Feature Articles

Developing a cult-like following through social media seems so simple. Many organizations set up an account on every popular site and then a week later when they don’t become an overnight sensation they decide too much time has been wasted and they focus their efforts elsewhere.

Sure, it is possible to become an overnight sensation, but much of that devout worship and multi-thousand hit videos involve someone’s most embarrassing moment. So how do you make a serious attempt at attracting followers and thus gaining more members?

Go where your audience is. If you are a professional fraternity, you want to have a presence where people from your industry are. Maybe MySpace is not the place. LinkedIn may be a better fit. Figure out where your audience is and go there. Link back to your website.

Big audience means more followers. Give the public sites their due. There are a lot of people there. Cast a net that way and see what you come up with. Link back to your website.

Blog. Whether it’s micro- or maxi-blogging (is that the opposite of micro?), blogs are a great way to give your organization a voice. Use one that works with your audience. Don’t spend every entry telling people why they should join you. Provide such vital information that they feel they must become a member.

Give it time. This should really be the first point. You don’t plant a garden. You plant seeds that grow into a garden. No garden has ever gone from seedling to sow-able overnight. Your efforts are going to be work and will take time. If they don’t, it’s not genius. It’s a fluke.

Post pictures. The most common social media activity is uploading and viewing pictures. Make sure your organization is portrayed in fun, vivid ways through multimedia.

Connect. Whether it’s visiting your members’ blogs, linking to them or commenting on them – show prospective members that you are about community. The cool kids don’t become that way by telling people they’re cool. They’re off having fun and making friends and everyone else labels them as cool.

Answer questions/be helpful. Hang out on sites like LinkedIn where others in your industry can ask questions. Jump in and answer a few not as a plug for your group but merely to be helpful. Start conversations. Get labeled (by the site not by yourself) an expert. Become a go-to person.

Dedicate the time. Akin to Give it Time, since cultivating a social presence will take time, you need to make time to attend to it. If others are out there posing questions, you need to take the time to answer them. You are not a bird sitting on your business waiting for it to hatch. Social media requires active participation. It’s 24-hours a day (not to say that you need to be on that long, just know that things can occur on the Web at four in the morning just as easily as they can at 8:30 a.m.).

Tools are great. Since social media requires a large time investment, make sure you have the most effective tools in which to launch your foray. YourMembership.com provides a robust content management system as well as social networking features. Content is bait. It drives search engines; it motivates people to become members; it convinces members to renew memberships, so make sure you are providing worthwhile content. Provide industry news, continuing education requirement information (if applicable), anything your members will value. Quiz them with interactive offerings to keep them coming back to your site.

These ideas for increasing your connections and thus gaining more members require time and energy. They will eventually pay off as long as you tend to these with the same dedication and attention to detail that you do your job. Be consistent. Set up a schedule. Make it part of your routine. Once you’ve committed to your social media activities, publicize them. Place your web address and profile information in your email signature. Let everyone know what sites you’re on by placing icons on your main site. Tell everyone but if you find you can’t commit to consistently providing content and forging relationships, you may just want to sit on the sidelines a little while longer and let everyone else have fun playing the game.