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. 

When it comes to IT investment, association management teams tend to be subject to a lot more scrutiny than their counterparts in the for-profit world. With good reason too – you’re spending members’ money, so you need to make sure you’re spending it wisely.

Marketing automation and email automation can sometimes appear to have a lot in common. They both take the hassle out of sending marketing-related emails; they both handle high volumes of messages. 

Imagine if you could run every decision your association makes by your members and prospective members before you take action?

You would increase engagement in every phase of membership. Your messages and events would never miss the mark. You would fill up your programs faster and reduce wasted time and money across your organization.

What if I told you that there was a way to close that gap between this dream and the reality of your team's resources and capacity?

This is where your association's marketing personas come in.

What Is AN ASSOCIATION Marketing Persona?

Marketing personas are semi-fictional representations of your association’s ideal members, based on a combination of market research and data about your existing members. Personas help you internalize the ideal members you’re trying to attract, understand your members (and prospective members) better, and relate to your members as real human beings.