Digital marketing, and marketing in general, has two central goals: acquisition (finding the right people and converting them to customers) and retention (keeping those people engaged with your brand or organization via consistent communication). Our goals as marketers within the association space are really no different. Using a variety of methods, from annual conferences to social media ads, we hope to attract the right people to join our association, and once we’ve captured their interest and information, we hope to provide them with valuable information to keep them engaged. 

When you switch to marketing automation, you’re also adopting a whole new marketing culture. 

This culture change can be a big shift for your team. Instead of thinking about products, they’re now thinking about personas. Rather than thinking about the needs of the association, their focus is now on the needs of the member. This affects all day-to-day operations, requiring a more strategic and data-driven approach to lead acquisition. 

Are you struggling to get new technology approved that could help you reach organizational goals? Buy-in is one of the biggest hurdles for every IT upgrade project. Before you can put any of your great plans into action, you have to present your case to the executive team and convince them to invest the association’s resources in your new platform. 

Associations naturally have a DIY spirit when it comes to most things. Inspired by the can-do energy of the members, association management teams will try to tackle most tasks by themselves. 

American-based associations don’t usually take notice of data laws in other countries. However, there is one law that you should know about: GDPR. 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, you can simply look to other associations and find out about the important lessons they’ve learned during their digital transformation projects. Most of your peers in the association space will offer the following tips: