Last week, we set aside our Christmas shopping and cookie baking, and Erin Sullivan, VP of Marketing at Personify, and Ashly Stewart, Marketing Manager at Personify led a fun, forward-looking discussion about the top association tech trends the experts and data are saying will make a major impact in 2023.

During the webinar, we dove into the seven association tech trends that members will benefit from and association staff will find useful. But these trends and conversations stood out as tech tools and strategies that are already on association and nonprofit professionals’ minds.

Here are the highlights & most talked-about trends for 2023

1. Recession predictions & preparations

Even though we’re being intentional about looking ahead to the new year, it would be a mistake to think we can predict if, when or how a recession will hit. Still, last year taught us to be prepared for anything, and it’s widely accepted that there will be some disruption to the economy, even if experts disagree on the scale and severity.

During difficult times for your members, it’s important to go directly to them and ask what they need, make it easy for people to ask for and receive help and offer programs and services that align with your members’ biggest recession needs, if possible.

Here are a few ideas we talked about:

• Create a survey to send to members to ask them what kind of help they need. It could be assistance in paying for bills or groceries, finding more ways to connect with other members or help finding a job. Send and post this survey across all your major channels (emails, social, website, etc.) to gather the most responses.
• Make it easy to sign up for help or donate goods or services through special email campaigns, an easy-to-spot “Donate Now” button on your website, social platforms and your online community.
• Offer support groups using discussion forums in your online community and organize them based on what people need most.
• Consider starting a job board or sending out a weekly newsletter with new jobs and learning opportunities offered by your community.

2. Member-empowering technology

When we talk about “member-empowering” technology, we’re talking about tech that gives members ownership of their member experience. In the past, many members were content to show up to association events, fundraisers, programs, etc.

And even though you still have member types who enjoy that type of participation with your organization, one of the defining characteristics of the modern member is a high level of engagement and ability to shape their journey with your mission.

To that end, we talked about how tech solutions like online communities and learning management systems are giving members the power to make connections with other members, take learning courses and workshops, job hunt and more on their terms.

From an attendee: A webinar attendee also asked a good question about the role of social media in their association’s efforts since their members have said that’s their favorite way to interact with the mission and other members.

We talked about how it would be a mistake to ignore members if they have spoken and made it clear that’s their preferred communication and connection channel is social. So we talked about the importance of giving members what they wanted while also ensuring they’re protected from data hacks and social media takeovers that can make it difficult for organizations to run their profiles they want to run them.

The overall recommendation was to maintain your organization’s website, but put your social channels front-and-center with social icons and even social plug-ins that give a preview of your social profiles. You can also find ways to have your website and online communities to mirror the look and feel of your members’ favorite channels by adding elements like Newsfeeds, posts and more to give a similar experience to what your members enjoy seeing and using.

3. The new event VIPs

The association world is thrilled to be getting back to in-person events! And as our first in-person events in a couple of years are launched, the industry has been keeping a close pulse on how event attendees have evolved and how our event experiences should evolve as well.

One of the biggest event trends we’re seeing seems to be a result of the pandemic, though we were seeing the start of it before 2022 — and that’s the rise of young event attendees.

The data seems to show that as remote work became the norm over the past couple of years and The Great Resignation gripped the workforce, young professionals turned to associations and their events as a place to connect, network, learn from peers and experts and find new job opportunities in lieu of a more traditional office setting and culture.

For our new event VIPs, the key will the curating event experiences for them. Traditional event attendees liked to wander the event floors, whereas young members and attendees prefer to have the Netflix-like experience, which can look like sessions recommended to them based on their member profiles, event activations that align with their interests and values and the ease of event mobile apps to have agendas, reminders and more delivered straight to their devices.

Want more 2023 association trends?

If you missed the webinar last week, we got you covered! Click on the button below to access and enjoy the webinar recording, and please reach out if you have any follow-up questions or thoughts.

The post Webinar Recap: The Top Association Tech Trends for 2023 appeared first on Personify.

By: Ashly Stewart, Content Marketing Manager

We know that we still have over a month before the new year, but we couldn’t help but break out our crystal ball and sneak a peek into the top association trends of 2022.

While the future is still being written, here are a few trends that are already starting to influence the way association leaders approach growing their membership, building community safely, and generating revenue in creative ways. 

The top 4 association trends of 2022

1. Non-dues revenue brings its fair share of challenges — and results 

2021 proved to be a challenging year for generating revenue. With events being canceled or some associations going virtual and seeing lower attendance, non-dues revenue looked like a promising path for organizational growth.  

In a recent report, however, only 25% of respondents saw improvement in non-dues revenue generation in 2021, and almost half feel their inability to generate non-dues revenue from their communication channels is a serious or significant challenge. 

Many experts attribute this lack of confidence in securing non-dues revenue to the significant cultural shift that has to occur in organizations in order to get a good stream of non-dues revenue flowing. It takes good data, a knowledge of your member channels, and knowing how to best use your resources to make it work.  

But it is working for some. After taking a hard look at where their members and partners enjoy spending their time and are most apt to show support, associations have turned to digital sponsorships, job boards, and on-demand content. In offering these new ways to connect, find new opportunities, and learn more about the things they care about, associations can add more value to their members and grow their organizations in creative ways.  

In 2022, associations will continue to experiment with non-dues revenue based on their experiences last year, and others will continue to expand their non-dues revenue streams. 

2. In-person events are back, and safety protocols are a must 

Back in July 2021, 76% of meeting planners had already determined that their next event would be in-person. Granted, the Delta variant and varied mask mandates and vaccine policies have shifted a few things, but data like this proves that the desire for in-person events is strong. And for Personify and associations we serve, we believe that if there’s a will, there’s a safe way. 

Here are some trusted resources and ideas to consider as you implement the best safety policies for your in-person events:   

Trusted COVID-19 resources for U.S. events  

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  
• COVID ActNow – A map of COVID risk assessment per state based on vaccination stats  
• Department of Health sites for each state  

Trusted COVID-19 resources for international events  

• The World Health Organization (WHO)  
• The CDC map of Risk Assessment Level for COVID-19 

Maybe the most important thing to keep in mind for safe and successful events in 2022 and beyond is to take your research and your best ideas to your members. If you’re weighing the type of event you’d like to host, the size of the event, the event activities, etc. survey your members to gauge their levels of comfort and interest. 

3. Associations continue to build communities online 

Even though online communities have been steadily rising in popularity over the past years, they have been viewed by many in the association world as a “nice-to-have” digital space, mainly for younger members, and managed by staff…whenever they get a “spare minute.”  

But as we were forced to socially distance and our favorite events were canceled or delayed last year, online communities became a lifeline for associations and members to connect in meaningful ways. So what do association online communities look like in 2022?  

• Online communities become a hub for learning and tutorials. Whether an association wants to offer casual tutorials or more formal webinars and workshops, online communities will be THE place to promote learning opportunities, easy sign-ups, and discussion groups that allow members to learn from each other in new ways. 

• Online communities become a place for member appreciation. From monthly member spotlights to member appreciation forums, communities will become a positive place for members to give and receive some praise.  

• Online communities become an extension of in-person and hybrid events. Associations can increase event attendance by creating early access to events in the month (or months) leading up to an event. You can also use your online community to enable members to stay connected with others members after the event is over to increase member engagement.  

4. Crisis management evolves into an agility approach  

While many of us found it difficult to survive parts of 2022, many associations saw the need to start resiliency planning — a good response to a global pandemic that no one was prepared for. As we move past 2021, associations will be refining their crisis management plans as they have time to reflect on what worked and what could be improved on when it comes to their approach to change.  

We’ve seen associations take on a more entrepreneurial mindset when it comes to their staffing, processes, technology, and approach to growing their membership and revenue. Much of these more innovative approaches come down to creating cultures of agility that better allow associations to respond quickly and thoughtfully to change – whether that comes from the wider economy, member feedback, board requests, and more.  

See what else the crystal ball has to say about association trends in 2022

This post is just a peek into the biggest trends we’ll see changing the way associations and nonprofits serve their members, build community, plan events, and grow their organizations.  

Register for the webinar on Thursday, December 2, at 12:30 ET to hear from Wes Trochlil, President of Effective Database Management, and Erin Sullivan, Director of Marketing at Personify, as they reveal the top association trends for 2022 and talk about what they mean for your organization.  

The post Get a Sneak Peek of the Top Association Trends of 2022 appeared first on Personify.