One of the frustrating things about member engagement is that it’s such a vague concept. We know engagement matters, we know we need engagement, we know that we’ll lose members if they are not engaged. And yet, it's hard to say exactly what engagement is.

Technology doesn’t just make it easier for associations to connect with their members – it also makes it possible to measure how connected members feel to the association.

Member engagement can be harder to measure in trade associations than in professional societies. But that doesn’t mean it’s not vitally important.

Why do some members leave an association while others go on to become board members? Why are some people passionate, vocal advocates for association membership, while others don’t even bother to open emails?

It all comes down to one thing: member engagement.

How do you know if your association management strategies are working? How can you track the return on investment in marketing, content creation and IT infrastructure investment?

It all comes down to member engagement. Are you connecting with members and making them feel like they’re getting value for money?

Engagement is the ultimate metric of your efforts. It soars when your strategy is working; it plummets when you need to make changes.

The only problem is: how you actually go about assessing engagement?

Ever since associations were first formed over a century ago, their executives have had a problem:

They have a large group of people they need to take action – join, renew, purchase products, attend events, advocate at the capitol, etc. While their membership may seem homogeneous, even small associations have a great deal of diversity among their members.