How to turn your members events into great member experiences

3 strategies for associations to elevate the event experience for your members.

Events and conferences are one of the largest sources of non-dues revenue for associations. Learn how to enhance and elevate the event experience for your members.

Events and conferences are powerful tools for associations. In fact, in the Community Brands benchmark report on small staff associations, 83 percent of respondents said that events were their number one source of non-dues revenue.

Given their importance to the bottom line, your events and conferences need to delight your members and attendees from start to finish.

Here are three ways to take your member events to the next level:

1. Think “micro”.

Microsites are standalone web pages that live outside of your organization’s primary website. An event microsite may be a dynamic single page or multiple interactive sections. Its power is derived from its tight focus. The key feature of an event microsite is that it is event-specific and doesn’t hold the broader objectives of your association’s website.

Here are a few benefits a microsite can bring to your events:

• Clearer Message — It’s easier to focus your message or value proposition for your event when it is separated from the unrelated content on your association’s website. Visitors see exactly what they’re looking for without having to search.
• Targeted Email Integration — You can leverage your email campaigns by integrating a microsite.  An event microsite provides a landing spot for campaigns where you can direct people for the information they need. You can also track performance, giving you valuable insight into the effectiveness of your overall promotional efforts for your event.
• Enhanced Search Engine Optimization — A unique URL for your event using relevant keywords, coupled with a site that is highly focused around your event, will perform better in search engines. Members and prospective members will be able to find your event more easily.

TIP: YourMembership offers design services that can help you supercharge your association’s events with microsites.

2. Get (a little) pushy with mobile.

While you’ll likely use traditional event promotions such as email campaigns and social media promotions, take it a step further using a mobile app. Here are a few examples of how you can use push notifications to get the word out about your event and make it easier for members to register:

• With one click, you can promote registration for an upcoming event through a push notification to members. When an event is promoted, a corresponding post within your members’ “main feed” in your online community gives them basic information about the event (name, date, location, etc.).
• Your members can access an event registration button, which registers each of them directly from the app.
• Within the event promotion post, members can view other members who have already registered for the event. They can also encourage their associates to register, if they have not already done so.

3. Engage via mobile.

An event mobile event app also is the perfect companion for today’s mobile audience, and the most powerful asset for delivering a truly captivating, memorable, and engaging on-site event experience. An app puts everything attendees need right in the palm of their hands.

An event app can help you engage with your attendees by:

• Allowing them to easily access event details, including the schedule, educational sessions, venue maps, etc. on their mobile devices.
• Keeping your attendees in-the-know with any updates through push notifications either to everyone, or to select groups.
• Giving attendees an easy way to give feedback via surveys after a keynote, an individual session, or the entire event/conference.
• Allowing attendees to network through in-app messaging, activity feed, photo gallery, and more.

Want to learn more?

Elevate the event experience with YourMembership’s mobile event app.

By Kyela Bishop, YourMembership Marketing Coordinator, Community Brands