Association Leadership - July/August 2016 - (Page 8)

60-SECOnD SOLuTIOnS ❯❯ QuIck InformatIon You can use NOW ❯❯ 5 EASY CONTENT HACkS fOR YOUR ASSOCIATION WEBSITE Content is king on your association website. If that's true, how do we keep content churning online for your organization? How do we make sure search engines find you relevant and your members find you indispensable? If you're a large organization with a content team, you may have a handle on this, but if you're a strapping smaller staffed organization who wants some ideas on how to publish great content fast, check out this list of five great ways to creatively re-purpose existing content and/or re-think where your content can come from. The effect? Dazzle your members instantly! 1. SHARE PHOTOS Maybe you dust off some pictures of members at an event from a few years ago. Maybe even from waaaay back. Anybody heard of Throwback Thursday? An easy blog post each month and a fun way to acknowledge and entertain members. Wait... you do have a blog, right? 2. CREATE AN fAQ There are no doubt membership staff with a list of the most popular questions members ask headquarters. Can you put a funny spin on them? Or maybe even make a funny video? It could be a blog post (maybe you do top three questions asked this month) or a page on your website. Great for search engine optimization as well! 3. LOvE A LIST People love to read lists. Maybe a list of the top resources for your industry. Yes, outside of your organization. Providing value to your members is your job after all, right? Use a number in your title (like we did here) and see how creative you can get. Last five people to follow us on Twitter? Three easy ways to register for your next event? Seven reasons to join your organization? Top 10 industry influencers to follow on Facebook? Yep, any of those would work. Now think of some more. 4. TOOLS Of THE TRADE Some of the most popular articles on the web involve life or work hacks. Ask a few members what tools they use to get their jobs done every day. Write a blog post about it. Rinse. Repeat. 5. GATHER THE GOODIES Maybe it's a compilation of tweets related to your last event. Or the best white papers in your industry for last year. Or a cool infographic from another website. Or some great SlideShare posts created by members. With just a little ingenuity you can gather content from other sources and create a multitude of content items. Also, keep in mind image repositories like Flickr have Creative Commons licenses on many of their images so you can use them for free in many cases. (Source: http://blog.vtcus.com/5-easy-content-hacks-for-yourassociation-website) ❯❯ ENGAGING THE UNENGAGED Who wants extra work on their plate? Who wants to spend "free time" on a project that seemingly has nothing to do with their regular job function? Or even worse, who wants to step outside of their comfort zone and work on something that highlights their professional weaknesses? Did you raise your hand? Not likely, as human nature is to stay in the comfort zone. With my position of Corporate Program Manager, it falls within my role to seek out volunteers or occasionally assign different people small projects that support the overall office. When I need to e-mail or visit with staff to ask for assistance, I 8 July/August 2016/Association LEADERSHIP may hear the same *boo* and *hisses* you hear when a call for volunteers goes out to association members: Whether it's staff or association volunteers, the typical response is: "I'm swamped and don't have extra time." "That's really not my strong point." "I have NO idea where to start since I don't have experience." Here are some solutions to overcome this universal challenge: OvERCOME THE "TIME" ARGUMENT. Ensure you provide clear expectations on the actual project, http://blog.vtcus.com/5-easy-content-hacks-for-your-association-website

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - July/August 2016

Homepage
60-Second Solutions
Quick Takes
Introducing the 2016-2017 TSAE Board Chairman
Meet TSAE’s Newest Board Members
6 Signs That It’s Time for an Organizational Check-Up
Project Management 101 – Where to Begin?!
Inaugural TSA Open a Big Hit!
Meetings Thought Leadership
Destination Planner: Lubbock
New Members
Index to Advertisers
Work Smarter

Association Leadership - July/August 2016