Ways to help your healthcare association’s members through an online community

In a booming industry like healthcare, providing an online member community can offer the knowledge, inspiration, and resources your association’s members need to stay connected and informed. 

The healthcare industry may be growing fast, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t face challenges. Your members look to your healthcare industry association to provide the encouragement and resources they need to survive and thrive. Providing a vibrant online community is an easy way to support your members throughout year after year of twists and turns in the industry. 

Five ways to help your healthcare industry association’s members with an online member community

In a fast-growing industry like healthcare where things change quickly, offering an online community allows your members to connect with each other, share ideas, and access timely industry content. While your online community can take on a life of its own, with members actively communicating and sharing with each other, you can help your online community to go even further with a few simple, yet impactful approaches. 

TIP: YourMembership association management software (AMS) includes online community functionality to help you easily build a thriving online member community. 

Here are five ways you can take your online community to the next level to support your healthcare association’s members: 

1. Make your community THE place for association and industry content.

House important association documents and industry content in your online community to give your members a one-stop place to stay in-the-know about what’s going on in their healthcare industry. Some types of content to post might include: 

• Publications for members 
• New reports on healthcare industry best practices 
• Articles from healthcare industry leaders about new procedures and treatments 

Giving your members access to this type of information will keep your members returning to your online community to access information they can’t easily get anywhere else. It will also help to make them feel more a part of the community and build conversations around your association’s content.  

2. Set up discussion groups.

Create discussion groups in your online community to help your members work through challenges and help each other. For example, start a new member group in which new members can get to know each other and you can share helpful information and participate in discussions with them. This is especially helpful for people who are new to the healthcare industry and need orientation, encouragement, and answers to questions.

Another example: Set up groups based on hot topics in the industry. Members who face similar challenges can work together in your community to share ideas and support each other through these discussion groups. 

TIP: YourMembership AMS allows you to set up groups in your online community so members can easily network and share ideas with each other. 

3. Suggest useful connections.

Use your online community to promote one-to-one connections and opportunities to network – based on details you collect through the platform. For example, suggest connections between members who are interested in a particular issue facing the healthcare industry. They’ll feel more connected and more motivated to remain a part of the member community.  

TIP: YourMembership online community functionality allows you to automatically make suggested connections based on members’ similar interests. 

4. Help committees work more efficiently.

You can use your online community to help your association’s committees work more efficiently. For example, set up exclusive groups for each of your committees to make it easy for committee members to connect with others on the committee, make decisions, and provide updates to each other and your organization.

5. Promote helpful member benefits.

Use your online community’s announcements area to draw attention to important resources, such as new educational courses and the latest continuing education credit opportunities. You can also highlight new job opportunities from your online career center through your online member community.

This approach helps to remind members of the helpful benefits your association provides. It also encourages members to keep returning to your online community to make sure they don’t miss out on valuable benefits that can help them grow professionally.  

TIP: By using the “Quick Announcement” area in YourMembership’s online community functionality, you can improve visibility of your latest news, campaigns, and other timely information, ensuring your members are the first to be in-the-know.
 

Learn more.
Discover more about how your small association can make a big impact on the healthcare industry. Read the guide, Two Simple Ways Your Healthcare Association Can Do More to Support Your Booming Industry.  

By Kyela Bishop, YourMembership Marketing Coordinator, Community Brands