial discounts when meeting on need periods -Inviting clients to intimate gatherings to showcase venue, food quality and service. -Making personal visits to our client’s place of business -Website enhancements: virtual tours and making sure all printed documents are online -Providing excellent customer service and continued education to staff on industry trends.

Registration: Cost $25

http://iaeenccmarketingstrategies.eventbrite.com/

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October 7th – Green Meetings – Making it Real Educational Conference Presented by Green Meetings Industry Council of Northern California and Inn Marin. This half-day educational conference features a Keynote on Corporate Social Responsibility, two informational panels, a reception and mini trade show.

DATE: October 7, 2009 | 2:30 pm to 6:30pm

LOCATION: Inn Marin | 250 Entrada Drive | Novato, CA 94949

FREE – Register Here: http://ncal.meetingsmags.com/article/educational-conference-green-meetings-making-it-real

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American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)
NCN section of ASAE’s web site

ASAE now has more than 22,000 association CEOs, staff professionals, industry partners, and consultant members. (I have been asked to be on this year’s board)

ASAE NorCal Network event scheduled for Nov. 4 – Secrets of Successful CAEs Here’s the link with info. Note that “CAEs” refers to Certified Association

Bay Area Business Travel Association (BABTA) http://www.babta.org

Membership consists of travel managers, as well as suppliers and vendors from airline, car rental, hospitality and other travel-related industries.

September 23 Joint SVBTA / BABTA meeting

Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI)

http://www.hsmainc.com

Leading source for sales and marketing information for professionals in tourism, travel, and hospitality.

July 20 / September 28 / October 26 / November 16

International Association of Exhibition and Events (IAEE NCC) http://iaeencc.com/ (I am the chair of the northern California chapter)

Represent the interests of tradeshow and exposition managers. Represents over 8,500 individuals who conduct and support exhibitions around the world.

August 27th / October 1

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) http://www.mpincc.org

Hold positions in Bay Area corporations, hotels and resorts, meeting management firms, and with meetings industry suppliers.

August 27 Education Program, Westin St. Francis / September 23 / October 28 / November 10

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) www.pcma.org/Chapters/Northern_California.htm

PCMA represents approximately 6,000 meeting industry leaders including planner professionals, suppliers, faculty and students.

September 17, 11:30am / October 29 – Joint MPI, IAEE, PCMA Mixer / November 19

Silicon Valley Business Travel Association (SVBTA) http://www.svbta.org/

Membership is an assemblage of travel managers and vendors in all phases of their careers.

July 23 / September 23 / October 8 / November 11

Society Government Meeting Planners (SGMP)
http://www.sgmpsf.org

August 20 / September 24 / October 22 / November 19