Association Communications that Cut Through the Clutter
It’s way too easy for communications today to consume our members rather than serve them. Even when your association’s content is relevant and timely, it has to compete with a news and media landscape that feels like non-stop noise.
It’s no surprise then that 55% of association professionals surveyed for the 2024 Association Benchmarking Report said that their members are too busy to engage on a regular basis. At the same time, just under half (49.3%) said information overload and cutting through the clutter are the biggest challenge their association faces.
The overwhelm that members face can lead to distraction and an unfocused approach to work and membership that inhibits their ability to think deeply and connect meaningfully.
All is not lost though. Associations that take a thoughtful and intentional approach to their communications can rise above by proving to be a consistent, trusted source worthy of members’ time and attention.
Consider the following strategies:
- Implement a strategic communication plan: Are all your departments working together to follow a comprehensive plan? Any strategic plan has to be an organization-wide effort – it’s not just for your marketing and communications team while others are left to their own devices. It should outline the frequency, channels, and content types that meet members’ needs and preferences, and it needs to align with the association’s larger goals and priorities to ensure those initiatives are kept front and center.
- Understand your audiences: Your membership is not one-size-fits-all. While there will be messaging that resonates across your broader base, every association also has unmet opportunities to customize communications based on demographics and behaviors. The payoff for making sure your messaging meets your members where they are is huge.
- Monitor engagement metrics: Data can be amazingly helpful in identifying what’s working and what’s not. Regularly analyze open rates, click-through rates, and other engagement metrics. Use the information you likely already have at your fingertips to help optimize your strategy where you can based on these insights.
- Offer communication preferences: Where you can, give members the option to create their own communications adventure with your association. Allow them to choose their preferred channels and frequency. This can empower members to control the flow of information they receive so they’re more likely to engage.
- Leverage automation and AI: Many of these tools can help associations personalize content and delivery times down to the individual member. This can help optimize communication frequency without overwhelming already tight staff resources.
- Get regular feedback: Periodically survey members through both formal and informal ways to gather feedback on communication preferences, especially as they may change over time. Have conversations and ask questions (which will many times add important context to all that data we already discussed) so you can more deeply understand what your members need and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Consolidate and reiterate information: Consider combining multiple, more comprehensive updates into a single, pared down weekly or monthly digest. These quick recaps can keep important updates top of mind for members and give them the opportunity to revisit content that they weren’t able to spend time with previously.
- Prioritize critical communications: Establish a well-understood and agreed-upon hierarchy for different types of communications within your association so critical updates rise to top. This will help ensure that essential information is delivered promptly while less urgent updates are spaced out appropriately.
It is possible for associations to strike what feels like a sometimes fragile balance between keeping members informed and engaged through their communications without adding to feelings of excess and overwhelm.
Be consistent, be purposeful, and take members’ needs and preferences into consideration when you create messaging and make decisions. Those foundational aims will make sure your association’s voice can be heard and stands out from the crowd.
