Thank you to Amith Nagajaran, CEO of Aptify, for this guest post, which also appeared on SocialFish. Check out their new community platform at www.associationsuccess.org. More on that soon!
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Associations should Give more upfront access to Get more longterm meaning
If you’ve been following our series of Open Garden posts, you know that we’ve offered many strategic perspectives to motivate you to rethink the rigidity of the classic, closed community structure. We’ve also put forth suggestions on how to implement an open community and the positive changes that will follow.
But we want to outline even more in-depth, qualitative benefits of shifting your structure. Momentum is an invaluable resource in the world of associations, and we want to provide you with plenty of fuel to make these changes!
Here are 4 clear benefits to tearing down your association’s outer wall:
- More Approachable Image
For some brands, playing the exclusive, hard-to-get card can be an attractive incentive for members to jump on board. But you are not a country club – you are a community that values people, knowledge and sharing. So why do so many associations still rely on a completely closed off model? Be the one to stand out from the crowd and take advantage of free, online platforms that communicate to members that you care about universal engagement.
Not only are online platforms a great gateway for long-term engagement, but having a strong presence on them is all around good PR for your association. It shows prospective members that you are not monetarily motivated, but rather have more altruistic, community-based principles.
- More Diverse Community
By showing that you’re willing to share some initial benefits with all types of people, you will encourage a more diverse community, and therefore promote more nuanced, meaningful interactions. This, in turn, could lead not only to rising member levels but encourage more qualitative depth in your user base.
The transparency of an open garden also means that you’ll also be able to display this diversity up front. Even if you leave access to member portals, events, and content behind other layers of walls, an open first-level will show the contrasts and strength of the community, which of course makes it easier to pull in more open-minded members across several industries.
- Less Pressure on Prospective Members
We’re all faced with thousands of little decisions every day. So of course, lowering the friction involved with deciding on whether or not to get involved in your community carries several benefits. Instead of confronting members with a monetary commitment, give them free, easy access to discover your community. This will establish your association as a place of low initial barriers and therefore cement itself in their minds as a place they can come back to as a resource in the future without jumping through hoops.
No one loves making big decisions, so instead of putting energy towards landing pages or websites meant to sell memberships, focus more on creating a low-pressure playground where members can discover what you stand for and all the value you can offer them. Engage them on a deeper level before you force them to break out their credit card.
- Less Guessing about Member Motives
These days, it’s all about tracking. Lowering your association’s barriers and allowing yourself to peer, unabated into the freerange activity of your members (and potential members) is valuable for member engagement and long-term marketing strategy.
Allowing people to jump onto the first-level platform of your association to play, interact, and communicate will allow you to view how your association is perceived in a more natural setting. If you’re using a classic closed model, you’re restricting yourself to a biased view – the inner-workings of the association where all members already have somewhat similar interests and behaviors based on your past strategies. The Open Garden will tell you so much more about how to attract new active members. Furthermore, as they increase their level of participation with opt-ins and upgrades, you can begin to paint a more general picture of what the future of your association can look like with your new model.
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Amith Nagarajan is the founder and CEO of Aptify as well as the Chairman of rasa.io. With over 22 years in the association space, Amith is a thought leader in the field, focused on finding new ways to leverage technology as a strategic business tool for association success.
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