Despite All the Buzz About Web 2.0, No Best Practices are Emerging: Does it Really Matter?

There’s been a lot of talk over the last two years about what Web 2.0 means for association communication, but no clear winner seems to have emerged as the best practice or industry standard for doing so. Just as my wife’s virtual Facebook community hasn’t decided whether “Happy Aquarium” is superior to “Farmville,” I’m not all that worried about which Web 2.0 standard is best for association communication. They all have their merits—and deficiencies—but overall, Web 2.0 is getting people with common interests together like never before.

Sure, there’s a lot of noise about the latest “app” or the hottest social media tool of the moment but, taking a step back, it seems associations and their members are connecting with a level of speed, relevancy and urgency that I’ve never seen in my 15 years in the industry. And when I say connecting, it’s not just between the association and its members; it’s member-to-member communication and member-to-supplier communication.

As my colleague Chris Caldwell notes in today’s issue, it’s just a faster, more competitive world from a communication and information standpoint, but ultimately it’s a win-win for all of us.

Almost two years ago at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)’s Annual Meeting and Expo, the buzz was all about “Web 2.0.” Every 2.0 session I attended was standing room only. I talked to lots of attendees to gauge the kinds of questions they had and the problems they were seeking to solve. The most common responses were along the lines of, “What should our ‘new’ Web presence look like?” or “How do we better engage the members?” or “How does this play into our overall communication strategy?”

Fast forward to today. The fog has lifted a little, but most association approaches to Web 2.0 seem to fall under one of two strategies. The first is, “Let’s throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.” The second is, “Let’s wait and see what sticks with others and then do that.”

Reckless abandon or passive-aggressive? Pick your poison, but eventually either one will catch up to you with adverse effects. You need a real plan—and doing nothing is not an option.

At a recent roundtable we hosted of association executives from half a dozen industries, many panelists lamented the fact that Web-based communication options are evolving so quickly they can’t possibly keep up, much less do all the testing and experimenting required to meet their members’ and boards’ expectations. “Our biggest competition right now is time,” said one panelist.

As my colleague Marcus Underwood points out in today’s issue, a lot of associations are engaging in Web 2.0 because they feel they must. In other words, they feel pressured to show members, prospective members and their boards that they’re on the tech bandwagon and can attract the next generation of business leaders. But engaging in a Web 2.0 initiative without a clear strategy can be a tremendous waste of the organization’s time and energy.

In the March issue of Association Adviser enews, findings were highlighted from a survey that was conducted among more than 200 association executives. The results indicated that 80 percent of the participants were interested in “better understanding their members’ interest and use of social media” and 81 percent wanted to do a better job of “understanding where their members went for information (print, electronic, etc.).”

I’m encouraged that they want to do better. I’m scared that so many don’t seem to have a game plan.

The following “Breaking News” items are actual “Tweets” or Facebook updates posted recently by the association community.

• Amsterdam bound next week!
• Found lost items at registration desk on Level 2
• We hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather!
• I found Mark’s wallet

Not exactly stuff on my must-read list!

I am not opposed to (and even enjoy) status updates on friends—where they are going to eat, how their knee is feeling after softball or making sure everyone in their circle knows they are “Thanking God That It’s Friday today!” This is fine for the “social” aspect of social media, but not for the business aspect.

Another guest at the recent Naylor association executive roundtable told me her organization is introducing a program to help members develop separate Facebook accounts for personal and business use. “My momma always told me never to mix my business and personal life, and boy was she right,” shared another panelist. Definitely a step in the right direction.

Over the last year, my focus has been on social media’s impact as a complement to an association’s overall communication strategy.

As Naylor provides custom communication solutions to more than 500 associations, we must have an opinion and a solution about all key aspects of association communication. It’s easy for companies to become obsessed with a new initiative and then not follow it through. This is a trap we did not want to succumb to, so as all market leaders do, when we have an opinion we test it out internally, then get customer and marketplace feedback and make any necessary course corrections. And then keep tweaking it.

For example, a few weeks ago we invited association executives from half a dozen industries nationwide to visit our Gainesville, Fla. headquarters to discuss the current state of association communications, building a communication brand and cutting through the communication clutter in the marketplace. Our goals were to get our clients talking more about their experiences, to learn from the feedback, to test our solutions on live customers and to make any necessary adjustments to our strategies ASAP. We framed the meeting with a series of top-line discussion topics that we sent to our guests in advance of the meeting. To get the creative juices flowing further, we invited them to arrive the afternoon prior to the meeting so they could tour our facilities and then get to know us and their fellow panelists better over a relaxing dinner. This is an approach you may want to consider if you’re planning to host a roundtable discussion including key members, industry advocates or other stakeholders.

Examples of discussion topics were:

“What are your observations on the world of social media and the role it plays in your communication program?”

“If money or budget were not a factor, what investment, change or initiative would you make to your association or department?”

“How approachable is your senior management team and/or board of directors to changes in how you communicate with your members? Has their opinion changed significantly in the past few years?”

“How do you identify the right media mix with your communication program?”

Next month we’ll dive deeper into our clients’ responses and our subsequent conclusions. But I’ll leave you with this: Your communication solution today will be stale tomorrow unless you adopt an integrated approach that includes Web 2.0. Relying solely on “Print + Online + Events” won’t cut it much longer. The association communication environment is evolving at lightning speed. Adapting to change is an important first step, but it’s critical to think carefully about how you integrate change into your overall communication strategy—and how quickly your organization learns from any early stumbles you may make.

By the way, my wife wanted me to ask all Facebook users if anyone wants to be her neighbor in “Happy Aquarium.” She also is looking for a new fence in “Farmville.”

Charles Popper is Naylor’s vice president of association relations. He has more than 15 years of business-to-business and consumer publishing experience.